Pesticides, fungicides, disease prevention, etc.

Just a fairly general question about what everyone does to help prevent pests, control diseases and fungus in your SFG? Is this something that should be addressed after planting, or something you don't worry about until you notice a problem? Just curious if I should be proactive with my garden now before problems start to show up. FWIW, I'll be having the following in my SFG this year

peas
lettuce
spinach
onions
carrots
potatoes
beans
tomatoes
cauliflower (maybe)
broccoli (maybe)

Thanks!!

Oh, yes...  LOTS of discussions about this.....

You may see comments about our nighttime hunting outfits for slugs, etc. - robes, slippers, head-flashlights... 

You might want to look thru the archives.  There are also some good websites that Camprn recommends. 

Camp, can you jump in here?  I can't remember them off the top of my head!

BigTerp,

You are indeed going to find that we all use different pest control methods.  Perhaps one unifying element is that we all tend to use organic pest/fungus solutions.

The past two years, I have used a mixture of neem oil (a natural oil that comes from India) and peppermint soap on an "as needed" basis.  I've noticed that every year, white flies get into my seed starters because I put them outside during the day if it is sunny.  I prepare a very weak neem oil and peppermint soap (in water).  A spray of that immediately takes care of the problem.  The peppermint soap can work as a natural anti-fungal.

The other product I like to use is Bacillus Thurengensis ("Bt") for my tomatoes, and anything else that worms might like to eat.  I was surprised to find that it worked very well on my kale crops last year.  This substance only works in insects in the larva stage.  In a nutshell, it contains a naturally occurring soil borne organism.   After Bt spores are ingested by the larva, they produce chrystalline toxins as they grow and reproduce.  These toxins paralyze the digestive tract of the larva.  It stops eating and dies within about 12 hours to 5 days. 

Again, we are all different when it comes to this topic.  I try very hard not to use these products in a way that will adversely affect pollinators.

Yes, definitely be proactive.  I don't know your environment, but we get early blight on tomatoes, Squash Vine Borer and squash bugs and powdery mildew on squash and pumpkins, caterpillers on brassicas, aphids on southern peas, Japanese beetles on beans, pickle worms and downy mildew on cucumbers.  Every year.  Be prepared and start investigating early before they/it find your garden.