Make the most of summer sun

MWstakeplants STAKE your plants to protect against strong winds.

Happy New Year to you all. The holiday period has been a real treat this year, with brilliant fine and settled weather until the end of last week! The good weather has been great for allowing time outdoors in the garden. Plant growth has been good. This is particularly noticeable in the vegetable garden where you can see the plants grow considerably each day and of course, most alarmingly, how much bigger those weeds have become!
It has been a fantastic time of harvesting the fruits of one's labour with tomatoes, capsicums, beans, courgettes, cucumbers, lettuce, broccoli and more, coming out of my vegetable garden over the past few weeks. As well as strawberries, raspberries and the absolutely brilliant berry delight. The billington plums are just starting to ripen now though the birds are getting keen and checking them out also!
We must be wary of humid weather. This creates problems of its own in the form of mildew and incidence of blight. My cucumbers have been showing signs of mildew, the removal of infected leaves and spraying with Watkins Fungus & Mildew Spray has helped to limit the spread of this disease, and using Mavrik when spraying my tomatoes is controlling whitefly and aphids.
Unsettled weather shows up the strengths and weaknesses in a garden. Strong winds, such as those at the end of the last week cause havoc in the garden, taking out taller shoots on standard roses sporting flowers, and other taller flowering plants such as delphiniums can suffer easily. This is a reminder that staking plants as protection from wind rather than later as an effort to save the plants is always a better strategy.
Read this if you are growing tomatoes, potatoes or tamarillos.
If you are not aware of the potato/ tomato psyllid then read the info below with extracts from Plant & Food Research. Further information can be gained from www.biosecurity.govt.nz/pests/potato-tomato-psyllid or come and talk to us in the garden centre.
The relatively new pest, Potato/ Tomato Psyllid, is prevalent in Wanganui and if left untreated can devastate your crop. It can be easily treated with the bee-friendly Yates Mavrik or Yates Success Ultra.
In potatoes the tops grow great with little or no indication of a problem but when lifted only marble sized potatoes were found. The potato/tomato psyllid releases a toxin while sucking on the stems and leaves of potatoes and tomatoes preventing the spuds or fruit to develop and you end up with small useless fruit or spuds. Spray with Yates Mavrik or Yates Success Ultra for successful control
Psyllids feed like aphids. They suck the sap and excrete the excess water and sugar as honey dew or as a solid waste (psyllid sugar). Nymphs and possibly adults inject a toxin into the plants when they feed.
Visually psyllid sugar is the symptom that you are most likely to see on your plants once they are infected. The toxin causes discolouration of leaves and the plant to become stunted exhibiting "psyllid yellow" and "purple top". Leaf edges upturn and show yellowing or purpling. The plants internodes shorten and new growth is retarded. At this stage the plants are best removed and disposed of to limit spread to other plants.
Adult psyllids are strong fliers and are dispersed by the wind.
It is interesting to note the damage reports from Whanganui gardeners over the past few years here regarding potato crops (six years now). Early potatoes planted and harvested prior to Christmas generally avoided damage, while main and late croppers needed treatment with Yates Mavrik or Yates Success Ultra to control the psyllid. Psyllid damage to tomato crops in Whanganui home gardens became evident in the last four years and the early reports of damage this season in December indicate the insect is prevalent on tomato plants and will need to be treated to reduce incidence of crop damage.
The plants affected are all members of the solanum (potato and tomato) family. A number of gardeners around Whanganui reported poorer crops of tamarillos during the last three winters. It is likely that the psyllid, while not active during winter, would have been present during late summer and autumn when tamarillo fruit is forming and caused the poorer fruiting of these last season.
Overseas it is reported that capsicum and eggplant have also been affected.
Other control methods to employ include;
For greenhouses:
¦ Hang yellow sticky traps close to the top of the plant canopy to capture adults.
¦ Hang yellow sticky traps by vents to check for adult psyllids entering from outside.
¦ Check plants weekly for signs of eggs, nymphs and psyllid sugars.
¦ Check plants for "psyllid yellows" symptoms. This is yellowing of leaves, curling up of leaf edges and shortening of internodes.
In outdoor crops;
¦ Check plants that display symptoms, such as stunted growth, "psyllid yellows" or "purple top" for the presence of "psyllid sugar" and psyllids.
¦ Place sticky yellow cards at field margins near the tops of tomato plants to capture adults
¦ Remove and destroy affected leaves. Plant material should be kept in a covered container until removed from the property. If kept on the property, plant material should remain covered with edges sealed for 4-6 weeks. Old crops being removed should be treated the same way.
¦ Remove and destroy alternative host plants (nightshade).
House flies These are an annoying downfall of summer. They buzz around the house, sit on food, people and furniture and drive one nuts. They are a result of the summer months where temperatures provide ideal breeding conditions.
Flies come from the outside. The treatment strategy for flies is to reduce the outside attraction if at possible. The main attractions are odours such as those caused by pet droppings, animal droppings, stagnant water, mould, mildew and of course household rubbish.
Just out of interest, overwatering house plants can increase fly populations inside the home due to warm and moist organic matter (potting mix) providing another area for breeding. Reducing watering and keeping the plants drier and/or spraying the mix with an insecticide three times over a 10 day period to break the lifecycle is effective if this is a problem. Yates Nature's Way Fruit & Vegie Gun is a natural pyrethrum based insecticide for use on vegetables, fruit, rose bushes, indoor plants and outdoor ornamentals. It is fast acting and kills a wide range of pests including aphids, caterpillars, thrips, earwigs, whitefly and leaf hoppers.
Relax, enjoy the garden and have a good week.
¦ Gareth Carter is General Manager of Springvale Garden Centre.