Just as much as we love good homegrown vegies, so do many pests species and as the weather’s warming up, now is the time to be on the lookout for them and to do what you can to prevent them.
As a general rule, pests will be attracted to sick or diseased plants, so your first line of defence is to keep your plants as healthy as you can, and this starts with healthy soil. As well as unhealthy plants, pests can be attracted to older plants that may have started to flower, or which have leaves touching the soil that may be starting to break down.
By removing the lower leaves of plants, spacing out your planting so as to not stress them and at the same time increase airflow, you’ll have a better chance of keeping your food-producing plants pest free. Of course, if you can hold your nerve, you’ll often find the arrival of pests can also attract pest-feeding predator insects that will look after the job for you.