How often should I inspect plants for diseases?

You need a workable inspection regimen to shield plants from disease. I developed mine through suffering the loss of a complete basil crop due to fusarium wilt, which was undiscovered. Periodical inspections capture evils early when they are the easiest to treat. The schedule should strike a balance between thoroughness and practicability, tailored to your specific conditions of size.

Make weekly inspections efficiently. Design a systematic route through your garden to check both sides of the leaves. I do this each Tuesday morning with a check-list: new growth, soil's moisture, under-surface inspection. Write down the result of the inspection in quick phone photographs so there is a pictorial autobiography of happenings.

Do not fail to inspect for *post-event tap*. Last summer's hailstorm gave me bacterial entry wounds that would have spread. New plants should be quarantined for two weeks and inspected every day. A little attention to seasonal changes, particularly spring inspections, will help prevent the carryover of diseases from winter damage.

Act promptly on abnormalities. My lemon tree dropped his leaves for some unexplained reason. On checking my plants daily I discovered quite a heavy infestation of spider mites. Train yourself to observe any slight change which may indicate some difficulty with either the plant or its environment: slight discoloration of foliage, slower growth, etc. This close observation will prevent small difficulties from becoming large ones.

Read the full article: Comprehensive Guide to Identify Plant Diseases