Plant Protection & Pest Control

Plant Protection and Pest Control

Gardening in the UK can be enormously challenging. Although we love our seasonal weather patterns the transitions from warm to cold and cold to hot can be very difficult to manage. And their are huge differences in temperature and weather conditions between the north and south of the UK. It’s very common for people in the north of Scotland to be experiencing snow while those in the southern counties are basking in warm sunshine.

One of the biggest problems in our Devon garden is frost. There are a few ‘frost pockets’ around our garden in which the temperature can often drop below freezing point while the remainder of the garden might be as high as 3 or 4 degrees celsius. The answer, for us, has been to bring our most tender plants inside, if possible. And if not, we wrap them in fleece, sometimes with additional layers if the forecasts are particularly worrying.

Garden Pest Control

Garden pests are another challenge faced by all UK gardeners. The first thing to determine is what are the pests and what damage are they doing?

What we have found is that slugs and snails absolutely love certain plants and vegetables. So our solution has simply been to plant enough for both ourselves and for the little beasties who love to eat them. Where possible we aim to relocate various plant noshing hoodlums rather than kill them.

If birds are eating seedlings or fruit then net protection has been very effective. No need for any nasty chemical sprays that might be harmful.

And there are some excellent fine-mesh bird and insect netting products which are completely effective while being totally harmless.

With a little thought and consideration you will find a way to coexist with the various creatures which are drawn to your garden by the plants and produce you are growing.