i havent heard of boiling rhubarb leaves and using liquid for spraying plants as i have noticed loads of white fly on my swede and broccolli its first time i have grew them so i will try it out i new about washin up water to spray veggies and flowers as it was all my dad used on his allotment
hmmmn not finding enough info here on how to deal with aphids - The BBC's advice about chemicals, there is no comment about which is better on plants that you will be eating or how much to spray or for how long? in otherwords its entirely unhelpful. Of course i can go into the shops and spend all afternoon reading the backs of bottles of chemical sprays but i really expected to find more actual practical 'how to' information on the BBC website. i am very disappointed
I've just found a massive infestation on my runner beans! A cheap trick I know, which works a treat, is washing up liquid (soap) & water. You only need a little soap, then spray directly on them. It is a little time consuming, but does kill a whole load in one go. Just make sure you check and repeat a few times to ge the lot, otherwise you'll find them back in no time! I'm not sure what the effect is on other insects, but I do try not to spray anything other than the aphids.
hello again, well I tried the soap solution against the blackfly and it seemed to help - coupled with my daily routine of searching the rose buds and squashing any errant bugs, they appear to be on the wane - thank goodness - thanks for the tip!
I think I've found the solution to blackfly on runner beans - do nothing about it. The plants get swamped with blackfly and this definately inhibits growth - effectivelt knocking them back a month. Then the ladybirds arrive, quickly followed by their grubs (I've counted 20 on one plant). The blackfly dissapear, the plants recover and I get a great crop. I've been experimenting with tying bundles of bamboo sticks within the plants to provide a nesting place for the ladybirds. At the end of the season these go into the greenhouse, and I tie them back onto the canes at the start of the next year. I have no idea whether this has any effect - but I certainly get loads of ladybirds. Sadly this doesn't seem to work on broad beans - the blackfly seem to win this battle. Adam
I am trying my hand at growing Broad Beans in my new pollytunel, they are doing very well I have to say, but have noticed on some of the leaves a hole, like something has had a chew. I can't see any insect or anything else around the plants. Does anyone know what it might be and how to treat it. Many thanks all.
You haven't mention Whitefly above which affects my greenhouse tomatoes and all allotment Brassica. Tried many solutions in the past but am now to try Nematodes.These apparently are very successful in controlling carrot root fly as well.
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Hope that helps!
The plants get swamped with blackfly and this definately inhibits growth - effectivelt knocking them back a month.
Then the ladybirds arrive, quickly followed by their grubs (I've counted 20 on one plant).
The blackfly dissapear, the plants recover and I get a great crop.
I've been experimenting with tying bundles of bamboo sticks within the plants to provide a nesting place for the ladybirds. At the end of the season these go into the greenhouse, and I tie them back onto the canes at the start of the next year. I have no idea whether this has any effect - but I certainly get loads of ladybirds.
Sadly this doesn't seem to work on broad beans - the blackfly seem to win this battle.
Adam
I grow nasturtiums specifically for luring blackfly away from my other plants; not sure how lured they'd be away from broad beans though
I am going to try a shotgun this year after several failed attempts at control last year..
If i am right, what are the chances of the arsenic being absorbed into the produce????
TDP