Giving and receiving is part of human nature no matter how hardened one has become it still feels good to give and most would say even better to receive gifts! However, if you really want to step up the giving and receiving feeling even more then do it with something you can eat and particularly something
I'm a total advocate for stand up vegetable gardening because as we age it tends to get harder to get down and even harder to get back up! That's where raised bed food gardening comes into play as a wonderfully convenient way to work in the patch without too much bending. I've also got several old injuries and
Support dragon fruit pitaya on a trellis instead of post Most people grow the vine-like dragon fruit cactus on a post for support; however, dragon fruit plants can tend to "bush out" and out-grow the post over time. This extra growth can then lead to the plant fracturing under its own weight and losing limbs,
Some fruits to grow in winter to prevent fruit fly strike Fruit fly in Queensland can become a real pain for the backyard grower turning beautiful fruit and vegetables into a rotten mess. However, there are ways to control this awful pest and one of the most effective but not often considered is growing crops best
15 tips to help grow the best large tomatoes Larger varieties of tomatoes are easy enough to grow but to get them at a point where they crop readily and produce good fruit can be a challenge even for the best gardeners! There are numerous diseases and pests which attack tomatoes but pulling out the
Manures are great for fruit and veg growing but sometimes poo just isn't enough So you do the right thing and use natural manure on your garden but some of your plants and vegetables still fail to flourish or grow as good as they should – what's wrong? Sometimes manures like chicken, cow, horse, sheep poo
Beneficial Garden Insect Collection – Lacewing Common Name: Native Green Lacewing Scientific Name: Mallada insigna Order: Neuroptera Horticultural situation where found: Lacewing was found on an English Oak (Quercus robur) seedling. The seedling is growing in a garden bed where a lot of the plants have sooty mould on them. This leads me to believe
Beneficial garden insect collection European Honey Bee Common Name: European honey bee Scientific Name: Apis mellifera Order: Hymenoptera Horticultural situation where found: Most plants where nectar and pollen can be found. Extremely important for the pollination of backyard and commercial crops of fruit and vegetables. Probably one of the most active insect pollinators. Method of feeding
Beneficial bug collection – Steel Blue Ladybird Common Name: Steel blue ladybird Scientific Name: Halmus chalybeus Order: Coleoptera Horticultural situation where found: On a Citrus leaf with evidence of chewing and sucking damage from scale and/or aphids. The steel blue ladybird is native to Eastern Australia. It's a bold looking insect with it's flashy chrome blue shell.
Pest Collection 1 – Cabbage White Butterfly Common Name: Cabbage white butterfly Scientific Name: Pieris rapae Order: Lepidoptera Host plant where found: Red cabbage – Family veggie patch. Host range or situation where pest is usually found: Ornamentals-stock, wallflower, geranium, mignonette, nasturtium, spider flower. Vegetables – broccoli, gabbage, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, radish, mustard, kale, turnip. Field
Pest Collection – Citrus Bud Mite (deformed fruit) Common Name: Citrus Bud Mite Scientific Name: Eriophyes sheldoni Order: Acarina Host plant where found: Lemon tree (Citrus limon) in an ornamental garden setting. Host range or situation where pest is usually found: Citrus trees Damaging stage (s): Both nymphs and adults feed by sucking sap from
Pest Collection – Rose Scale Common Name: Rose Scale Scientific Name: Aulacaspis rosae Order: Hemiptera Host plant where found: Roses Host range or situation where pest is usually found: Rose, loganberry, raspberry and blackberry. Also, seen rose scale on mulberries and some stone fruit trees. Rose Scale covering rose stems (image above) Damaging stage
Pest Collection – Rose Aphid Common Name: Rose Aphid Scientific Name: Macrosiphum rosae Order: Hemiptera Host plant where found: Rose (Rosa spp.) Host range or situation where pest is usually found: Roses Rose Aphids gathering on stem (image above) Damaging stage (s): Adults and nymphs feed by piecing plant tissue and sucking sap. Direct feeding
Disease/Disorder Collection – Iron Deficiency Name of Disorder: Iron (Fe) deficiency Scientific name of pathogen causing disease: Iron (Fe) deficiency in a Lemon tree (Citrus limon) Type of disorder: Nutritional Cause: Alkaline soil, lack of available Fe Host plant where found: Lemon tree (Citrus limon) Horticulture situation or host range where this disorder is typically
Disease/Disorder Collection – Phytophthora Root Rot Name of Disorder: Phytophthora Root rot. Scientific name of pathogen causing disease: Phytophthora spp. Type of disorder: Fungus Cause: Phytophthora spp. fungus Host plant where found: Rhododendron Horticulture situation or host range where this disorder is typically found: Affects broad range of plants; from trees, ornamentals, native plants, fruit
Disease/Disorder Collection – Passionfruit Woodiness Virus Name of Disorder: Passionfruit woodiness virus Scientific name of pathogen causing disease: Potyvirus passionfruit woodiness virus Type of disorder: Virus disease Cause: The virus is spread by mainly two types of aphids; Myzus persicae and Aphis gossypii. The virus can also be spread mechanically. Host plant where found: Passionfruit
Disease/Disorder Collection – Mechanical Plant Damage Name of Disorder: Mechanical plant damage by Humans. Scientific name of pathogen causing disease: Homo sapiens… plus incorrect use of mechanical tiller. Type of disorder: Physiological… joking. Physical damage mainly to root system. Cause: Poor work methods and incorrect planting. Host plant where example was found: Ligustrum undulatum “Lemon Lime
Disease/Disorder Collection – Bacterial Blight Name of Disorder: Bacterial Blight Scientific name of pathogen causing disease: Pseaudomonas syringae Type of disorder: Bacterial disease Cause: Bacteria in the Pseudomonas and Xanthomonas genera Host plant where found in this example: Mulberry (Morus spp.) Horticulture situation or host range where this disorder is typically found: Vast host
Disease/Disorder Collection – Genetic Abnormality Name of Disorder: Genetic Abnormality Scientific name of pathogen causing disease: NA Type of disorder: Genetic Abnormality Cause: This mutation or new characteristic is the result of an accidental change in a gene or chromosome. Host plant where found: Dianthus Horticulture situation or host range where this disorder is typically
Pest Collection – Bronze Orange Bug Common Name: Bronze orange bug Scientific Name: Musgraveia sulciventris Order: Hemiptera Host plant where found: Orange tree (Citrus sinensis) Host range or situation where pest is usually found: Citrus trees The image above shows the nymph stage of the bug the final adult is much larger with a hard outer
Self Sufficient Me is a blog about self-sustainment by growing our own produce (plant/animal), and self-fulfilment by looking after our health (physical/mental) through exercise and slowing life down a little.
