Plant Patch
1st July 09
Suddenly it is July and my good intentions to write this column once a month have failed at the first hurdle. Such is life, littered with good intentions.
Spring was a brilliant season and now we are enjoying warm sunny days.
Broad beans were excellent with nice full pods and before the black fly could get a problem the beans were eaten or in the deep-freeze. Sowing the beans in November normally means the beans are mature before the black aphid gets going. Later spring sown crops are more susceptible. Spray the aphids before they have a chance to build serious colonies, use organic sprays based on oils or soaps especially if the beans are in flower. Beans are a legume and like all that family produce their own nitrogen with the aid of soil bacteria. This nitrogen is stored on little nodules, which can be seen clinging to the roots. Do not pull up the plants cut them off at ground level and the nitrogen will remain in the ground for the following crop.
I normally plant Brussels sprouts after beans. These like nice firm soil so I do not dig the bed that held the beans just rake it over after weeding, apply some fertiliser and plant about 2 ft apart between where the beans were planted. Some of my beds are full of that horrible weed oxalis so I lay a weed mat on the bed and plant the sprouts through the mat. The result is no weeding, less water loss and I believe the mat stops cabbage root fly, which has to, lays its eggs in the soil at the base of the plant. Then I cover with a mesh to stop cabbage butterfly laying its eggs on the leaves. It is a battle out there!
Hot weather brings its problems for ornamental plants and our natural reaction is to give our plants a drink every time we have a cup of tea. Plants that have been in the ground for years have a well-established root system enabling them to stand dry conditions. Instead of watering try using s mulch. Applied to damp soil it seals in the moisture and reduces the drying effect of wind and sun. This year we bought a shredder and all our plant waste is now recycled and spread on our beds I can polish my environmental halo and the plants will benefit. More about that later.