When preparing spring vegetable gardens or flower beds, till or cultivate the soil one to two days before the temperature is forecast to be 25 degrees F. or below. This forces cold air into the turned soil, exposing and killing the eggs of insects. This is not a 100% eradication method, but it lessens the requirement for later use of pesticides.
When planting tomatoes in your garden, mix one teaspoonful of Epsom salt in the hole before planting the tomato plant. This supplies magnesium, an essential plant nutrient, and tomatoes grown in acid soils that are lacking in magnesium do great with this treatment.
Chris Rockett Thomas, Smith County Master Gardener
Texas Cooperative Extension
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