|
You’ve probably noticed some of your
plants are looking a bit yellow at present, Hibiscus in particular and it’s not an
iron deficiency. The all over yellow leaf is indicative of a shortage of nitrogen. Not necessarily a shortage in the soil but the cold soil slows the
break down of organic nitrogen and let’s face it in this weather, we probably
don’t think about feeding our flower plants with water soluble fertilizer, but if you
want flowers in spring, you’d better.
You’d better also control your snails and slugs too,
because they are definitely on the prowl. I’m still finding the safest to use is the
Multicrop® Multiguard Snail & Slug pellet, if you have pets. If that is not your
concern, then the blue pellets of Bayer Baysol® are really potent, but any more than six
pellets at one location is a waste of money.
Spray your roses and fruit trees at present even though
they are dormant, with a cupric hydroxide spray, such as Kocide® or the Yate™ Fungus
Fighter, to give your effective fungal protection, at leaf burst.
Keep pulling soursobs, they are at the ‘big swollen
base stage’ right now and as vulnerable as they get! If they ever get vulnerable at
all. Iris are starting to move and a top-dressing of organic pellets will go down a treat
as a conditioner, but remember last week’s tips, add the potassium for flowering at
the same time.
The brown hairy or "Woollybear Caterpillars" are
currently on the move and chomping on all before them. While a spray of Carbaryl is
effective, they can also be controlled in a more environmentally responsible way, by
spraying the Bacillus thuringiensis bacteria, that effectively rots their stomach
and does not effect what predators they have. Which seems all too few. Marketed as
Dipel™, it certainly numbers their days! |
