Ladybirds to the Rescue
Last summer was very dry...so far this year we have only received around 125mm not nearly half our yearly average of around 360mm...and it's nearly November!
Needless to say most of the perennial plants here are rather stressed!
Some of the fruit trees are under attack from a black aphid and I was tempted to spray with something...I did. 
I sprayed them all with a diluted liquid seaweed mixture. That should help the trees build up their immune systems.
As for the Aphids....
The Ladybirds have arrived this week to sort them out!
Along with these tiny wasps I think they will have the place clear by the weekend judging by how many there are out in the garden.
Thank you my garden helpers
By the looks of this there could be a few new ones arriving soon!
Another hint from Grammy is that Nasturtiums will attract aphids away from wanted crops to allow for a soap spray to be used!I'll remember that for later in the season when the Nasturtiums are flowering!
Thanks Grammy!
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6 comments:
This is a bad year for black aphids, I think. Our peach-ricot (we think) tree is coated on one side (its a grafted tree). It's so bad we've considered trying to buy ladybugs somewhere!
If it is an old tree (large) it could be best just to leave it...hose them off on your watering day if you can reach them.
If it's a young tree hosing again or spraying with some soapy water might help.
Just keep on the lookout for ladybirds though or you might spray them too!
Check out the post called "Do I Spray?"
Hello,
You've got a great blog - lots of fun checking it out. I was wondering whether you'd be interested in including it in our gardening website, The Grow Spot (www.thegrowspot.com) in our "Gardening Around the Web" section? You would receive all writing credit as well as multiple links back to your site. We would only include however much you approve in your RSS feed. You can email me by clicking "contact" on our website if this sounds good to you.
Thanks!
-lspichkin
Yes, I've used nasturtiums too as a sacrifice plant. The blackfly seem to prefer them. Beware though, the nasturtium seeds are prolific, they self seed and you will never get rid of them.
Thanks for asking Ispichkin I've emailed you about that!
Oh Matron
I would love to have too many Nasturtiums but they need too much water here! They only grow when I water them and I welcome any volunteers that want to pop up!
But thanks for the warning to others.
Thanks for the tip :) The poor half of the tree that's infested isn't fruiting at all. So sad :( But the other half is doing beautifully. The upside is that with all the aphids on the peach-ricot, they're ignoring the veggie patch!
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