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
Pest Collection – Pittosporum leafminer Common Name: Pittosporum leafminer (lumps on leaves) Scientific Name: Phytobia pittosporphyllii Order: Diptera Host plant where this example was found: Native Daphne (Pittsporum undulatum Host range or situation where pest is usually found: Pittosporum spp. Predominantly P.undulatum/native lily pily Damaging stage (s): Female flies lays eggs below the epidermis on leaf
How do you tell if a mango is ready to be picked from a tree and when is it ripe enough to eat? Firstly, you can eat green mangoes by turning them into green mango pickles, chutneys, and in cooking. Thinly sliced green mangoes make a wonderful Asian salad and green mangoes go well with
The flower Beetle is harmless in the garden Common Name: Flower Beetle Scientific Name: Glycyphana stolata Order: Coleoptera Family: Scarabaeidae Host range or situation where pest is usually found: Native flowers and fruit tree flowers. The image in this post is of a flower beetle on a Meyer lemon flower. Damaging stage (s): Adults feed
Pod sucking bugs are not a good find in the garden Common Name: Pod sucking bug Scientific Name: Riptortus serripes Order: Hemiptera Family: Alydidae (Broad headed Bugs) Host range or situation where pest is usually found: Native seed pods and bean pods in vegetable garden. The image in this post is of a pod sucking
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.
