Growing organically

Kirri

Just had some info sent through from my Council as I'm an allotment holder and although I'm not in a Thames Water area, they have sent some info that Thames Water have detected an increase in metaldehyde pesticide levels in the water in reservoirs, due to the increase of use of slug pellets by farmers in the wet weather. Bit worrying. People use them all over my allotment site They sent a website for info though looks aimed at commercial growers https://www.getpelletwise.co.uk

Presume this ingredient is in shop bought (not just commercial?) but not organic pellets but I've not checked.

CrashJPMorgan

Has anyone tried using soap nuts as an insect repellent?

sobie

Kirri wrote: »

Just had some info sent through from my Council as I'm an allotment holder and although I'm not in a Thames Water area, they have sent some info that Thames Water have detected an increase in metaldehyde pesticide levels in the water in reservoirs, due to the increase of use of slug pellets by farmers in the wet weather. Bit worrying. People use them all over my allotment site They sent a website for info though looks aimed at commercial growers https://www.getpelletwise.co.uk

Presume this ingredient is in shop bought (not just commercial?) but not organic pellets but I've not checked.

Yes Metaldehyde is used in the vast majority of blue slug pellets. They are coloured blue to be less attractive to wildlife, birds and pets because they are posionious.

Organic slug pellets DO NOT contain Metaldehyde most are based on ferric phosphate which break down into Iron and phosphate so actually work as a fertiliser too!

Edwardia

I bought organic slug pellets from Waitrose Garden this week. Pleased I did something right <phew> Thanks sobie.

My tap water is spring water Kirri (horribly hard though) so hopefully none of that stuff as I use it for cooking veg . Water in London has supposedly gone through seven people before you drink it :eek:

Nope never used soap nuts CrashJPMorgan sorry.

OH is tidying garden before parental inspection tomorrow and after lunch we'll be joining the masses in B&Q, Homebase etc.

Edwardia

Homebase was out of the own brand organic compost on offer so I'll have to go back another day.

Funky_Bold_Ribena

Kirri wrote: »

Weeds - from other plots with lazy owners
Raspberry bettle (I tried the hanging trap - think someone stole it..)
Pea moth - though fine netting of peas worked fairly well
Caterpillars on broccoli - just had to try and wash off not successfully garlic spray didn't work and ditto with..
Black fly on runner beans, tried washing off with hose...
Carrot fly - again under mesh and growing above 60cm improved things but still not 100%
Pigeon attacks - all brassicas have to be under netting but sadly bird got stuck in netting and died so I don't like using netting but sort of have to

Would love to learn more organic pest tips.

Has anyone been to Ryton? There used to be one in Kent too but think it got shut/taken over.

I've bought seeds from the garden organic website, cheap and quick service, can recommend. I don't have all organic seeds though, is a bit of a mix.

Weeds - top tip - dig out perennials and hoe the annuals and mulch everything
Raspberry beetle - grow autumn rasps as they grow new stems each year and thus dont get time to bed in or overwinter
pea moth - use netting as you said.
caterpillars -use chilli and garlic spray
blackfly - try and leave things like corn stalks overwinter for ladybirds to hibernate in and when they emerge, they want blackfly breakfast.
carrotfly - grow coriander near them and keep chopping it back leaving trimmings around the edges of the fleece/netting - disguises smell
pigeons - finer netting weighed down firmly. or put each under a cut off coke bottle with a cane in so that it gives the plant time to grow before the pigeons can get it.

I teach organic hort

tootallulah

Organic strawberry plants at Aldi last week Edwardia - I don't know if they will have any left I bought 64 plants to make a real strawberry bed. Most plants in Aldi aren't organic but every now and then they have a few organic plants. They were £3.99 for eight plants I am hoping to have enough strawberries for the whole season and the plants should last four or five years.

Kirri

Funky_Bold_Ribena wrote: »

Weeds - top tip - dig out perennials and hoe the annuals and mulch everything
Raspberry beetle - grow autumn rasps as they grow new stems each year and thus dont get time to bed in or overwinter
pea moth - use netting as you said.
caterpillars -use chilli and garlic spray
blackfly - try and leave things like corn stalks overwinter for ladybirds to hibernate in and when they emerge, they want blackfly breakfast.
carrotfly - grow coriander near them and keep chopping it back leaving trimmings around the edges of the fleece/netting - disguises smell
pigeons - finer netting weighed down firmly. or put each under a cut off coke bottle with a cane in so that it gives the plant time to grow before the pigeons can get it.

I teach organic hort

Ah you're good to have around here then ^

Yep do all that with the weeds - my neighbouring plots are awful though - thistle, nettles, all sorts blowing across, it's like a permanent job on it's own, also having to cut down around the edges constantly to keep it off my plot as they don't bother... (oh to have a garden!).

Got autumn raspberries as well as summer and didn't seem any difference in the amount of raspberry beetle - maybe if I switched to all autumn though? I thought they overwintered regardless in the ground, is that not so then? Also I read about using a hoe around the plants in winter but that's nigh on impossible with the way the roots grow so close to the surface.

Didn't think of leaving the corn stalks for the ladybirds to hibernate in, I get a LOT of ladybirds on the plot at least. Due to the weather it's the first winter I've not cleared the plot but typically the corn was one of the things I did take down...

Oh that's another thing, pests in the sweetcorn too mainly using the cob as a breeding place, no damage to cobs as such.

Can't remember if I've tried coriander near the carrots, I did without reading about it leave some oregano cuttings around to see if that had an effect..

Tried the bottles - pigeons still seem to go for well established plants, they've been after my sprouting broccoli & sprouts even which have been in for ages.

Any idea how the organic commercial growers do it? Their stuff still seems fairly perfect? Apart from polytunnels which I guess helps but a lot of stuff is still outside ??

Funky_Bold_Ribena

If your lottie neighbours are causing issues, then ask the people who run the plots when they are getting kicked off. It's usually part of the deal to keep weeds down.

Professionals use nematodes, a variety of organic methods of prevention and plenty of cover! And probably F1 seeds grown organically...and have staff who can look after things every day - and have heating.

I never plant a brassica without cover - which means I choose my brassicas carefully as life is too short! I stick to cabbages, kohl rabis and stuff where you don't eat the flowers...and if I do chance others I keep the garlic and hot chilli spray at the ready. Just target the caterpillars at first sight and target them directly.

The main thing though is to make sure that you encourage predators to control the pest population. Lots of habitats and breeding grounds - I find that ladybirds also congregate in the bottom of globe artichoke flowers so I harvest them carefully, and leave them in a corner to overwinter in.

And select varieties that are disease or pest resistant when you can.

And plant things in batches not in bulk - so rasps for example - if they are all together then it lets pests congregate and breed - whereas if you spread them around you can often hedge your bets. And do hoe the ground so that any larvae can be picked out by birds.

And space things out to let air to them and let the predators find their food. For example - my gooseberries are grown in a globe and pruned this way religiously and I have only ever found 2 sawfly larvae and I picked them off and destroyed them - I've never had an issue with them being stripped.

And save your own seeds; for example things that survive a bad year [like this winter just gone or last summer] should be used for seed as they will be more resilient than things you had to molycoddle.

And learn what good and bad bugs and larvae look like so that you don't kill goodies - for example ladybird larvae are fundamental to my pest management plan and alot of gardeners don't even know what they look like and kill them as they look odd - but they eat hundreds of aphids if not thousands a day.

Kirri

Unfortunately my Council take a less than interested approach in the allotments, I do report things and we have a good site rep as well but it's rare anyone gets kicked off despite some people growing 7ft nettle 'hedges'.. :mad: they have rules but no one to enforce them..

Have looked at but never tried nematodes.. the rest is bit beyond my reach!

I am quite careful with my unusual looking ladybird larvae Get a lot of them on my mint, not sure why as that doesn't seem to suffer with aphids.

There's nothing organic spray wise for the raspberries is there? They have been spread out now in 3 areas from original planting position, was slightly better last year but maybe just because they were moved. I'm still put off eating them though due to accidentally eating one they were in before, urgh the taste :eek: