Growing Gardens

with Julia Hancock

Phasing out Poisons

Following initiatives shown by overseas manufacturers of horticultural garden insecticides, Yates has recently decided to withdraw several of its chemical products from the market. This is good news for proponents of less toxic pest management practices.

Malathion (also known as Maldison) has been used for many years as a control against aphids, caterpillars, sap-sucking bugs and two-spotted mites. Carbaryl was recommended for use against caterpillars, codling moth and grasshoppers. Rogor provided control for fruit fly, azalea lace bug and citrus leaf miner.

In the home garden it is now possible to substitute these highly toxic chemicals for ones that are less hazardous. Yates suggests Confidor is an effective solution to sap-sucking bugs, scale and azalea lace bug; Dipel and synthetic pyrethrum can be used to control caterpillars; and PestOil works well in controlling scale and citrus leaf miner. The company has developed Yates Fruit Fly and Insect Killer for persistent problems like fruit fly and codling moth.

Organic gardeners know that the best way to control aphids, caterpillars and grasshoppers is to pick them off by hand and squash them or feed them to the chickens. Setting pheromone-baited traps for fruit fly works well and does no harm to the environment whatsoever, and wrapping the trunk of fruit trees with hessian to trap codling moth larvae is also a non-toxic preventive.

Citrus leaf miner has no detrimental effect on the production of blossoms or fruit, and is considered to be merely a cosmetic problem. If your trees have been badly affected simply trim off the ravaged leaves (always the new growth) once the cooler weather sets in.

Moving towards a poison-free garden is one way to ensure that butterflies, dragonflies and ladybirds proliferate in your back yard. And it's nice to know that the creatures that prey on them - birds, reptiles and amphibians - aren't consuming pesticide-contaminated food.

Lismore Garden Club News

It's count down time to the Club's Hunter Valley tour, March 30 - April 2. For last minute bookings phone Mary on 6621 5293.

Now is a good time to plant sweet peas. St Patrick's Day serves as a reminder, however, any time from the mid-March to mid-April is okay. You'll need a sunny location. The tall growing variety can reach about 2 meters, so a trellis is essential.

If you can't be bothered putting up a trellis, plant the dwarf varieties such as "Bijou" which grown as a bushy plant about 1 meter high and wide.

To prepare the soil ad some compost or rotted animal manure, then dolomite or lime at the rate of a 1/2 cup per linear meter. Plant two seeds every 15cm and water in with Seasol. When seedlings appear apply a liquid fertiliser at half strength. When the flowers appear, be sure to keep on picking them. The more you pick them, the longer they will keep on flowering. There is nothing like the sweet fragrance of a vase of sweet peas in the house.

Gardening Tip

To prevent them getting powdery mildew, try to avoid wetting the foliage when watering. A simple cure for powdery mildew is to spray with a mix of 8 parts water and 2 parts whole milk (fresh or powdered & mixed).

Happy Gardening
Ron Burns.