Most of the plants are in john innes number three, but had planted acid loving plants with a mix of ji and eracious mpc. Anyway in london gardens, i guess one can never be free of pests as they will move across gardens so easily.
Last night i went out with torch but didnt find any vine evils, nearly slipped on a fat slug though! Anyway i wont giveup. waiting for nematodes delivery.
Lantana, yes those marks are from leafminers. They ruined my zinnia plants. I stripped of all affected leaves and waited. My plants are back in life but far behind in progress. I started gardening last year and never estimated the time i will spend on war against pests.
Newb, if you do all you can to encourage wildlife in your garden they will do a lot to help your fight against pests. Feed the birds and they will eat your aphids, caterpillars and over-wintering larvae & pupae; think before spraying against pests - sometimes it's worth hanging on a few days to see if the natural predators (lacewing, ladybird & hoverfly larvae, as well as birds) will do the job for you.
When we moved here 10 years ago there was nothing in the garden except couch grass, brambles, bindweed and japanese knotweed (yikes!). I sprayed with weedkiller initially, because there was no alternative for the knotweed, but haven't used any chemicals for the past 8 years. I've never used insecticides. This Spring there were 5 bee species visiting the garden.
If all your plants are in pots it's much more difficult to keep them happy, of course - and the vine weevil grubs are a particular problem. If your garden is soil, you can feed the soil with plenty of organic matter and this helps to keep the right balance of soil organisms, bacteria etc to make your plants grow strongly. A strong plant can often "grow out" of an insect attack. You may get a few damaged leaves, but nothing in life is perfect...
PS Loved "vine evils" in your 2nd paragraph...
Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
I find that a finger and thumb, a pair if old scissors and a boot will deal with most pests. If a leaf or twig is really badly infested with something, I cut it off. The only things I spray are ant farms.
I have a current garden in soil and a future garden in pots as there is chance iwould move house next year.
Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I will keep pestisides and chemicals to minimum. So far i havent used much as i hadnt budgeted for those. My garden money runs out every month on plants and composts.
Good that joined this forum and learning so much Though i admit it was gos that made me laugh so much and encouraged to join ?
Posts
No that's leaf miners.
Vineweevil grubs look like maggots with brown heads. The adults are greyish brown almost triangular with 'antennae' at the front
If you google "vine weevil" you'll get lots of pictures to help with ID.
The adults pop when you tread on them...
...sorry...
Most of the plants are in john innes number three, but had planted acid loving plants with a mix of ji and eracious mpc. Anyway in london gardens, i guess one can never be free of pests as they will move across gardens so easily.
Last night i went out with torch but didnt find any vine evils, nearly slipped on a fat slug though! Anyway i wont giveup. waiting for nematodes delivery.
Lantana, yes those marks are from leafminers. They ruined my zinnia plants. I stripped of all affected leaves and waited. My plants are back in life but far behind in progress. I started gardening last year and never estimated the time i will spend on war against pests.
Newb, if you do all you can to encourage wildlife in your garden they will do a lot to help your fight against pests. Feed the birds and they will eat your aphids, caterpillars and over-wintering larvae & pupae; think before spraying against pests - sometimes it's worth hanging on a few days to see if the natural predators (lacewing, ladybird & hoverfly larvae, as well as birds) will do the job for you.
When we moved here 10 years ago there was nothing in the garden except couch grass, brambles, bindweed and japanese knotweed (yikes!). I sprayed with weedkiller initially, because there was no alternative for the knotweed, but haven't used any chemicals for the past 8 years. I've never used insecticides. This Spring there were 5 bee species visiting the garden.
If all your plants are in pots it's much more difficult to keep them happy, of course - and the vine weevil grubs are a particular problem. If your garden is soil, you can feed the soil with plenty of organic matter and this helps to keep the right balance of soil organisms, bacteria etc to make your plants grow strongly. A strong plant can often "grow out" of an insect attack. You may get a few damaged leaves, but nothing in life is perfect...
PS Loved "vine evils" in your 2nd paragraph...
I find that a finger and thumb, a pair if old scissors and a boot will deal with most pests. If a leaf or twig is really badly infested with something, I cut it off. The only things I spray are ant farms.
I have a current garden in soil and a future garden in pots as there is chance iwould move house next year.
Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I will keep pestisides and chemicals to minimum. So far i havent used much as i hadnt budgeted for those. My garden money runs out every month on plants and composts.
Good that joined this forum and learning so much Though i admit it was gos that made me laugh so much and encouraged to join ?
yes vine evils, i will hunt them ?