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Pea and bean weevils are a nuisance but rarely a major problem on the veg patch. The larvae live in the soil and feed on the root nodules. Then when the adults emerge in June and July, they climb up the plants and eat the edges of the leaves. Thankfully, these 4mm-long, brown, sn...

Every garden has its fair share of slugs and the bad news is that they are around for most of the year. They're active mostly after dark, especially when it's damp. In hot dry weather they bury themselves to avoid dehydrating.Holes are chewed in soft, new growth, young stems are ...

Snails, like slugs, cause a great deal of damage to plants. They feed mostly at night, seeking shelter during the day from the drying effects of the sun. However, the snail's shell allows it to move more freely than a slug over dry areas, such as paving. It too, leaves a tell-tal...

Turn over a leaf and you'll see 2mm long white flies. With a life cycle of just three weeks, whitefly breed very fast. Both adults and offspring are sap feeders and a severe attack will weaken a plant. They excrete the sticky excess, called honeydew, onto lower leaves where it en...

The white powdery coating on a curcubit's leaves is made up of spreading fungal spores. This affects the plant's performance, with growth, flowering and fruiting all being adversely affected. In extreme cases, the mildew can lead to dieback and even kill a plant. Since there are ...

Sugar snap peas score top marks for taste and texture. As with so many crops, home-grown sugar snaps are much sweeter and juicier than anything you can buy in a shop. You can grow them in large containers as well as in beds, as long as they're kept well watered. A fairly sheltere...

Growing your own brings a host of benefits, like better freshness and saving money. One of the most important to me, is being able to choose specific crops that have the very best flavour.I think, what's the point in buying supermarket produce simply sold as 'sweetcorn', 'tomato'...

having to thin out congested seedlings later on, because this releases a smell which attracts the pest.Avoid thinning outCover vegetable beds with fleece, secured at the edges, after sowing carrots to prevent low-flying female flies reaching your crop

Doesn't it feel great to get your fingers into the ground? The weather has relented, the soil is warming and I've spent happy days outside sowing seeds directly in the garden. We're about three weeks behind on the season, I reckon, but nature always has a way of catching up. This...

Home-grown cucumbers are delicious, so it's well worth raising your own crop from seed. Cucumber seed needs warmth to germinate, and should be sown indoors during April or May.It's worth checking the seed packets before you buy and looking for varieties that produce all-female fl...