Protection and harvest without chemicals

In short

• Prevention is the main protection: resistant varieties, an open vine and row, drip irrigation, hygiene.
• Downy mildew starts by the "three tens" rule: shoots 10 cm, 10 °C, 10 mm of rain.
• Copper and sulphur are allowed in organic growing, but only authorised products, used as the label says, with the harvest interval.
• Copper builds up in the soil: keep to a limit of roughly 4 kg/ha a year, or 0.4 g per m².
• Always gloves, goggles, a mask and protective clothing; never spray open flowers while bees are working.
• Nets, bags and frequent picking protect the crop from birds, wasps and fruit fly.

What's inside

Chapters

1. Protection starts before spraying
2. Downy mildew of the vine
3. Powdery mildew of the vine
4. Copper and sulphur by the rules
5. Protective gear and handling products
6. Soft fruit diseases in brief
7. Birds and nets
8. Wasps and fruit fly
9. Harvest: ripe and residue-free
10. From harvest to preserving
11. Common mistakes
12. Printable checklist

Worksheets

• Protection and harvest calendar
• Spray log
• Copper calculator
• Net and bag calculator
• Ripeness and harvest log
• Equipment and important numbers