“Oh, my goodness, I feel like I’m cooking!” exclaims my 9-year-old as he helps me pull weeds from a small plant bed. It was still morning but already above 80 F, and the humidity was in full force.

Solarization also eliminates some soil diseases, including Verticillium wilt, Phytophthora root rot, Fusarium wilt, damping-off, crown gall, tomato canker, and potato scab, allowing healthy plants and ...

Note: This article was originally published in this newspaper in 2011. Is there an area in your garden where you are battling noxious weeds or other invasive plants? If so, soil solarization is a ...

Mealybugs are relentless pests that drain energy from your plants and are notoriously hard to get rid of. You'll often find them clustered on leaves, stems, and even roots, weakening plants and ...

Muriel P. of Healdsburg asks: How can I &‘solarize' my soil? I heard that would help in killing many unwanted pest problems in the areas where I want to start planting some vegetables. When do I do ...

Soil solarization is a simple, non-chemical method of controlling soil borne pests. It works by using high temperatures that are produced by capturing radiant energy from the sun. This technique is ...

LUFKIN, Texas (KTRE) -I just identified a mess of problems for a local gardener. Root-Knot nematodes and fungal diseases galore. How does a gardener fix those problems before next spring? It can be ...

One of the best things you can do for your vegetable garden beds during the dog days of summer is to solarize the soil. Soil solarization is a nonchemical method of controlling soil-borne pests using ...

Soil solarization is a powerful tool in the organic arsenal—but can you solarize a bed that has a tree in the middle?! On the latest You Bet Your Garden, Mike McGrath discusses how you can—and ...

Soil solarization is used to manage nematodes, pathogens and weeds, but relatively few studies have examined solarization effects on soil mineral nutrients, soil properties and plant tissue nutrients.

Home gardeners who place the same plants in the same location each year will ultimately experience fungal and bacterial disease buildup, as well as insects and other pest problems. Many have no choice ...

Solarization of soil, (potting mix = coarse sand: Eucalyptus marginata fines = 1:1) infested with 3 fungi pathogenic to gerbera (Phytophthora cryptogea, Fusarium oxysporum and Rhizoctonia solani), for ...