As in other aspects of life, you may encounter problems in gardening and urban agriculture.  At certain times of the year insect and other animal pests may damage plants, especially vegetables and fruit, sometimes resulting in plant death. Weeds can be a problem at any time.

In our scientific world, many think first of chemical products, just as we may think of drugs when falling ill.  But many products have risks for users and for birds, bees, frogs, fish, earth worms and various other species in the natural world.

WiseGardening – Choices to Protect You and the Planet rates the safety and risks of over 800 garden chemical products as well as presenting a range of choices for non-chemical ways of dealing with the problems that might tempt us to seek chemical solutions.

If you do use any chemical product, please read the label VERY carefully.  And to understand what the chemical terms on labels, it’s worth looking here.

Here is more information about common problems you may encounter:

Weeds

Pests

Diseases

Fertility