There are two main ways to protect your plants in your garden. The protection is against frost and/or insect damage as well as disease. Protective measures are:
1. physical structures; and
2. chemical applications such as insecticides and fungicides.
Covered frames are used not only to protect plants from insects, but also allow heat retention. In this way, you can plant earlier in the season when risk of ground frost might otherwise keep you from planting.
To make a frame, you can use a simple wooden box, with a standard measurement being some eighteen inches to two feet square and about eight inches high. If you don't need the frost protection, then a cover of mosquito netting or mesh should be sufficient for pest protection; while a glass cover or heavy plastic will give you added feature of keeping the plants warm. In fact, many gardeners like to start their vine vegetables like melons and cucumbers, early in the season and they tend to do quite well with this small nursery effect.
If your plants tend to be eaten stem up by cutworms (those notorious garden pests!), try protecting the stems with "collars" made of hard plastic or tin (although the latter can be sharp). If you put a collar around the stems, about an inch into the soil and a few inches high, you should get some pretty good protection for a very low cost.
Before you purchase an insecticide or fungicide, you must determine exactly what the problem is in your garden. Certainly it's best if you don't have to use these chemicals, and can either get rid of the pest or fungus naturally. Remember too that insecticides kill the bugs, while fungicides kill the fungus - neither can actually treat the damaged plants.
If you're not sure what you're dealing with, your local nursery or garden center can often give you expert advice if you bring in a sample of the damaged plant (or the actual insect). For a small garden, you can probably get away with applying the chemical with a hand-held mister (like a typical spray bottle you likely already have in your home). Read the instructions carefully, and make sure you apply the insecticide or fungicide on a calm day with no wind.
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