I always forget how warm it gets this time of the year.  The early June heat I think is the worst because we haven’t gotten used to it yet.  The heat along with the short rains we’ve had make a garden get flooded with problems.

 

In the pea patch comes the whiteflies and thrips.  They suck the juices and a lot of the good out of the vegetables.  A few good insecticides to use are Cynara and Permethrins.  There are several strengths of permethrins so don’t get one that is too strong and not labeled for vegetables.  Clean around the plants and remove as much junk around them that you can.  Sometimes insecticidal soaps will work well keeping you from using the chemicals.  Try to wash off some of the fungus like materials.  Whiteflies are small sucking insects.  It takes more effort to rid your garden, that you have already worked on, to get rid of the whiteflies.

 

Tomato problems right now are the cutworms.  The BT that I wrote about last week is the best way to get them other than picking them off with your hands.  Hornworms can be treated the same way.  Cyonara is used for the aphids, whiteflies, and many other insects that love tomatoes.

 

One thing for sure, is that you need to stay on top of all the problems in your garden, because the bugs can take away all of that hard work.  Especially, you want to brag of having the best garden and most productive garden in town.  Happy Gardening in the heat.

(Mitzi Thomas owns Minden Farm & Garden LLC. Watch for her column on Fridays in Webster Parish Journal.)