Kitchen Garden Forum

i am looking for a book so i can identify all the grubs etc that i find in my soil i kill all leather jacket grubs but i am afraid to kill some of the other grubs as they might be beneficial could you recommend a book that will identify all the creatures in my vegetable garden soil so i can kill the bad fellas and protect the beneficial ones
regards
nemo

I have always found Dr Hessayon's "Gardening Expert " book useful. It shows creatures of both above and below the ground. He also wrote the "Vegetable and Herb Expert", "Fruit Expert", "Flower Expert" etc if you want to identify more specific mini-beasties.

The Vegatable and Herb Expert book is one of the best i've come across for growing vegetables and I use it frequently throughout the season to identify problems with plants. It has pictures and descriptions about pests and diseases which is particularly helpful in identifying and dealing with any sick plants.

I agree with the others - Dr Hessayon's books are a very good guide.
As far as creatures in the garden are concerned a very simple rule to follow is that if it moves fast its one of the good guys but if it moves very slowly its probably a baddy and should be squished.

John

PS Who is Dr Hessayon?
All the other so-called garden 'experts' become rather tiresome by popping up all over the place on TV, radio, mags and the newspapers but good Dr H keeps his head down.

John, I used to follow that rule about fast=good, slow=bad, but then I came across the larvae of ladybirds, lacewings etc which are VERY slow moving and certainly good! So, beware!

thanks everyone a new book is in order maybe if i drop enough hints it might be a very welcome christmas present
regards nemo