As a follow on to the organic gardening, could you let us know how you use natural control of pest and disease of your garden plants
French marigold to control whitefly in the greenhouse
Feed the birds all year round and while they are waiting their turn at the feeder they clear insects from your flowers (it is advisable to clean below the feeders regularly as uneaten seed can encourage vermin)
If you have clubroot in your garden it is still possible to grow brassica, use cover, cloch etc. to warm up the soil and get the plants in early so that the roots establish before the fungus starts moving about June (though this date could be getting earlier now)
The best thing I've done for pest control is planting flowers which attract predatory insects all over the garden. Dill, coriander, fennel, alyssum, gem marigolds, yarrow, cosmos, poached egg plants, phacelia... Now every year we get ladybirds, hoverflies and parasitic wasps visiting the greenhouse to control aphids. Gem marigolds and alyssum are my favourites because they are easy to grow and flower all summer.
More listed here -
https://tomclothier.hort.net/page44.html
i didn’t know where to post this so I thought natural control was a good home. Here is a screen shot of a video that I couldn’t download off Instagram but if any members are on they should look up this guy and see the video it shows a snake stalking and grabbing a snail. It’s called an Aplopeltura Boa.
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(01-02-2021, 10:03 PM)Can the Man Wrote: [ -> ]i didn’t know where to post this so I thought natural control was a good home. Here is a screen shot of a video that I couldn’t download off Instagram but if any members are on they should look up this guy and see the video it shows a snake stalking and grabbing a snail. It’s called an Aplopeltura Boa.
I think we could all use one of those, Can!
I've used hamster bedding in the past to protect plants from snails and slugs - they don't like the coarse dry surface. Of course you have to replace it regularly, but it's cheap, non-toxic (I think!) and biodegradable.
I have sweet alyssum and Tagetes "Lemon Gem" to sow this year - a drift of the former will look pretty under the white rose bush, and the latter will go in pots around my tomatoes.
(15-12-2020, 11:40 PM)toomanytommytoes Wrote: [ -> ]The best thing I've done for pest control is planting flowers which attract predatory insects all over the garden. Dill, coriander, fennel, alyssum, gem marigolds, yarrow, cosmos, poached egg plants, phacelia... Now every year we get ladybirds, hoverflies and parasitic wasps visiting the greenhouse to control aphids. Gem marigolds and alyssum are my favourites because they are easy to grow and flower all summer.
Me too. I find umbellifers really attract the parasitic wasps, things like fennel, dill, and the carrot family. I also feed the birds. Never have to clean under the feeders, the pigeons scoff every dropped seed. Just last week, the wren was fosssicking among the primulas and pulled out a big green caterpillar. I had no idea there would be caterpillars about at this time of year.
I think a pond can be a big help. As well as allowing animals to get a drink, the frogs and newts that will surely come really make a difference to the slug and snail population.
We seem to have acquired a pair of thrushes and have plenty of frogs, toads and newts. They will help a bit with the slugs and nails but I think we have them because there are so many slugs and snails. I've found several pile of snail shells in the garden but only need to move a compost bag to find a good dozen more hibernating. This reminds me I need to pick up my chrysanths off the ground in the greenhouse else some will not survive the ever present slugs.
I was told that, since snails need ?calcium to grow their shells, snails are more numerous than slugs where the soil is high in calcium....so you may have more of one than the other, depending on where you live.
I don't pretend to know whether this is fact or not.
(02-02-2021, 09:47 PM)Mark_Riga Wrote: [ -> ]We seem to have acquired a pair of thrushes and have plenty of frogs, toads and newts. They will help a bit with the slugs and nails but I think we have them because there are so many slugs and snails. I've found several pile of snail shells in the garden but only need to move a compost bag to find a good dozen more hibernating. This reminds me I need to pick up my chrysanths off the ground in the greenhouse else some will not survive the ever present slugs.
Mark I hope the birds and frogs etc. Will keep the snails down, but do you know that mice also eat them
I came across this today, to get rid of mice, make an infusion with the leaves of Sambucus nigra, pour this down any mouse holes and where they feed and they will move on