You Need A Good Sprayer

A sprayer with a nozzle that adjusts from a fine spray to a jet spray gives the best range of uses.

When you have a garden big enough or you garden long enough through the seasons, your plants are likely to be attacked by common insects or diseases. Having a good sprayer on hand will make it easy to deal with the pests. You’ll need something better than a ready-to-use bottle to avoid a cramp while spraying your plants to kill insects or protect against diseases on more than a couple of plants.

Get a good 1- or 2-gallon sprayer. It should have a thumb-operated valve, an adjustable cone nozzle, and a long spray wand so that you can reach inside the plant with spray. A bronze nozzle is better and longer lasting than plastic, but more expensive. The nozzle should adjust to from a fine spray to a jet. Look for spray wands have a curved end that makes it easier to point the spray upwards; this make it easier to target the undersides of leaves, which is where many pests hang out.

To spray, adjust the nozzle to a fine mist and start at the bottom of the plant; point the nozzle up to spray the undersides of the leaves first, working your way up the plant. Make a second pass by spraying the top of the foliage. Again start at the bottom of the plant and work your way up. It is important to spray both sides of the leaves.

Mix your spray exactly according to label directions. It’s the law. During hot weather, wait until nearly dusk to spray. Some products can burn when the temperature is in the mid 80˚s or higher. Avoid spraying if nights are hotter.

After spraying tomatoes for leaf diseases, watch the plants carefully. Depending on the climate, one or two sprays may be enough. In areas with a long warm and humid season, you may need to spray every week or ten days.