Organic Vegetable Gardening

DESCRIPTION OF VEGETABLE PROBLEMS
We will be studying 10 top problems affecting vegetables (all are highlighted as bold blue links below). By clicking on each link, you can learn more about each specific problem and see photos of symptoms. Below is an outline followed by an Introduction to Organic Vegetable Gardening and links to classwork pages covering IPM Principles, IPM Strategies and Specific Organic Pesticides as well as some useful outside links.

After reading all of the different pest sections listed below (including IPM Principles, IPM Strategies and Specific Organic Pesticides) and take the following tests to help you master the information.

Vegetable Test #1 answers to #1
Vegetable Test #2 answers to #2

Cause of Problem	Name of problem
Insects	Cucumber beetle
	Flea beetle
	Mexican bean beetle
	Squash vine borer
	Spider mite
	Harlequin bug
	Imported cabbageworm
Diseases	Early blight of tomato
	Bacterial wilt of cucurbits
	Fusarium wilt of tomato
Abiotic	Blossom end rot

INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIC VEGETABLE GARDENING

How Do We Do IPM in the Organic Vegetable Garden?? (a giant step beyond “plan, plant, pray”)

Managing pest and plant problems without chemical pesticides is a cornerstone of organic gardening. Successful organic gardeners view their edible crops as part of a larger ecosystem that includes thousands of organisms living interdependently. Adding compost and organic matter to our soil feeds the organisms that make up the soil food web. This enables us to grow healthy plants more resistant to disease and insect problems. Organic gardeners also broaden and deepen the above-ground ecosystem by planting and maintaining a wide variety of flowering plants and habitats capable of attracting and conserving beneficial insects and animals.

Like all folks who like to "dig in the dirt", organic gardeners make and spread compost, fret over ground hog invasions and hope for a better next year. Experienced organic gardeners are different because they apply their knowledge of their garden ecosystem to prevent pest problems or manage them at an acceptable level. A principal mission of the Master Gardener Program is the adoption of IPM by home and community gardeners. A thorough application of IPM principles and practices is especially important for organic gardeners who cannot resort to Sevin or Malathion and who would like to minimize the use of organic insecticides. Organic gardening is not simply the substitution of organic pesticides for chemical pesticides. Acceptable organic pesticides can be a tool in an integrated apoproach but they are not a "magic bullet". A good discussion of "bio-intensive IPM" (an up-dated, organic "take" on IPM) can be found at: http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/ipm.html.

Please read the following 3 pages as part of your classwork:

Here are some vegetable pest management/ID/diagnostic websites that you might find useful:

U. of MD's HGIC- http://www.hgic.umd.edu/diagn/home.html
Northeast IPM Web Sites- http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu:80/ipmnet/websites.neipm.html#top
Cornell Vegetable Information- http://www.vegetables.cornell.edu/
Plant Disease Diagnostic Clinic- http://plantclinic.cornell.edu/
Rodale Organic Gardening Solutions- http://symptomsolver.organicgardening.com/
U. of Conn. IPM Vegetables- http://www.hort.uconn.edu/ipm/ipmveg.htm
VPI Veg.ID- http://www.ento.vt.edu/~idlab/vegpests/veg1.html
Ontario, Canada IPM for Cole Crops- http://www.gov.on.ca/OMAFRA/english/crops/facts/crucifer_IPM/ccgal.htm
Illinois Extension Veg Newsletter (for following pest problems through season) http://www.aces.uiuc.edu/~ipm/news/fvnews.html
Ohio Extension (similar to above)- http://www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~vegnet/

For more information, contact Robin Hessey

Last updated: 03/20/2008