tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-801030191087496810.post3149435694405190672..comments2023-09-09T22:19:34.446+10:00Comments on Our Permaculture Life: Hardy summer plantsour permaculture lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14902659828176897984noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-801030191087496810.post-13940665826171997632016-02-04T11:25:37.959+10:002016-02-04T11:25:37.959+10:00Thank you for your advice, I had noticed lots of t...Thank you for your advice, I had noticed lots of the little lady bugs and thought they might like the mildew, but obviously there is too much of it even to fill their bellies! I will dig in some more compost and worm castings and see if my next round of pumpkins does any better. It's a shame we are only renting- this particular patch has some very large, hungry trees that seem to suck all the nutrients out of anything I add to the soil before my veggies get a chance. We have grand dreams for our own plot one day. One day, one day ;)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-801030191087496810.post-34850443295318850642016-02-02T23:04:38.323+10:002016-02-02T23:04:38.323+10:00Snake beans are great aren't they - such a gre...Snake beans are great aren't they - such a great plant for the hot summer months. Spending time focusing on the soil is definitely a great strategy. The healthier the soil, the more resilient and robust your plants will be. With so many perennial plants I find that I am often doing a lot of top dressing and remulching to keep the fertility up. our permaculture lifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14902659828176897984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-801030191087496810.post-21828186054503640522016-02-02T23:01:45.950+10:002016-02-02T23:01:45.950+10:00Powdery mildew is a very very common problem, espe...Powdery mildew is a very very common problem, especially for pumpkins and zuchinnis - they produce a lot of leaf and therefore need a lot of water and nutrients to maintain their health and resilience. <br /><br />I have come to accept that in this climate at this time of year, you can never completely rid the garden of powdery mildew- just slow it down and get a couple more weeks of harvest from your plants. <br /><br />In order to prevent the outbreak, what you need is a lot more ladybirds and really look closely at your soil. Let me explain a little more:<br /><br />Plants tend to be affected by powdery mildew if there is some stress. The first thing to do is to check that your plants have sufficient water and nutrients, and that the soil pH is suitable for them to absorb what they need for healthy, disease-resistant growth. Plants can only absorb nutrients from the soil as water-soluble ions. If the soil dries out, plants can’t absorb the nutrients they need to produce the compounds that deter pests and disease.<br /><br />Smaller outbreaks of powdery mildew on pumpkins will be controlled naturally by the fungus eating ladybird, Illeis galbula - they feed entirely on powdery mildew. The fungus eating ladybird has very bold black and yellow colouration. Both adults and larvae feed on mildew fungus - a really common problem in gardens. <br /><br />It’s often recommended that you remove the affected stems and burn or bin them. But if you spot the powdery mildew early, you can carefully remove the stems and put them in a far corner away from other things that might be affects. This allows the helpful ladybirds to keep feeding and build up their populations and so they can come back to the plants when they became reinfected. It is almost impossible to have a garden without powdery mildew.<br /><br />If you have a larger outbreak of powdery mildew some people spray plants with one part fresh milk to five parts water and repeat this weekly. The benefit of using milk and water is that it will control fungus without harming any of the useful ladybirds.<br /><br /> our permaculture lifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14902659828176897984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-801030191087496810.post-42570580224327363552016-02-02T15:02:16.809+10:002016-02-02T15:02:16.809+10:00Do you have any tips for disease control, Morag? I...Do you have any tips for disease control, Morag? I live in Ipswich (Qld) and everyone says their pumpinks grow like weeds and they just let them go. Mine go really well until the vine is established, and even til it fruits, then it gets attacked by (I think) powdery mildew which damages it so badly the fruit gets stunted and the vine withers up. What could be the imbalance in my garden, and how can I fix it?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-801030191087496810.post-1755962169267703612016-01-26T05:24:27.956+10:002016-01-26T05:24:27.956+10:00I'm really impressed with the results you have...I'm really impressed with the results you have achieved by preparing your garden before your time away from it.<br /><br />There is a lot for me to learn from that as I tend to leave my allotment fallow over the summer months as I cannot be there to tend it every day in the heat. I take that opportunity to build up the soil in preparation for my next growing season, but after reading your blog I realise I could do more to have my allotment producing during this time.<br /><br />However, I have some wonderful snake beans as I planted them in time to get a good root system in place. And my turmeric is growing amazingly. I'll have a huge clump of it at harvest time.<br />But for the rest - I'm building my soil up with horse manure from the adjoining paddock and letting it work it's magic (hopefully!)<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com