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Our region is currently besieged by tiny
Whiteflies, as they ravage the vegetable and fruit crops in our gardens. These tiny
sap-suckers leave a honeydew residue that harbours the growth of sooty mould on citrus and
many fruit trees. The control is two fold. First
either spray with a systemic insecticide such as Rogor, that will knock out the
sap-suckers as they feed, but not kill the bees as they graze, then spray with
PestOil™, that leaves a film of oil on the leaves and prevents the spread of fungal
soots and mildews. An alternative to the Rogor would be to hand a few of the yellow
Trappit™ stick traps, which I favour since they do not attract off-target insects,
such as Lacewings, Ladybirds and Predatory Wasps, although they do capture European Wasps.
Now is an ideal time to add organic pellets to the surface
of our flower and vegetable garden, while soil temperatures are high, but air temperatures
are generally low, so that they improve soil structure without resulting in a rapid flush
of soft growth on your plants. No need to dig them in as this can cause a short term
nitrogen draw-down and turn some leaves yellow.
I have tended to store seed in the typical coffee jar with
the plastic ring seal and recently discovered that I had tiny seed-eating weevils in some
batches, so they can obviously get past the apparently tight seal. I guess in their larval
stage they are even smaller than the tiny weevil that becomes so obvious, as they scurry
around when disturbed. Use the Zip-seal GladŽ bags, which seem quite secure.
Now that you have Sweet Pea seed to sow this week, prepare
the soil with a top dressing of Complete ‘D’ and garden lime (not the
builders’ stuff). That sweetens the soil and on no account use complete mineral
mixture or any water soluble fertilizer which has copper compounds in it. The copper will
kill your Sweet Peas stone dead, as will contact with any copper product, even tie wires!
Keep dead-heading your African and French Marigolds to
extend their flowering season, otherwise they tend to rot on the bushes and that prevents
them from continuing to flower, which they will do well into autumn in a sunny aspect. |
