Beginner Gardening: first year gardner.., 1 by yardener

yardener wrote:
When it comes to bugs, farmers and those practicing integrated pest management will often refer to the economic threshold. This is a point where a pest has reached a level where it can impact your profit. Yes, even gardeners can see a profit. Is it cheaper to grow a particular veggie or buy it at the farmers market?
Scouting the garden daily will help you determine the pest population. What is the economic thershold for your garden? Only you and some experience can say.
If you are starting to see damage that you feel will hurt your return on what you've invested into your garden, you may turn to some sort of pest control.
If you use a chemical, organic or not, read and follow the labels intructions.
But, like Honeybee says, most of the time a well maintained garden (weeded, irrigated and fertilized) will be able to handle some pests. Don't be intimidated, just watch and learn.
Remember, "next years garden will always be the best."©