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The Wild World Within

Great article on the effect of diet on the health of your microbiome – bacteria, yeasts, and fungi that inhabit your gut. Your microbiome is potentially the cornerstone for health issues from weight, to mood, to allergies, and of course heart-health. Author: Gretel H. Schueller Article: The Wild World Within Magazine: Eating Well Issue: July / […]

Symphylans

Symphylans are very small, white, many segmented organisms that you may see in your soil when you pull up a struggling plant. You will notice them darting and scurrying quickly about the root ball or seedling plug. They are also known as symphlans, or “symphys”, pseudocentipedes, or garden centipedes, even though they are not centipedes. They are […]

Cucumber Beetles

Also referred to as: Spotted Cucumber Beetles, Striped cucumber beetles, western striped cucumber beetle, southern corn rootworm, Western corn rootworm beetles Acalymma spp., Diabrotica undecimpunctata Physical Description: Light green to yellow little beetles with stripes or spots (very much like a ladybug, but with yellow-green instead of red background). Striped cucumber beetles can overwinter in […]

Pink Rot (stub)

Also known as Sclerotinia rot, Blossom blight,Cottony rot, Crown rot, Drop, Water soft rot, White mold. And is very similar to Onion white rot or Mouldy nose (Sclerotium cepivorum) in alliums. Physical Description  Google Images Species & Taxonomy Kingdom: Phylum: Class: Order: Family: Genus Species: Sclerotinia spp. Lifecycle   Plants Affected cabbage celery lettuce tomato Plants Unaffected sugar beet spinach cereals Geographical Range   Signs & […]

Fusarium Wilt

Fusarium is a soil-borne fungus that can survive for a decade or more in dormant stages. It enters the plant through roots and invades its water distribution network, where the fungi partially or completely block the vascular tissues, usually by gum-like formations, causing wilting and eventually death of the plant. General Description Widespread fungus that affects a wide […]

Delia Species Maggot

The genus Delia is a group of flies that are pests to many agricultural crops, primarily in their larval, or maggot, stage. Many individual pest pages redirect here. Physical Description Egg eggs are small and white (~1mm) some of the species’ eggs are slightly curved with a bluntly rounded end Larva Cabbage Maggot images from Google […]

Soft Rot

Quick Intro Physical Description Bacterial disease of the fruit or tubers of a vegetable, characterized by watery and soft decay of the tissue. Species & Taxonomy Kingdom: Phylum: Class: Order: Family: Genus Species: caused by several types of bacteria, but most commonly: Erwinia Pectobacterium Pseudomonas Lifecycle These pathogenic bacteria can grow at a wide range […]

Powdery Mildew

Powdery mildew on Lavender Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)

Powdery mildew is a common fungal disease that effects many types of plants, and is fairly easy to manage. It causes poor growth and lower yields, but seldom kills the plant. There are many different species of powdery mildew that cause the disease on many different species of plants. See list of species and their […]

Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus

Insect-vectored disease spread by thrips. Most common in the southeast Physical Description   Species & Taxonomy Kingdom: Phylum: Class: Order: Family: Genus Species: Lifecycle   Plants Affected Tomatoes Peppers Plants Unaffected   Geographical Range Most common in the southeast Signs & Symptoms Whole Plant black streaks on petioles or stems growing tips are usually severely […]