[Trillium]

I too try to prevent problems with netting, etc. If there are some pest problems, it's often more on the flowers than the veg. With veg, I always plant a little extra for pest loss.

[Ice]

To me it kind of defeats the point of growing your own if you're going to use chemicals just like the mass producers do.

Now hang on a minute.  There is the world of difference between mass producers drenching food in pesticides and the judicious use of a spray when all else has failed.

[Rene]

i have dived into growing veg and fruit having only ever really grown my hair before   now i am thinking about sprays etc to use,i dont want to spend ridiculous amounts on them as it kinda defeats the object of growing your own.
what are the main pestacides to have for these crops i'm growing

fruit ; strawberries,raspberries,tomatoes
,blackcurrants,
 rhubarb


veg;  potatoes,onions,shallots,spring onions, lettuce,french beans,carrots,broccoli,cabbage,cauliflower,

peppers,cucumbers

sure theres something i have forgot.what would you recommend all advise welcome

you could try companion planting where you grow herbs and flowers near your crops to attract predator insects to eat the pests or act as a host plant for the pests to keep them off your food plants.
i.e. alliums (all onion type plants) grown around and among brassicas and carrots for example repels aphids, slugs, carrot fly and cabbage worms but dont grow them with beans peas ans parsley. the allotment society i am with has a home page and one of the links is
www.the-gardeners-calender.co.uk and on there is the companion planting for a compehesive guide of what helps what to grow better naturally. hope i am not in trouble for putting this web site on here?
moonchild is me

[pigeonpie]

Personally I rely on good gardening practice (or at least the vague hope that I might get round to it one day  ) and the local wildlife to deal with my pests.

I cover my brassicas with environmesh netting to stop the butterflies and white fly making it home.  I then plant out some extras (there's always plenty spare as I prick out most of the seeds that germinate) for the caterpillars to eat (and the chickens to pick at in winter).  More caterpillars in the garden means more birds which in turn help you to deal with any caterpillars, slugs, aphids, etc.
I grow my carrots and parsnips in a raised bed which seems to stop the carrot fly from getting to them, sometimes I also cover them in fleece.
I don't cut down anything (unless diseased) until well in to spring so that as many ladybirds, lacewings and other beneficial insects have somewhere to sleep during the long winter.
We also have bats so a bat box (or 3) encourage them to stay local, and plenty of trees and hedges for birds to nest, shelter and feed from.
I let the chickens on to the veg garden during winter to find as many slugs as they can and then go out in the summer at night armed with a torch and a pot of salt (or with wellies so as I can stamp on the little blighters).
We have a family of green woodpeckers who nest in the orchard each year so help deal with the ant problem, although I am still considering buying an aardvark!   
If I ever use soapy water I use an ecological brand that is made from plant and mineral extracts.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I think we already absorb so many chemicals from the environment in which we live I really try not to add to it by the food that we grow and eat.  If nature can help with a problem I'd rather let it than resort to a manmade spray.

[realfood]

There are two different provado bug killers. I quoted directly from the Ultimate provado  one.

[realfood]

Yes, just checked on google and there are two with different active ingredients, and only one can be used on veg and fruit. The one which must not be used on fruit and veg seems to come in an aerosol.

[mumofstig]

I did already make the distinction between the 2 types

Here's the link to Bayer for their Provado Ultimate Bug Spray (not aerosol) which says it can be used on veg
http://www.bayergarden.co.uk/products/product.aspx?productid=178&categoryid=13

 

[alibean]

None - plain and simple

If it wants to eat it that much it will and good luck to it. 

I couldn't eat something knowing I'd killed something else to have it - hence simple barrier methods only.  A bit of netting (carefully erected - have never trapped a bird to date).  A few eggshells sprinkled around newly planted things to deter, not kill, the sluggies.

No non-organic squirty things... just a few extra plants and a lot of encouraging chat for the ladybirds!

[Zippy]

I use nothing except organic slug pellets, a bit of netting and a patient mood for picking off caterpillars  To me it kind of defeats the point of growing your own if you're going to use chemicals just like the mass producers do.

+1

[prakash_mib]

To me it kind of defeats the point of growing your own if you're going to use chemicals just like the mass producers do.

Now hang on a minute.  There is the world of difference between mass producers drenching food in pesticides and the judicious use of a spray when all else has failed.

I agree on both but very partially on ice's comments.
I dont use pesticide and I feel it defeats the original idea of GYO.
and when ICE says judicious I still feel that we are not educated at that level of using pesticides. all we rely on is the instructions in the bottle and couple of website advice. but coming from agricultural background (little bit) during green revolution in india the usage of pesticides are/were considered must and I admired my uncle's perseverence of avoiding pesticides in rice fields (only on the fields which will supply rice to our families) and use pesticides for the fields where that rice would be sold outside.
inadvertently/knowingly we are creating an imbalance in the system by adding pesticides to the env.
I am not bothered about cats eating it or finding dead pigeons/bees on the field today, but that would certainly create some imbalance in future and we are seeing that future today (the misuse of pesticide in the past).

no relevane/some relevence
I saw some program on tv when they showed indian tigers (totalling only around 300 in number and decreasing) and the compirer said in 30 years time if our sons or daughters ask a question "you knew they were dwindling and you did nothing to save, did you?" you will be speechless. that kind of hit me and we have to save the good environment we have (??!!) for our future generations.

[BabbyAnn]

what are the main pestacides to have for these crops i'm growing

fruit ; strawberries,raspberries,tomatoes
,blackcurrants,
 rhubarb


veg;  potatoes,onions,shallots,spring onions, lettuce,french beans

peppers,cucumbers

Of the fruit & veg above, I probably put slug pellets round the strawberries during the fruiting stage (especially during wet weather) with netting to keep the blackbirds off, and maybe the lettuce and french beans at the seedling stage only, thereafter they've been fine.  If we have a wet summer, then I've put slug pellets round the potatoes but I'm not sure it really helps and tend to go for slug resistant varieties if I can.

I did have a strange infestation a couple of years ago on the blackcurrant bushes (not sure what it was - maybe aphids but unlike what I'd come across before) which turned the leaves brown and the plants were nearly collapsing.  I had to do something and used derris (no longer available) which cured the problem.

carrots,broccoli,cabbage,cauliflower

Definitely netting to keep pests out, and slug pellets at the seedling stage - I keep an eye out for problems as they get bigger but (touch wood), the slugs and snails don't seem to bother them too much and can usually be picked off. 

[Robster]

The only chemical I use is the blue slug pellet, which I use sparingly under nets.  Nets over brassicas against butterflies.  It's more work than with chemicals and you need to be more vigilant

[tooo many seeds]

if i had loads of time i would probably pick aphids etc off things but i don't.so i will spray if and when things arise.i have nets,fleece cages etc over stuff.just wanted a back up plan

[PlymouthMaid]

Like a few others above, I only use slug pellets and barrier methods. I wouldn't want to eat my produce if I had sprayed it with stuff. I also do a bit of companion planting.

[Zippy]

My wife and I experimented with barrier methods some years back but it didn't stop the pests from appearing. Mind you, they're all grown up now and have pests of their own.