I'm in Oklahoma and have every pest, disease and fungus known to man, and I usually just treat upon detection as I see the plants every day. After getting slammed by leaf septoria 2 summers in a row, and learning to treat it with sulfur, I'm going to try to be more proactive. Last year was my best year with very minimal problems, due to an extreme drought. Sulfur just slows down septoria, hopefully long enough to get near the finish line. As soon as the plants get old and week it seems like all the issues crop up at once and its over. The bud worms are a given, I just remove the damaged parts. Gardening of any sort around here is not for the faint of heart!The routine I've adopted for this season after my few years of experience is, each plant get some sticky yellow traps, Captain Jack's Dead bug at first sight of anything and Monterey BT mid veg, start of flower and one more time during flower if I see anything.
If anything is still hanging around after a week of spraying the Captain, I hit it one more time, and I always try to spray early morning before the sun gets too strong. I try to use only when needed, so keeping a good eye on my plants is crucial.
I'm in Northern California, Bay Area
Southern California.And what do you use?Please say what region you are in and the major issues you face outdoors.
You're the second person too mention a big zapper. I'm about to start looking on AmazonSpinosad once a week or so from day one, I might even go out there and spray surrounding vegitation before I plant if I felt energetic. Bug zapper also goes out before I plant. Potassium bicarbonate spray every few weeks or so during veg, then once a week or so during flower. I spray a DE solution all around the garden beds and soil a few times a year. If I see a majpr infestation of aphids on my peppers I usually pull out the Pytherin.
I'm in NE Tulsa County. Got the bugs and all. I've had very little trouble with bugs this year compared to other years. I use the yellow sticky traps, soapy water for aphids, BT, and the most important is DE spray. I used to just dust it on the plants but I found out it could be sprayed. The recipe I use is 4 tablespoons to a gallon of water. That seems to keep most things off. Leaf hoppers are the worst. The little hole they make is only part of it. Just watch for the leaf to die from some disease they bring.I'm in Oklahoma and have every pest, disease and fungus known to man, and I usually just treat upon detection as I see the plants every day.