We seem to be having a few bug problems at the moment. We have been potting in the garden recently rather than spending long afternoons gardening. The heat of summer and our work patterns have been to blame. This has lead to a free for all for bugs. They have taken over the garden! Black fly have invaded the broad beans, caterpillars have been spotted in our brassicas and green flies invaded the tomatoes.
I am not so worried about the tomatoes, mostly because I have seen an increased amount of ladybirds. Nature has taken care of that problem for us. What few greenfly are left will be sprayed with dilute washing up liquid. I can't remember where I discovered this trick but last years were covered one week and fine the next so I know it works!
The broad beans are slowly taking shape, I'm waiting for the pods to fatten up before harvesting. While waiting Al and I noticed that there where a few black looking bugs growing on the plant but dismissed it as nothing to worry about as we had seen a few ants enjoying a feast however during the time we've not been proactive gardeners the black bugs took advantage. The next time we go down the black fly are everywhere and in some places thick with them. Even on the bean pods there is a thick black line of bug.
For the record I do not like using pesticides. I think nature has a way of working things out far better than man made chemicals can but the problem seemed to be getting worse. I was starting to worry about the crop and if I would be able to harvest anything. As much as I like leaving nature to it there is a limit! So they have been sprayed with a general bug killer. It seems to have worked, there appears that they have all died. The few that remain have been spotted along with a few ants.
It is our first year of growing brassicas so it is the first year of any related problems. I always thought that the stories about brassicas were a storm in a tea cup. Now I'm the one freaking out over my brassicas. I noticed a patch of yellow eggs which were quickly brushed off. In an ironic sort of way a catapillar came off too so it was a good job I found it when I did. The plan of action here is to brush off any eggs we find and spray with dilute washing up liquid and hope.
Showing posts with label tomato. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tomato. Show all posts
Sunday, 25 July 2010
Friday, 2 July 2010
Waiting Around in the Sunshine
After a wonderful week on holiday it was about time we returned to some gardening! There were the typical amount of weeds that needed sorting and hoeing out but after that there is only a lot to admire. A huge weed patch had grown at the same place the sweet williams should have grown. Rather than wait and the weeds grow too strong I hoed the whole area so they will have to wait for next year.
We are still at the waiting stage there are a lot of things going on but very little to harvest. We came home to find that the little gems had bolted so have only had tiny harvest of lettuce so far. The strawberry plants have not produced anywhere near as much fruit as last year however they were moved out of containers this spring. The only ones I have tasted tasted odd, almost musty so they went into a glass of pimm's. I'm hoping these ones will taste better:
The tomatoes have finally recovered from their trauma of being left in their pots a bit too long.
At one stage I thought I would be blogging about how badly they have done and it looked like there would be no tomatoes to enjoy this year. Now I can see the first signs of flowers and the plants remain a lush green. Al pointed out a tiny greenfly in the photo but I don't think it's anything to worry about. I spray the tomatoes with dilute washing up liquid which seems to help because I never seem able to attract ladybirds.
All the beans and peas have started flower, I have to confess that most of the varieties we are growing this year were bought because the seeds were reasonable rather than majestic looking blooms. I'm glad I can see flowers because I was beginning to panic I'd left them too late to be able to enjoy a lengthy harvest but it's clear now that this will not be the case.
We are still at the waiting stage there are a lot of things going on but very little to harvest. We came home to find that the little gems had bolted so have only had tiny harvest of lettuce so far. The strawberry plants have not produced anywhere near as much fruit as last year however they were moved out of containers this spring. The only ones I have tasted tasted odd, almost musty so they went into a glass of pimm's. I'm hoping these ones will taste better:
The tomatoes have finally recovered from their trauma of being left in their pots a bit too long.
All the beans and peas have started flower, I have to confess that most of the varieties we are growing this year were bought because the seeds were reasonable rather than majestic looking blooms. I'm glad I can see flowers because I was beginning to panic I'd left them too late to be able to enjoy a lengthy harvest but it's clear now that this will not be the case.
Do you remember me posting about how we cheated and bought plants after the late frosts? Well the first courgette plant is beginning to show a tiny courgette which will hopefully be ready to eat soon. I always have a knack for forgetting to pick the flowers for stuffing until they are too open to stuff. My favourite time is when they are ready with the tomatoes so they can be made into a light sauce or ratatouille. This year it will be even sweeter if the red onions are ready at the same time.
Thursday, 3 June 2010
Bank Holiday Madness
I'm lucky that often my regular days off fall on Bank holidays so I get to enjoy them with everyone else. Unfortunately Al had to go to work but this time I had my hands full with my niece and nephew helping me out as my Dad finished a project started last autumn.
As you can imagine we got a lot of planting finished, always helpful to have a bit of child labour in the right situation. They both helped out planting out the tomatoes into their final place. The fork is/was bigger than my niece but she managed to plant a fair few tomatoes! We also planted little gems, beetroot, carrots and sweet Williams seeds, in fact the majority of seeds left to plant. Their garden at home is about the size of our plot so it was lovely to see them getting so into everything. In the end they also planted a pumpkin each to take home with them with a bit of luck I will be blogging to tell you how big they are at hallowe'en.
We also placed out the CDs to use as bird scarer. Originally I left my nephew to take them out into the garden and then we were going to put them out together. He jumped the gun a little and started to scare the birds his way.....
Yep, he propped the CDs (in the covers) on to our bamboo markers and left them. I'm not sure if he was making a comment about my taste in music or not but as one was a freebie of British birdsong I doubt it would have much affect on keeping birds out.
Publish Post
The project my Dad was finishing was the shed base. My Dad is the type of person who has to do a job properly otherwise he doesn't start or doesn't do a project, so they can take a long time to get done. As a child I fondly remember the one piece of wall paper up in the living room. So when Al was given the shed as a birthday present we needed a base. Due to the garden being so forgotten about we had already found a range of paving slabs ranging from brick to huge thick sandstones (as seen in the middle of the photo) and had decided to use them rather than buy cheap new slabs. About last November he came and put down the front row of bricks and then it started to rain and kept raining so it never got finished. Roll forwards to this week and a few hours later it as done! The problem now is that we like it too much to use it a shed base and keep toying with the idea of using it as a patio and putting the shed further back. It doesn't get a lot of sun and is next to the compost bin but is nearer than other points to our door. What do you think?
As you can imagine we got a lot of planting finished, always helpful to have a bit of child labour in the right situation. They both helped out planting out the tomatoes into their final place. The fork is/was bigger than my niece but she managed to plant a fair few tomatoes! We also planted little gems, beetroot, carrots and sweet Williams seeds, in fact the majority of seeds left to plant. Their garden at home is about the size of our plot so it was lovely to see them getting so into everything. In the end they also planted a pumpkin each to take home with them with a bit of luck I will be blogging to tell you how big they are at hallowe'en.
We also placed out the CDs to use as bird scarer. Originally I left my nephew to take them out into the garden and then we were going to put them out together. He jumped the gun a little and started to scare the birds his way.....
Yep, he propped the CDs (in the covers) on to our bamboo markers and left them. I'm not sure if he was making a comment about my taste in music or not but as one was a freebie of British birdsong I doubt it would have much affect on keeping birds out.
Publish Post
The project my Dad was finishing was the shed base. My Dad is the type of person who has to do a job properly otherwise he doesn't start or doesn't do a project, so they can take a long time to get done. As a child I fondly remember the one piece of wall paper up in the living room. So when Al was given the shed as a birthday present we needed a base. Due to the garden being so forgotten about we had already found a range of paving slabs ranging from brick to huge thick sandstones (as seen in the middle of the photo) and had decided to use them rather than buy cheap new slabs. About last November he came and put down the front row of bricks and then it started to rain and kept raining so it never got finished. Roll forwards to this week and a few hours later it as done! The problem now is that we like it too much to use it a shed base and keep toying with the idea of using it as a patio and putting the shed further back. It doesn't get a lot of sun and is next to the compost bin but is nearer than other points to our door. What do you think?
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