May Update: What are you growing in 2006? (Tips here for Fruit, Veggies and Flowers!)

annie-c

Thanks Strepsy - I am growing some basil as well so will try popping some around the base of the tomato pots.

tw0906blue

I am new to this too, but I do know that woodlice burrow into roots and don't eat leaves so can't say what will be nibbling the tomato leaves. I have bought myself - from a shopbot steer of course - a book called "Allotment Gardening" by Susan Berger. It is an organic guide and I am following the advice from there. Plus What I know already from my mum and what I have gleened from Gardeners world etc.

I have sown seeds of Californian Poppy which the book says is a good aphid repellant.I am going to buy some French Marigolds for the tomatoes. Nasturtiums are grown to attract blackfly from beans. So I will get some of those too. The book says "in order not to lose the nasturtiums a row of marigolds should be planted along side to attract hoverflies to devour aphids". It says nothing about Basil having any qualities against bugs.

The book says that tomatoes suffer attack from aphids, spider mite and tomato blight. So maybe you have spider mite, or it may be something that is stuck in your green house which is eating out of desperation!

I have earthed up the potaoes. Thanks for the info on here. :beer:

OH planted out the runner beans today. We splashed out on some gardening fleece, 79p meter, and will keep an eye on the frost alerts.

Happy gardening everyone.

:T

tw0906blue

annie-c wrote:

This may be a stupid question but is there anything you can spray on plants/bugs that isn't chemical?

My tomatoes are getting stronger every day but some of the leaves look rather nibbled. i've taken the trouble to buy organic compost and peat, so don't want to start using non-organic methids now, but what else can I do?

Would be really grateful for advice!

Annie

Hi Annie, sorry forgot you asked this. :rolleyes:

I have heard that soapy water does the trick. If you buy an eco one like ecover and dilute then spray on it gets rid of bugs from leaves. Using an eco one, keeps your crop organic, as much as possible anyway.

I have saved the empty bottle from Mr Muscle window cleaner and am going to use this as a sprey.

Hope this helps anyway.

Strepsy

Found this link for companion planting which seems quite good. There is lots more out there if you just google 'companion planting' but I think this seems very helpful. http://www.gardentoad.com/companionplants.html

GreenFingers_2

I see there are a few questions about Creepy Crawleys – here’s some general tips that may be of use….

Wood Louse (Oniscus asellus)
These pose no real harm to your veggie plants....hooray...:D In fact they are very beneficial in many ways as they are great Re-Cyclers. They feed on dead vegetable matter and help to break it down but they also eat soft green material. The reasons they are found under pots and grow bags and so on are because it’s really cool and damp and it’s the conditions they have to live in…how wonderful. I would suggest sweeping them up out of the greenhouse and putting them in a cool part of the garden border.

Earwigs (Forficula auricularia)
In the insect world earwigs are wonderful mothers.... She is one of the very few insects to lay her eggs and then look after the young once hatched…how wonderful is that…. Lol. It must be said they are vegetarian and have a fondness for Dahlias – really…hee hee. They pose no harm to your veggie plants at all… perhaps having a little nibble here or there – you will not lose your crop of veggies. The maxim here is ‘Live and Let Live’ – hooray…

Green Fly and Black Fly aka Aphids (Aphis fabae)
These are the bad guys... :rolleyes: but if you let Nature help you to look after your garden then you should also have lots of Ladybirds and Hover Flies about too – these will make short work of the bad guys.... However if your plants are being devastated by aphids then a good solution is to put a little washing up liquid in a spray bottle, top up with water and spray the little blighters who are munching your tomato plants, beans, roses and so on.

bluemoon_3

Aw, GreenFingers, I wish I could use the thanks button for your post - but alas it isn't there!

I have to admit to being rather fond of woodlice - we call them baby armadillos.

Lulubells

Thanks very much Greenfingers, thats a great help.

Funnily enough Bluemoon when I was going to describe the woodlice I was going say they looked like mini armadillos- but I thought someone may think I was mad !!.

MORPH3US

My iceberg lettuces are quite tall (about an inch or more) but are really really floppy and virtually lying on the soil. Is this ok, should I just leave them or do I need to prop them up some how?

They are so delicate I don't know how I could prop them up!

M

GreenFingers_2

The first Tree Paeony flower has opened – isn’t she beautiful… hooray… The flower is about 8 inches in diameter and wonderfully blousy….

beer2006

Morph, I've had this before, either under or overwatering I think is to blame, unless you have just put them outside, in which case it always happens to me. I'd leave them well alone, mine always pick up.