 Welcome to Alabama Smart Yards, we're creating beautiful landscapes that protect natural environments. Today, David Kuhn will talk about dead and diseased plants in the garden. Do your plants look like this at the end of the season? Trash the habit. Disease and insect problems are common for home gardens, but rarely is there a simple answer to solve those problems. Instead, using a combination of small things adds up to success. Using basic tasks that can help reduce garden problems is a good sanitation program. Garden sanitation starts by understanding the life cycle for disease. We want to remember the disease triangle. The three pillars include a susceptible plant host, the presence of a pathogen, the bacteria, fungus, or virus, and a favorable environment for that pathogen. Where all three are present, we have disease. Many disease pathogens are present in the soil and on plant residue left in the garden. If we simply remove spent plant debris, we can reduce the amount of pathogen present when we start a garden. Remove garden crops when they stop producing. This includes leaves that have fallen, fruit left on the ground, and the root systems. Insects also use plant debris to overwinter or lay eggs for next year. Pay close attention to roots of nematode susceptible crops like tomatoes and okra. Dispose of the spent plant material through bagging, burning, or curbside pickup. Composting is not recommended. Tilt or spade in your soil to help speed up decay of any remaining plant debris. Good garden sanitation will help reduce disease and insect pressure, making for a much more enjoyable and successful garden season.