Autumn is near and the hot days have certainly increased life in the garden.
Flowers are still banking on pollinators to do their job; they are numerous right now: flies, hover flies, beetles, thrips and mites; of course our native bees are still around as well.
But the invertebrates that cause troubles in the garden and vegetable plots are also on the peak of their numbers; after all they, too, had a warm breeding season and many many offspring.
The greenhouse thrips is one of those critters that loves to feed on the leaves of vegetables and ornamentals: beans, apples, Rhododendrons, Azalea, lilly-pilly, the list is endless.
Best way to identify them is by distinct silvering of the leaves (especially the upper side) with a smattering of brown, often sticky poos on the underside. The plant will usually show the symptoms of severe stress, which makes sense as the photosynthesis is hampered: Thrips suck the cells dry (causing that silvering) and deposit the poo on the underside of the leaves.
The insects look like miniature crocodiles under the microscope.
Frequent neem oil sprays reduce their numbers; Mavrik and a range of other insecticides seem to do the job as well. Do the control now, before too many eggs and juveniles commence their overwintering phase!
Last week we mentioned powdery mildew and that grey, mouldy fungus on plants. Regular sprays (fungicides) were suggested as a suppressing control. But the yellow-and-black ladybirds that live on the infected plants need some control as well!
Contrary to what most gardeners think (that ladybirds are “beneficial” as consumers of pest insects), these Ozzie chappies are Gardeners! They literally spread the spores of mildew round on the leaves, creating the fungal gardens on which they thrive – they literally eat “mushrooms”!
If your apple crop was destroyed by codling moth (Madex 2 or Madex 3 is the preventative spray to use after flowering!!!) the apples will fall on the ground with heaps of caterpillars coming out of their snackbar and looking for a place to pupate in or near the soil.
My best advice is to remove those apples and put them in the food recycling bin for disposal; (DON’T put them in your compost bin as the pupae (chrysalises) will survive the winter and happily continue the codling moth damage next spring).
LISTEN ABOVE
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Ruthie's Table 4
For more than 30 years The River Cafe in London, has been the home-from-home of artists, architects, designers, actors, collectors, writers, activists, and politicians. Michael Caine, Glenn Close, JJ Abrams, Steve McQueen, Victoria and David Beckham, and Lily Allen, are just some of the people who love to call The River Cafe home. On River Cafe Table 4, Rogers sits down with her customers—who have become friends—to talk about food memories. Table 4 explores how food impacts every aspect of our lives. “Foods is politics, food is cultural, food is how you express love, food is about your heritage, it defines who you and who you want to be,” says Rogers. Each week, Rogers invites her guest to reminisce about family suppers and first dates, what they cook, how they eat when performing, the restaurants they choose, and what food they seek when they need comfort. And to punctuate each episode of Table 4, guests such as Ralph Fiennes, Emily Blunt, and Alfonso Cuarón, read their favourite recipe from one of the best-selling River Cafe cookbooks. Table 4 itself, is situated near The River Cafe’s open kitchen, close to the bright pink wood-fired oven and next to the glossy yellow pass, where Ruthie oversees the restaurant. You are invited to take a seat at this intimate table and join the conversation. For more information, recipes, and ingredients, go to https://shoptherivercafe.co.uk/ Web: https://rivercafe.co.uk/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/therivercafelondon/ Facebook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/therivercafelondon/ For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iheartradio app, apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.