Recognizing and combating plant diseases
Finding the cause of symptoms
In addition to plant diseases, there are other causes that can trigger symptoms on plants. So before you consider a plant disease, you should take a closer look at other factors such as care or location.
Incorrect care of your plants?
- Symptoms usually on several individuals in the bed
- Poor nutrient supply (often also related to soil conditions and water supply) - Irregular water supply: Drought stress or waterlogging
Suitable location?
- Do the plants have enough space in the bed? Otherwise there may be competition for water, nutrients or light, so keep planting distances
- Are the soil conditions good for the cultivated plants? Cultivated plants usually like to grow in humus-rich, well-aerated, medium-heavy garden soil.
Disease or an infestation with pests?
- Infestation is first on single individuals and then spreads
- Damage symptoms on the leaves are often also caused by sucking pests such as aphids
- Check all parts of the plant for pests, they particularly like to sit on the undersides of the leaves and in the leaf axils
Preventing plant diseases
In order to garden sustainably, you should avoid using synthetic chemical pesticides to combat diseases. Instead, it is important to prevent diseases and thus protect your plants.
These measures will help you:
- Strengthen plants with e.g. horsetail tea
- Good hygiene in your garden
- High-quality seeds for healthy young plants
Fighting plant diseases
Depending on the cause, there are different ways of combating the plant disease:
- Bacteria and viruses are more difficult to combat and should be treated with preventative plant protection
- Most plant diseases are fungal diseases, which can be treated with plant liquids or teas such as nettle liquids
