Combating pests and mildew on plants

We use as few pesticides as possible in our nursery.

We have fields where our mother plants are planted out. We use these mother plants for propagation. We also have container fields. These fields contain the plants in pots, 24 plants in a box. These plants are ready for sale or are still being grown.

We don't mind if our mother plants are occasionally infested with aphids or mildew. This can help the plants we grow to build up natural protection. In the container fields, we try to avoid infestation of the plants with aphids, mildew etc. as much as possible, but here too we tolerate it as long as the plants are not too badly affected.

If treatment of the plants is necessary, we first choose a natural plant strengthener. Aphids and mildew often occur because the plant is weakened. By applying the right plant strengthener, the plants build up resistance. The aphids and mildew then usually disappear by themselves. We therefore cater to the needs of the plant.

Prevention is better than cure, which is why we use 6 different potting soil mixtures. Take, for example, plants that like dry conditions. These plants are susceptible to root or foot rot, caused by a fungus that thrives in a moist environment. We therefore grow these plants in a potting soil mix that drains excess water quickly.

We use nematodes to control the larvae of the yew beetle. These nematodes penetrate the larvae and kill them. We use a specific type of predatory mite against spider mites. If treatment with nematodes or predatory mites is not sufficient, we opt for further biological control. However, we only treat our plants when they are not flowering. This means that bees, butterflies etc. are not affected by the treatment.

We are trying to use fewer and fewer chemicals, but unfortunately we are not yet fully successful. However, we never treat our plants with neonicotinoids. We no longer do this because of the bee mortality. Fortunately, almost all pesticides containing neonicotinoids have now been banned. Only the active ingredient acetamiprid is still permitted, but we also don't use that in our nursery either.

If we still see aphids or mildew when packing the ordered plants, we treat these plants with an organic pesticide from Ecostyle or Pokon. You can sometimes still smell this when you open the box containing the plants.