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The wonderful slow soaking rain we had last
weekend, will now set lots of plants into growth, but it will also show that many of our
plants are suffering lime –induced-chlorosis and they need a supplement of iron
chelates pretty quickly. The telltale signs are yellow veins on the leaves. The remedy is
effective and quick, so don’t waste any time this week. Iron chelates can be foliar
sprayed or root drenched. I’ve got a lovely
patch of Chinese Broccoli "Kalaan" coming along and since the rain a patch of
moth eggs has been laid, which I thought I’d watch develop and before I knew it, they
hatched and grew fat on my leaves overnight, so watch out. All your Caulis, Cabbages and
Broccoli are delicious targets for white moth caterpillars, so carefully inspect the
leaves for a crushing time or spray/dust to control the blighters.
Those ultra-violet lamps that everyone seems to have to zap
the European Wasps at barbeques can now be turned off. They are effective if used just
while you are cooking and not meant to be left on day and night all year. You see they
also attract all the goodies in the garden too, like Lacewings, Long-legged Wasps, Mantids
and Stick insects, which actually eat your aphids, scale and whitefly.
I think I have discovered that glyphosate (Roundup® and
No-Grow®) mixed and left in spray equipment looses its viability after about six weeks.
Anyone else found this?
St Patrick’s Day falls Wednesday 17th
March, next week, which apart from being a day of significance to the Irish, signals the
day to start planting Sweet Peas, up until Anzac Day. I suggest you duck out this week and
get your supplies while there’s still a good range to choose from, because being
bulking seed, lots of nurseries only carry a limited range.
Grab a packet of Calendulas "English Pot
Marigolds" at the same time. A highly under-rated winter flowering annual that
thrives in a pot, in a sunny nook as well as doubles as a condiment in the kitchen. The
bright yellow forms make a very useful colouring agent for saffron rice and it’s a
lot safer to use than the saffron colouring agent, if your cannot afford the real stuff. |
