Monday, December 30. 2019Thwarting insects and plant diseases
It's long been known that roses grown next to tomatoes are less likely to fall victim to black spot. Make a fungicide by snipping tomato leaves from a plant and processing them in a blender with a little water; use enough leaves to make 2 cups (500ml) slurry. Combine with 1.5 litres water and 2 tablespoons cornflour and mix well. Store the solution in the fridge, marking it clearly with a warning label. Spray your rosebushes once a week with the fungicide.
Spray cabbage and other vegetables that are targeted by caterpillars with onion juice and watch them take a detour. To make a spray, peel 2 medium-sized onions, grate them into a large bowl and add 4 litres water. Let the mixture sit overnight, then strain it into a spray bottle. To make the plants smelly enough to repel the pests, you may need to spray the leaves twice.
To keep cutworms and other crawling pests from reaching newly planted seedlings, use soup cans as barriers. Cut the top and bottom out of a can, wash it well, then place it over a seedling. Twist it until the bottom is 5cm underground and your tender seedlings will gain protection from all directions. Paper cups with the base cut off can be used in the same way.
Keep powdery mildew, black spot and other fungal diseases from infecting your fruit trees, vegetables, gardenias, roses, etc., with a bicarbonate of soda solution. In a large spray bottle, combine 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda, 1 teaspoon washing-up liquid and 1 litre warm water. Shake well and spray plant leaves and stems on both sides to discourage fungal diseases from taking hold. Monday, December 30. 2019The pleasure of the patio
When repotting patio plants, sterilize flowerpots and planters to keep your precious newly purchased plants from succumbing to fusarium wilt or leaf curl. First plug the drainage holes with clay or putty. Then scrub off any caked debris with a scrubbing brush or toothbrush. Rinse the pots and fill with a solution of 1 part household bleach to 4 parts water. Let it stand for 2-3 hours. Discard the bleach in the laundry sink (not the garden), rinse the pots with fresh water and let them air-dry.
Camellias grown in containers are particularly sensitive to the cold because of their shallow roots. When winter comes, wrap the camellia pot with thick plastic bubble wrap or several sheets of newspaper and secure the wrap with gaffer tape. Turn the pot so that the tape is out of the sight line of visitors.
Instead of putting rocks or pot shards in the bottom of a patio planter, fill the bottom quarter with the polystyrene pellets used for packing. What do they have over rocks? They make the planters lighter and allow you to use less potting soil.
When heavy rain is forecast and you don't have enough indoor space to bring your patio or garden tables and chairs inside, cover them with plastic dry-cleaning bags.
If you have a concrete patio and metal furniture is leaving rust stains, try pouring full-strength white vinegar on the stains, top the puddle with a little bicarbonate of soda and leave it for about 10 minutes before wiping it off with an absorbent cloth. Older rust stains may need two or three more applications before they disappear.
Finally, here is a use for the wicker basket you have had stuck in the back of the cupboard for years. First use varnish to weatherproof the basket, then line the inside with a plastic garbage bag with a few drainage holes poked in it. Dig up four or five of the plants in your flowerbed, transfer them to the basket and you've made a hanging planter for the patio.
To stop mosquitoes and other insect larvae from breeding in birdbaths or water features, put a few drops of vegetable oil on top of the water. The oil spreads to form a film over the surface, ensuring that mosquito larvae won't be able to breathe through the water's surface. Renew the oil every week throughout summer.
Steep a few pennyroyal or fleabane leaves in hot water and let them sit for 4-6 minutes. Strain the solution into a spray bottle and spray onto patio plants to repel mosquitoes. Or do the same with some garlic cloves. Simmer about 8-10 peeled garlic cloves in 2 cups (500ml) cooking oil for about an hour. Cool, strain into a spray bottle, then you're right to spray away. Credit: Reader's Digest Picture Credit: Google Monday, December 30. 2019Successful strategies for insect pests
The larvae of these moths attack fruit such as apples and pears, but you can make sure that codling moths never lay eggs by luring them with fake apples — red Christmas tree balls hung in fruit trees. Start by threading a 30-cm loop of string through the ball holder, and then knot it two or three times. Spray the 'apples' on all sides with an adhesive insect spray and hang three or four on fruit-tree branches. The codling moths will home in on the red targets and get stuck.
Wasps follow their noses to sugar, so set them a sweet trap. Slice 7cm off the top of a large plastic soft-drink bottle and set it aside. Create a hanger by poking holes on either side of the bottom of the bottle, near the top. Thread 45-60cm string through the holes and triple-knot the ends. Place the cut-off piece with the neck attached into the bottle upside down to form a funnel and tape it tightly. Pour sugar water into the bottle (use 4 parts water to 1 part sugar, dissolved) and hang your contraption on the branch of a tree that is frequented by wasps. Wasps trying to reach the liquid will be unable to escape from the bottle and then drown.
We love herbs and spices, but most garden pests find them unpalatable or even lethal. Sprinkle any of the following around your plants and watch leaf-hungry pests go elsewhere to dine.
The active ingredient in aspirin, salicylic acid, is produced by plants as a natural protection — and that works to the gardener's advantage. Experiments have shown that plants watered with a weak aspirin-and-water solution not only repel aphids and other sucking insects, but also promote strong plant growth. To make a systemic solution, fill a bucket with 20 litres water and drop in 3 aspirin tablets. Stir until the tablets dissolve. Water plants as usual with the solution or pour it into a spray bottle to spray the plants' leaves and stems on all sides. Thereafter, apply the aspirin water every two weeks.
If whiteflies, mealy bugs or other insect pests are attacking houseplants, then consider instituting death-by-mothball. Put an affected plant (pot, saucer and all) into a clear plastic dry-cleaning bag. Water the plant and drop 5-6 mothballs into the plastic bag. Next, tie the bag closed with a twist tie, then move the bagged plant to a bright, though not directly sunlit, spot. Let it sit for a week before taking the plant from the bag and returning it to its usual place. If necessary, repeat the treatment until all of the pests have given up the ghost.
Paint milk cartons red, orange or yellow, coat with petroleum jelly or an adhesive insect spray, then put them at 4-m intervals in the garden. Flying insects will fly into them and get stuck. To kill aphids in particular, forgo the petroleum jelly and simply fill yellow container three-quarters full of water. The little green insects will zip straight to the container and end up in a watery grave.
Toads are among the most insect-hungry garden visitors. Attract them by placing a broken flowerpot or two in a shady spot, and then sink a dish filled with water and rocks into the soil so that any visiting toads will stick around.
You can prevent squash vine borers from attacking zucchini and pumpkins even before you seed these plants. Soak the seeds in kerosene overnight. The seedlings and mature plants will be able to repel borers — but the kerosene won't infiltrate or affect the fruits.
Earwigs are extremely partial to clematis, chrysanthemums, dahlias and gladiolus — so how do you give the hungry little creatures the brush-off? Not with a broom but with oil, an earwig favourite. Pour a pool of vegetable oil onto a saucer, leave it on the ground among your flowers and the earwigs will crawl into the saucer and drown.
Keep mosquitoes from dive-bombing you as you work in the garden by tucking a few fabric-softener sheets into your clothing, or wipe the sheet directly onto your skin. Another great idea is to dab a little vanilla extract onto your pulse points and around your neck — it might be attractive to humans, but it will drive away the mosquitoes! Or, if you're eating outdoors, put small bowls of water, with a squirt of lemon-scented detergent in them, nearby. Credit: Reader's Digest Picture Credit: Google |
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