easy boost for tomatoes, capsicums.....

1 tsp Epsom salt in 4 Cups warm water…spray on plant and then again 10 days later. Produces more fruit due to boost of magnesium… especially for tomatoes, peppers and roses.
I haven't tried it, but makes sense. 

White flies on beans

The Stuttgart giant beans are growing wonderfully up the trellis on the fence. But the white flies have come out in force, sucking on the underleaf, resulting in damage to the leaf such as yellow mottling,  and some will wilt and drop off. They lay eggs on the underside of leaves which hatch in 8 days. The whitefly population suck the sap, and also excrete 'honeydew' which can cause problems with black sooty mould. They can also carry other diseases from plant to plant. Eventually they form a black pupa that looks like a small speck under the leaves. The white fly rapidly multiply - most species can complete a full life cycle in 20-30 days, and even faster in summer. Each adult female may lay 200 eggs, which only increases in warm weather.


So, it's not a pest that can co-exist happily in garden taking only its fair share. It's a pest that needs to be eliminated early in the season.

There are some organic solutions:

The parasitic wasp Encarsia formosa is a biological control. Probably not so effective outside but can be obtained commercially in SA through Biological Services, PO Box 501, Loxton, SA 5333 Ph 08 8584 6977. It kills whitefly nymphs in one of two ways: they either lay an egg inside the nymph, providing food for their young, or they kill the nymph right away and feed on it. Once the whitefly nymphs are parasitised they turn black and no longer feed.

Other predators often present in the garden are spiders, ladybird larvae, lacewings, hoverflies and damsel bugs. Some of these are also available from commercial distributors.

There's also the good old sticky yellow strips. They can simply be hung near the beans (or other plants vulnerable to white flies), or I've found it effective to go out in the morning when the white flies are less active and manually place the sticky yellow strip on the underside of each leaf so the white flies get stuck on the yellow strip. As the white flies travel in 'packs', it's easy to get a whole lot in one morning swoop. Kind of satisfying in its own way! Whiteflies are strongly attracted to the colour yellow, so don't wear yellow clothing around whiteflies or you may carry them from plant to plant.

I've also read that vacuuming in the early morning when whiteflies are cold and slow-moving with a small hand-held battery operated vacuum is useful for the adults before a great deal of egg-laying is done. After vacuuming enclose the section of the machine containing the bag with plastic and put in the freezer for 24 hours. I might investigate a dust buster or similar to have on hand in the garden!

Good old companion plants can also be effective. Nasturtium in addition to lovely flowers and leaves that can be used in salads in summer can also help to repel the pest.

For maintaining the plants, handpick older leaves to remove young whitefly stages and dispose in the rubbish bin or green waste.

Fertilizers can also be an issue. Fertilizers rich in nitrogen including manures, will cause lovely green growth which will attract more whiteflies. Check the phosphorus and magnesium levels in your soil, as deficiencies in these are believed to contribute to whitefly infestations.

You can also try a high pressure hosing under the leaves in the early morning, 3 days in a row, but in my experience they simply fly away and happily land elsewhere until its safe to return.

Some suggest that whitefly is a modern pest, created by the over-use of pesticides that have killed off its natural enemies. One study has even demonstrated an increased whitefly reproductive capacity when sprayed with certain insecticides! So avoid synthetic insecticides.

Here's some ideas for more organic approaches:

• Insecticidal soap sprays such as Natrasoap are a good choice of control for the home gardener; spray every 2-3 days for 2 weeks.
• Spray Eco-Oil or try making your own oil spray by mixing 1 tablespoon dishwashing liquid detergent with 1 cup of cooking oil; add 1 to 2.5 teaspoons of this solution to 1 cup of water, spray onto plants every 10 days.
• Botanical insecticides such as pyrethrum plus garlic are useful. Research undertaken in NZ on neem’s effectiveness for whitefly found that it had a major impact by preventing the 'nymph' stage from developing into an adult; the nymphs tend to disappear from the treated plants.

(Source: http://www.greenharvest.com.au/PestControlOrganic/Information/WhiteflyControl.html)

herbs & plants on the fence

pots on the fence with herbs & bok choy

In summer the heat in Adelaide can be extreme. Things like Bok Choy and coriander go straight to seed. This summer I've had pots growing on the side fence on the south of the house, so they get the morning sun but protected from the sun in the afternoon. It's enough to keep the plants happy and thriving. I keep them in self watering pots so they don't dry out in the heat. And strangely, the white cabbage moth which destroys Bok Choy in the garden, hasn't discovered the plants perched on the fence and they're growing wonderfully well.

Zucchini Trombonica

Zucchini trombonica

This has to be one of my favourite summer plants. The texture is like a pumpkin (trombone) but the fruit grows like a zucchini in length. Actually, the longer it's on the vine, the longer the fruit grows. Long and skinny. It's a fabulous plant and delicious steamed or in stir fries. I bought the seeds from Diggers. Not sure how the seeds set as there's no internal cavity like pumpkins for seed production, so have been somewhat thwarted in my seed saving for this plant! Apparently the process is to allow a single fruit to grow full size & become hard. This will take about two months after the flowering stage when the plant will be focussed on seed production. Store the fruit after picking to further mature the seeds. Then scoop out seeds, wash, dry for 2 weeks. My plant was still growing and producing fruit in June last year and none of them had any seeds inside. I'll try again this year!

yellow sticky traps

yellow sticky trap - time to replace this one!

White flies - a curse in the garden. I've had great success with the yellow sticky traps hanging in the garden. The white flies were decimating my beans and now they're strong and vigorous. I had hoped it might do the same around the spider mite etc attacking the tomato plants. Trapped lots of flies and an occasional 'good bug' like a ladybird but didn't deter the spider mite wreaking havoc on the tomatoes. I love the simplicity of the yellow sticky traps in an organic garden. I have pre-prepared ones I bought from Bunnings but sent away to Green Harvest to buy the glue to make my own as well as yellow sticky tape etc. (Heynes in Adelaide stock the products too I found out later). Going to get serious today on the ants 'attending' thrip etc (they love the 'honeydew' produced so they protect the colonies of bugs and deter natural predators for thrip). Come on ants, fair's fair!

Tomato plants - brown leaves

Desperate measures on the cherry tomatoes!

I've cut down the cherry tomatoes today to the base. There are new shoots hopefully trying to grow from the base. Red spider mite or something else has played havoc with the tomato plants. I've also used some of the 'old' cherry tomatoes to put back into the soil, knowing that tomatoes are tenacious at growing given half a chance. Still plenty of summer left to grow more plants.

Cucumber - yellow spots on leaves

Cucumber leaves - yellow blotches

January 2012 - Lebanese cucumbers growing really well but the leaves have yellow spots that take over. Apparently this is caused by the bacteria Pseudomonas syringae and is common on cucumbers.
The bacteria lives on plant debris so it's important to keep the area clear of old leaves etc. The bacteria stays in the soil, so rotating the cucumbers to another bed next summer may be an option.
Sadly, there isn't any way to get rid of it once it has made itself at home. As with marrows and cucumbers, it's important to keep the leaves dry to halt the onset of any diseases so watering early in the morning is important. Likewise, only pick the fruit when plants are dry to slow down the spread of the disease.
Interestingly, the harvest is the best I've had in recent years from cucumber plants, so I'm not despairing!