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Gardening, News

DEALING WITH SUMMER PESTS IN THE GARDEN (Wally Richards)

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Gardening should be a pleasant pastime and not just another chore that has to be done. If you find it a chore then maybe there are too many things you are doing and the pleasure of working with plants and the soil is lost.

There are things that we gardeners must do to keep everything growing healthy and looking good. I am always are looking for ways to do tasks quickly and simply so more time can be spent doing the gardening things that give satisfaction and gratification. Enjoyment comes from preparing an area and planting it with seeds or seedlings then watching them develop and grow for harvesting to eat or flower to enhance your home.

Summer time temperatures allow pest insects to multiply quickly and infest your plants. If their populations become too great then it is a real chore to try and get them under control. In fact it is better to start control methods as early as possible making life easier in the long term. By spreading Wallys Neem Tree Granules over the soil under trees, shrubs and established plants will greatly help reduce and prevent insect populations building up. There are soil pests that we don’t see which are feeding on the roots of plants, sapping the plant’s energy causing loss of vigor. Mealy bugs, root nematodes, grass grubs and slaters can be controlled and eliminated by scattering the Neem Granules in the plant’s root zone. Gardeners and Landscapers often comment to me that a few weeks after applying the Neem Granules the plants are looking much better. Simple reason is the pests feeding on the roots have gone and the plants are happy. Wallys Neem Granules can be used around your roses, vegetable plants and flowering annuals.

Wallys Neem Tree Powder which is the same as the granules just a smaller, even particle size are ideal to use in the planting hole of seedlings, along with sowing of seeds and in particular with carrot seeds to prevent carrot fly damage. With carrots you side dress to row when the carrot tops are a few centimeters tall as well as when sowing the seeds. Container plants are often a home for mealy bugs which feed on the roots and later come upstairs as adults to feed on the foliage.  The ones on the foliage are easy to control with Wally Super Pyrethrum but you need to place Neem Powder on top of the growing medium. As the powder breaks down it will develop grey mould which is the natural breakdown happening. It is unsightly so after applying the powder cover with a little growing medium. Out of sight, out of mind. If you want a top quality lawn then it is a good idea to sprinkle Wallys Neem Tree Powder over the lawn at a rate of 50 grams per Square Metre.  If your lawn is infected by grass grubs each year then in Autumn when the autumn rains have moistened the soil you spread the Neem powder over the lawn after it has been recently cut. Then lightly water the area to wash the powder down off the grass onto the soil. If you have a roller then its a good idea to roll the lawn to press the powder into the soil.

When you find there are pest insects on any of your plants outdoors you can make up a spray using Wallys Super Neem Tree Oil with Wallys Super Pyrethrum added. Just on dusk when the bees have stopped working for the day you spray the plants under and over the foliage.  The pyrethrum is a quick knock down and it will kill the flying insects such as white fly and leaf hoppers. The Neem Oil will, as an anti-feedent on the foliage, stop the pests feeding on the plants after which they will starve to death in a few days. Often gardeners find that the sprays work, but it is only a short time before the insect pests are back. The reason being is they are on other plants in the area and re-infesting back onto your treated plants. You need to spray the other plants they are coming from. If those plants happen to be over the fence then that is a problem that can only be solved with winter or you getting the ok from the neighbor (who likely is not a gardener) to spray their plants as well.

Gardeners that live in the country and have possums, rabbits and hares to contend with can do the following: plants that are been eaten spray with Wallys Neem Tree Oil just before dark. Wallys Neem Tree oil being the real thing and not some vegetable oil with the Neem properties added, has a horrible taste which with its smell will deter possums and rabbits. Once you find that the varmints have stopped eating your plants then instead of having to respray to keep control and keep them away, simply scatter Wally Neem Tree Granules around and the smell of them should keep your plants safe. A point when using the spray mix of Wallys Neem Oil and Pyrethrum and you have unused spray then you can pour the left over liquid into a container and store in a dark cupboard. Rinse the sprayer out thoroughly jetting some clean water through the nozzle to be sure all the spray has gone. Next time you use you can take the stored spray and if need be add more of the products and water.

To look after the soil and the beneficial microbes plus fungi that live in the soil which help our plants feed and grow, mix Wallys Super Fish Fertiliser with Wallys Mycorrcin in a watering can and water the area around or over your preferred plants such as vegetables, fruit and roses. This will help to greatly increase the soil life (as long as you are not watering with chlorinated tap water). Here is an interesting possibility: as the combination of the fish fertiliser and Mycorrcin has a distinct smell you could try spraying the mix over fruit trees when the birds are attacking the fruit. A product that used to be available years ago from Canada called Alaska Fish Fertiliser which had quite a smell to it did deter birds from ripening fruit. If you find it successful let me know.

TWENTY FIVE PERCENT OFF SALE

Till the end of January we are discounting the following products by 25% to help you gain control of Insect pests and improve your soil quality.

Orders must be placed on www.0800466464.co.nz using the Code 25% in the remarks place.

I will phone you after receiving the order and deduct the 25% off the items below and also give you 10% off most other items except for bulk items.

FREIGHT: shipping charged on orders under $100 (After discounts) North Island In other words order of $100 plus after discount and not bulk items free shipping.

South Island $150.00 plus after discounts for free shipping.

Exception is for Rural delivery a charge of $3.15 on each parcel sent no matter if rest is free shipping or not.

Here are the 25% discount items:

Wallys Neem Tree Granules 1kg normal price $15.00 save $3.75 making it $11.25

Wallys Neem Tree Granules 3kg normal price $28.00 save $7.00 making it $21.00

Wallys Neem Tree Granules 10kg normal price $80.00 save $20.00 making it $60.00

Wallys Neem Tree Granules 20kg normal price $160.00 save $40.00 making it $120.00

Wallys Neem Tree Powder 1kg normal price $15.00 save $3.75 making it $11.25

Wallys Neem Tree Powder 3kg normal price $28.00 save $7.00 making it $21.00

Wallys Neem Tree Powder 10kg normal price $80.00 save $20.00 making it $60.00

Wallys Neem Tree Powder 20kg normal price $160.00 save $40.00 making it $120.00


Wallys Super Neem Tree oil 125 ml normal price $18.00 save $4.50 making it $13.50

Wallys Super Neem Tree oil 250 ml normal price $24.00 save $6.00 making it $18.00

Wallys Super Neem Tree oil 1 litre normal price $60.00 save $15.00 making it $45.00


Wallys Super Pyrethrum 100 ml normal price $28.00 save $4.20 making it $23.80


Wallys Super Fish Fertiliser 1Litre normal price $16.00 save $4.00 making it $12.00

Wallys Mycorrcin 250ml normal price $20.00 save $5.00 making it $15.00

Wallys Mycorrcin 500ml normal price $35.00 save $8.75 making it $26.25

Wallys Mycorrcin 1 Litre normal price $55.00 save $13.75 making it $41.25

Orders must be placed on www.0800466464.co.nz using the Code 25% in the remarks place.

Phone 0800 466464
Garden Pages and News at www.gardenews.co.nz
Shar Pei pages at  www.sharpei.co.nz
Mail Order products at www.0800466464.co.nz

New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990. Part II of the Act covers a broad range of Civil and Political Rights. As part of the right to life and the security of the person, the Act guarantees everyone:

1The right not to be deprived of life except in accordance with fundamental justice (Section 8)

2The right not to be subjected to torture or to cruel, degrading, or disproportionately severe treatment or punishment (Section 9)

3The right not to be subjected to medical or scientific experimentation without consent (Section 10)

4The right to refuse to undergo any medical treatment (Section 11)

 Furthermore, the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 guarantees everyone: Freedom of Thought, Conscience, and Religion.
This includes the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion, and belief,
INCLUDING THE RIGHT TO ADOPT AND HOLD OPINIONS WITHOUT INTERFERENCE (Section 1)

For other gardening posts see ‘gardening’ in categories (left side of page)

Check out our sister site truthwatchnz.is for other news

Photo: pixabay.com

Gardening, News

December Gardening (Wally Richards)

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This week I received two emails which maybe of interest to some gardeners. The first was from a gardening couple, which read:

Hi Wally, Your advice and weekly email’s worked great. I got first in the Veggie Section and my wife won in the Rose categories. Jerry.

What can I say? If you use natural products that enhance the soil, giving the plants all the possible minerals that they may need to be healthy and stop using chemicals that are harmful to both soil, plants and yourself.

Over the years I have received a few similar stories about how gardeners have turned their gardens into award winners by simply observing and using the above information.

The second email is of concern this time of the year and it read;

Hi Wally, I have a problem with a brown beetle infestation. I was finding the leaves of my newly planted plum trees and almond tree were getting stripped bare almost. I wasn’t sure what it was but think the culprit is this brown beetle.

I have since found hundreds (literally) in one of my raised beds and quite a few wherever I have placed the garden mix I bought a month ago.

Is there something I can do to get rid of these beasties? They are now attacking my raspberry plants and feijoa trees. Because they are in the soil – and potentially quite deep (some of them were 20cm deep) – I’m not sure how to fight them. Please help!

The writer sent me an amazing photograph which shows hundreds of these brown beetles drowning in a container of water, along with photos of her plants badly damaged.

The beetle is the Grass Grub beetle and this is the time of the year that they emerge from pupating deep in the soil to feast on the foliage of a number of plants, mate and lay eggs back in lawns for future generations.

In my first book, Wally’s Down to Earth Gardening Guide, I suggest a trap to aid control of these pests.

Here is an extract from the book:

‘Grass grub adults emerge in October, and are active until about mid-December, depending on weather conditions and exactly where they are in New Zealand. The cooler the temperature, the later they emerge.

The adults will start to emerge in mild conditions, when the soil temperature reaches about 10 degrees they then mate, fly, eat and lay eggs in the short space of time between dusk and early evening.

As they tend to fly towards light, you are most likely to know they’re there when the flying beetles hit your lighted window panes.

This very attraction for the light has become one of our best weapons in controlling the pest in its adult stage. You can set up a grass grub beetle trap by placing a trough, such as the one used when wall-papering, directly underneath a window near a grassed area.

Fill the trough with water to about two-thirds of its capacity, then place a film of kerosene on top of the water. Put a bright light in the window, the beetles fly towards the lit window, hit the glass and fall into the trough.

The kerosene acts as a trap, preventing the fallen beetles from climbing out.

You can extend this method to areas away from the house by using a glass tank, such as might be used for an aquarium.

Place the empty tank into a tray containing several inches of water (and the kerosene), and position a light inside the glass tank.

By adding a sheet of ply or something similar over the top of the tank, you will ensure that the light shines only through the sides of the tank above the waiting water and kerosene.

It is better to use a dome-shaped battery-powered light rather than an ordinary torch for this job as the bigger light makes the trap more effective.

If the tray and tank are raised off the ground and placed on something like a table, you will get an even better result.

However you set up your beetle trap, this is a very good method to dispose of the pests. Simply get rid of all the beetles caught the next morning.

Run this system (call it Wally’s Grass Grub Beetle Catcher, if you like) from just before dusk to about 2 or 3 hours after sunset.’

Spraying the plants that are been attacked with Wallys Super Neem Tree Oil will help to also control the populations.

This should be done late in the day after the sun is off the plants. When a beetle chews on a leaf they get some Neem into their gut and that shuts off their ability to eat.

Problem arises, if there are hundreds of beetles then there needs to be hundreds of bites.

With the likelihood of more beetles emerging every day it is an on going battle over the next month or two.

Another way is to go outside just after dark with a torch and check your plants for beetles.

If you see a good number on any plant then a spray at that time with Wallys Super Neem Tree Oil and Wallys Super Pyrethrum added, sprayed to hit the beetles rather than the plant itself.

Another very good natural spray to use late in the day is a solution of Wallys 3 in 1 for Lawns.

This is a combination of Eucalyptus oil and Tea Tree oil, nice to use and deadly on pests.

If you repeat your nightly spraying and use a light trap also, then you will make a big dent in the grass grub beetle populations and thus suffer less damage to your plants and lawns.

The season is still poor weather wise which helps keep insect populations lower than normal but care should be taken with your potatoes and tomatoes by placing Neem Tree Granules on the soil in the root zone and spraying the plants occasionally with Wallys Super Neem tree Oil.

Visit your local garden center to obtain some good ideas for Xmas Presents.

Phone 0800 466464
Garden Pages and News at www.gardenews.co.nz
Shar Pei pages at  www.sharpei.co.nz
Mail Order products at www.0800466464.co.nz

New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990. Part II of the Act covers a broad range of Civil and Political Rights. As part of the right to life and the security of the person, the Act guarantees everyone:

1 The right not to be deprived of life except in accordance with fundamental justice (Section 8)

2 The right not to be subjected to torture or to cruel, degrading, or disproportionately severe treatment or punishment (Section 9)

3 The right not to be subjected to medical or scientific experimentation without consent (Section 10)

4 The right to refuse to undergo any medical treatment (Section 11)

 Furthermore, the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 guarantees everyone: Freedom of Thought, Conscience, and Religion.
This includes the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion, and belief,
INCLUDING THE RIGHT TO ADOPT AND HOLD OPINIONS WITHOUT INTERFERENCE (Section 1)

Gardening

Dealing with pests in your lawn (Wally Richards)

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There are three insect pests that are the main problem ones in lawns; grass grubs, porina and black beetle grubs.

The affect they have on your lawns depends on the number of the pests in a given area.

A few, will hardly be noticed, where a good number per square foot will damage the grasses and be easy to see. Damage can be seen by bare spots, brown, dead areas or discolored grasses.

Birds are a very good indicator that there are grubs in the lawn when they spend their time scratching and pecking in certain areas.

I have gardeners ringing me up about this time of the year to say they have grass grubs in their lawns or that they have dead spots.

My first question is, how do you know you have grass grubs?

They usually reply that there is dead areas or that birds are ripping certain areas apart.

Nether of these are a good indication that there are currently grass grubs actively eating roots near the surface.

If there are dead areas which have appeared in the spring or early summer then it is likely that grass grubs did cause the problem by eating the roots of the grasses in the autumn and into the winter.

The grasses would have appeared ok in the winter, even though they had little root system left, because they were not actively growing.

In the spring when they started to grow on the root system left, which was insufficient to support the grass, thus it browns off and dies.

In the meantime the grubs have burrowed deep into the soil to pupate and then emerge about October to December as beetles.

There may well be a few grass grubs in the lawn at this time and by lifting some turf you can soon find out and how many there are per square foot.

If there are a few like 1 to 5 then its hardly worth while bothering with a treatment, a greater number would be worth while to treat.

Most likely the reason the birds are working the lawn is for porina caterpillars which live in the soil. Porina come up in the early part of the evening to feed at the base of the grasses.

These are easy to control by firstly mowing the lawn to allow the spray you are going to use, to reach the base of the grasses where they feed.

Then in late afternoon mix Neem Tree Oil at the rate of 5mils per litre of warm water and apply that to your lawn area. Using a lawn boy will do the best job to get a good coverage.

(Note EPA has just about completed our application under the new requirements for all Neem Oils and we should be back selling later this month.)

That night when the grubs come up to feed they will get a dose of Neem and that turns off their ability to ever eat again.

If the birds eat them they will not be affected and worms in the soil will be ok too.

The time to treat for grass grubs in the lawns is in the autumn when the soil is moist and they are feeding near the surface. The other time is when they are beetles which is about now.

With porina they can be treated all year round whenever they are present.

Treatment for grass grubs and black beetle grubs can either be a strong chemical one or a safe natural one such as Wallys 3 in 1 for lawns which is a mix of Eucalyptus and Tea Tree oils.

This will not harm wild life, pets or worms, where the chemical ones will.

To treat the grass grub beetles you can use the method described in my first book, Wally’s Down to Earth Gardening Guide, extract;

Grass grub adults emerge in October, (as beetles) and are active until about mid-December, depending on weather conditions and exactly where they are in New Zealand.

The cooler the temperature, the later they emerge. The adults will start to emerge in mild conditions, when the soil temperature reaches about 10 degrees, they then mate, fly, eat and lay eggs in the short space of time between dusk and early evening.

As they tend to fly towards light, you are most likely to know they’re there when the flying beetles hit your lighted window panes.

This very attraction for the light has become one of our best weapons in controlling the pest in its adult stage.

You can set up a grass grub beetle trap by placing a trough, such as the one used when wall-papering, directly underneath a window near a grassed area.

Fill the trough with water to about two-thirds of its capacity, then place a film of kerosene on top of the water.

Put a bright light in the window, the beetles fly towards the lit window, hit the glass and fall into the trough. The kerosene acts as a trap, preventing the fallen beetles from climbing out.

You can extend this method to areas away from the house by using a glass tank, such as might be used for an aquarium.

Place the empty tank into a tray containing several inches of water (and the kerosene), and position a light inside the glass tank.

By adding a sheet of ply or something similar over the top of the tank, you will ensure that the light shines only through the sides of the tank above the waiting water and kerosene.

It is better to use a dome-shaped battery-powered light rather than an ordinary torch for this job as the bigger light makes the trap more effective.

If the tray and tank are raised off the ground and placed on something like a table, you will get an even better result.

However you set up your beetle trap, this is a very good method to dispose of the pests.

Simply get rid of all the beetles caught the next morning by flushing down the toilet or feeding to chooks.. Run this system (call it Wally’s Grass Grub Beetle Catcher, if you like) from just before dusk to about 2 or 3 hours after sunset.

We know now how to make the grubs’ preference for light work against them, but light can also work in their favour.

If you have un-curtained windows in rooms which are lit at night, you will find grass grub beetles from yours and neighboring lawns will be attracted to the area during the early hours of the evening.

Street lighting is probably the worst offender, and people with areas of lawn near street lights often find those are the parts worst-affected by grass grubs.

The beetles will eat the foliage of various plants such as roses, beans and citrus while on the wing.

Those plants that are being eaten can be sprayed with Neem Tree Oil.

If the populations of beetles are very high then in the early part of the evening take a torch and check the plants that are being eaten.

If you see lots of the brown beetles then mix up a spray of  Wallys Super Pyrethrum added and go out and spray the pests.

The pyrethrum is a quick knock down and should wipe out good numbers of them.

The more beetles you can kill means less damage to your lawns next year.

Phone 0800 466464
Garden Pages and News at www.gardenews.co.nz
Shar Pei pages at  www.sharpei.co.nz
Mail Order products at www.0800466464.co.nz

New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990. Part II of the Act covers a broad range of Civil and Political Rights. As part of the right to life and the security of the person, the Act guarantees everyone:

The right not to be deprived of life except in accordance with fundamental justice (Section 8)

2The right not to be subjected to torture or to cruel, degrading, or disproportionately severe treatment or punishment (Section 9)

3The right not to be subjected to medical or scientific experimentation without consent (Section 10)

4The right to refuse to undergo any medical treatment (Section 11)

 Furthermore, the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 guarantees everyone: Freedom of Thought, Conscience, and Religion.
This includes the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion, and belief,
INCLUDING THE RIGHT TO ADOPT AND HOLD OPINIONS WITHOUT INTERFERENCE (Section 1)

Image by JayMantri from Pixabay

Gardening

September gardening in NZ (Wally Richards)

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There are plenty of chores to attend to at this time of the year as the day light hours increase and plants emerging from their winter rest.

Hardy plants will be showing very good growth now including the plants you do not want commonly referred to as weeds.

Unwanted plants are very valuable if you make use of them and treat them as a fodder crop.

Smaller unwanted plants should be cut off just below soil level with a sharp carving knife or sharp Dutch Hoe.

This removes the root system from the foliage leaving the roots to rot off in the soil providing a rich source of food for the soil life.

The foliage falls onto the bare soil where it is quickly broken down by the soil life providing them with more substance to nurture your preferred plants.

Taller weeds can be cut down with a weed eater such as using the Pivotrim Pro attachment which are available from Mitre10 Mega stores.

(This are far superior to using the roll of weed eater plastic tape which I always found a problem using.)

After cutting down the weeds with the above you can leave the stubble unless you want to clear the ground which means cutting off the weeds below soil level with a sharp carving knife.

Real tough root systems I have used a box cutter on which makes the job a breeze as long as you are careful not to cut yourself.

These methods of weeding enhances your soil or growing medium where chemical herbicides greatly harm the soil life and your plants suffer.

If you have waste areas or cobbles/cracks where weeds flourish then sprinkle salt over the area and lightly water. The weeds are killed and stay weed free for a time.

Another safe to use is mixing Ammonium sulphamate at 200 grams per litre of water and spraying on a sunny day when the soil is on the dry side. Give those conditions weeds are likely to be dead within an hour or two.

Spring temperatures and moisture brings out diseases to attack your plants so sprays of potassium permanganate (Condys Crystals at a quarter teaspoon to a litre of water)

with Raingard added sprayed onto the soil and plants controls a wide range of diseases and fungi nicely.

Note it will stain things like your house & fences if you are not careful, but will wash off over time.

An interesting bit of information you can purify drinking water of harmful bacteria by placing 3 or 4 grains into a litre of water, agitate to make water a light pink and leave for 24 hours before drinking.

Using this method means a large quantity of water can be treated saving the need to boil.

Spray the above potassium permanganate adding Wallys Liquid Copper for protection of curly leaf on stone fruit about every week till disease time is past.

Spray also your roses and other deciduous trees and plants to protect the new spring growth from diseases.

Sprinkle Wallys Neem Tree Granules under your apple trees, roses and citrus trees to reduce pest insect problems.

Use the Cell Strengthening products we wrote about a few weeks ago to strengthen your tomato plants, potatoes and tamarillo so the dreaded psyllid nymphs cant feed and ruin your crops.

If you have concerns about build up of diseases in your soil where you grow tomatoes year after year such as it your glasshouse then treat the soil with Terracin and 3 weeks later with Mycorrcin.

Ensure you store the unused bottle contents in a cool situation out of sunlight as it has live beneficial bacteria which would die if exposed to too much heat such as in a hot shed.

If you do not have any plants in your glasshouse so far, then you can burn sulphur powder inside the house to fumigate it of insect pests that maybe hiding away.

Wet times allows slimes to grow on paths which can be dangerous to walk on causing one to slip and fall. Spray with Wallys Moss & Liverwort Control to kill the slime.

Also ideal to use for moss in lawns and liverwort growing all over the place. To obtain best results adjust the nozzle of the sprayer so it is a bit of a jet which forces the product into the target area.

Does not harm plants if they are sprayed at the same time.

Start spraying strawberry plants 2 weekly with Mycorrcin which will increase your harvests by 200 to 400 %. They will fruit earlier, more fruit, larger berries and a longer cropping season.

Dont forget to also use Wallys Secret Strawberry Food for bigger strawberries.

When planting seedlings place a little Wallys Unlocking Your Soil into the planting along with a little Neem Powder to give your seedlings a good start and some protection from pests.

I favor crop cover (also so sold as Bug Mesh), which is 4 metres wide. By using wire or piping to form hoops place the cover over the hoops to give protection to the young plants or seeds from weather, pests, cats and birds.

Great stuff and reusable season after season.

If you want great gardens this season then use only natural products that will not harm the soil life and earth worms.

This includes putting a 10 micron carbon bonded filter/housing onto your water tap if you have chlorine in your water supply.

I have received many reports from gardeners about how their gardens have greatly improved in health after removing the chlorine from the water they use on the gardens.

It is just common sense, a chemical poison that is added to water to kill microbes is going to do the same to the beneficial microbes in your soil and effect the valuable earth worms.

I even wonder what harm it does to our gut bacteria when people drink chlorinated tap water.

If anyone has any data on this I would be interested.

Phone 0800 466464
Garden Pages and News at www.gardenews.co.nz
Shar Pei pages at  www.sharpei.co.nz
Mail Order products at www.0800466464.co.nz

New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990. Part II of the Act covers a broad range of Civil and Political Rights. As part of the right to life and the security of the person, the Act guarantees everyone:

1The right not to be deprived of life except in accordance with fundamental justice (Section 8)

2The right not to be subjected to torture or to cruel, degrading, or disproportionately severe treatment or punishment (Section 9)

3The right not to be subjected to medical or scientific experimentation without consent (Section 10)

4The right to refuse to undergo any medical treatment (Section 11)

 Furthermore, the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 guarantees everyone: Freedom of Thought, Conscience, and Religion.
This includes the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion, and belief,
INCLUDING THE RIGHT TO ADOPT AND HOLD OPINIONS WITHOUT INTERFERENCE (Section 1)

In response to Wally’s question on chlorine, search ‘chlorine’ in the search box for our articles here on topic. It is a carcinogen for starters. EWR



Gardening

Dealing to those dry patches in your lawn (Wally Richards)

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There are two problems that I was asked about this week and they may be ones that also affect your gardening endeavors.

The first is brown patches in lawn which often people mistakenly think of grass grubs as the cause. This is not to say that grass grubs don’t cause problems eating the roots of grasses but they are in the main seasonal. At any time of the year you may find a few white grass grubs in your gardens or lawn but the main populations start of from eggs laid deep in the lawn some time about November December when the beetles are active .

During their short period of life they are mating, laying eggs and eating holes in your plants at night. The grubs will hatch out and start feeding on the plants roots. If the soil becomes very dry as in a drought they will stop eating and lay dormant in the soil till the autumn rains moisten up the earth. Then they will continue eating roots towards the surface.

If in autumn you lift a square of lawn you may find a number of the grubs in the top 50mm of soil. If there is several in a square foot of area then it is worth while treating for control.

Control methods are either Wallys Neem Tree Powder or Wallys 3 in 1 for Lawns. Brown patches of grass at this time of the year is unlikely to be grass grub damage. It could be porina caterpillars which come out of their earth tunnels at night time to feed at the base of the grasses. This will cause bald patches. In gardens they may chew through the trunk of young seedlings and next day you will see the top of the seedling laying on the soil shriveling up in the sun.

Control treatment for lawn and seedlings is simply spraying the grass with Wallys Super Neem Tree Oil late in the day onto the recently mowed lawn. Like wise spray the seedlings for total coverage including the trunk near soil level. The porina when they come up to feed at night will get a dose of Neem and stop eating to starve to death.

The next possible reason for dry brown grass is a Thatch Problem. Thatch in lawns is the debris that builds up on top of the soil making a layer of organic rubbish. Over time unless treated the layer becomes dense and several mils tall. You will notice that when walking on the lawn a spongy feeling like walking on a thick carpet.

Thats the thatch.

When it rains or you water the thatch collects and hold the water in it layer which makes the grasses feeder roots grow up into the thatch for moisture. That not only makes the grasses weaker but also go brown when the thatch dries out. Sun and wind will dry thatch leaving the grasses without moisture so they will go brown.

The easy way to solve the problem is to use Wallys Thatch Busta on your lawn.

You dilute the product and spray it over a freshly mowed lawn or even better apply with a Lawn Boy if available. Thatch Busta is a high food which feeds the microorganisms to increase their populations and they will break down the thatch converting it to food for your lawn. The area needs to be kept lightly moist while this is happening and if no rain give a light watering once or twice a day to ensure the thatch is kept moist.

Warmth is the other requirement for success and at this time of the year there is ample warmth. Thatch Busta is best used in spring and autumn when there is adequate warmth and moisture from rain or dew.

Now the real problem of brown patches in the lawn if none of the above is what we call Dry Spot. Dry spot is when the soil surface tension caused but a period of dryness is such that water will not penetrate into the soil and instead sheds off into the surrounding area where it will sink in. The result is a brown area of grass with lush green grass around the perimeter. The easy way to solve dry spot is to fill the watering can with warm water, give a good squirt of dish washing liquid into the water and lather up with your hand. Water the soapy water over the brown grass and it will break surface tension so when you water or it rains the water will penetrate and the brown grass will green up again.

You will have likely seen in dry times playing fields that have gone brown looking like all the grasses have died. Not so once the rains come they will bounce back green, they were only laying dormant though lack of moisture. It takes a real dry drought for the sun to bake the grasses roots in the dry soil to kill the grasses. Dry spot or dry areas can also occur in your gardens and the soapy water will also fix the problem. Dry surface tension over larger areas are a cause of concern when it rains for the first time as the water cant sink in and flooding occurs. I always water regularly and in particular before rain to prevent that happening.

Now the next problem is container plants in big containers such as half wine barrels. Perennial plants such as shrubs and trees in those containers need root pruning every two to three years. That means lifting the plant out, cutting off bottom third of roots, putting fresh compost into the container (to height of removed roots part) and popping the tree/shrub back in. Not easy to do but if not done the plant becomes root bound and eventually dies.

Now some containers have either a bulge in the middle as in some types of urns or the top is more narrow than the container below. Containers like that should never be used for planting perennials in, only annuals. Always make sure the top of a container is the widest part and no pregnant like bulges. But not all is lost if you have the wrong type of container with a shrub or tree growing in it. After say 3 years in the container with a sharp long knife cut four wedges out of the root mass at the four cardinal points. Cut as deep as you can and remove the roots and soil. Then sprinkle some Blood and Bone and Sheep Manure pellets down the wedge holes and then fill with fresh compost. You may need to repeat this operation every two years and cut your wedges in a different area from last done.

Another way is if you have a drill bit that is about half a metre long and about 4cm wide you could drill some holes down into the container to cut roots and then fill holes as above.

If you require any products this week is the last week at the current prices. Order on www.0800466464.co.nz

Happy Gardening

Photo: pixabay.com

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Latest news on pesticides, herbicides, Monsanto & more

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From Food Democracy Now:

French Court Confirms Monsanto Guilty of Chemical Poisoning

A French court upheld on Thursday a 2012 ruling in which Monsanto was found guilty of chemical poisoning of a French farmer, who says he suffered neurological problems after… read more

U.S. Court Finds EPA was Wrong to Approve Dow Pesticide Harmful to Bees

By: Carey Gillam (Reuters) – A U.S. appeals court ruled on Thursday that federal regulators erred in allowing an insecticide developed by Dow AgroSciences onto the market,… read more

New Study Finds Low Doses of Roundup Might be Tied to Liver and Kidney Damage

The study, published in the journal Enviornmental Health, found that continuous exposure to very low doses of the herbicide Roundup might be linked to liver and kidney damage… read more

Other:

Montgomery plan to ban lawn pesticides headed for council showdown

Washington Post: Montgomery County’s debate over where and how to ban cosmetic lawn pesticides heats up again next week as Council President George Leventhal (D-At Large) defends his far-reaching bill against a more narrowly drawn alternative.

Leventhal’s bill, scheduled for a committee mark-up on Sept. 17, bars what he calls “non-essential” pesticides from private lawns and most county-owned land, including parks and athletic fields. He cites the body of research linking pesticide exposure to childhood cancer and other health issues. read more (VIDEO)

For further information on glyphosate, Roundup, links to the WHO report and Rangitikei’s stance with pesticides, go here.

For the research to date on glyphosate go here

Glyphosate

Glyphosate-Resistant Grass Was Approved in 2014 Without Any Review

1 Comment

I’ve had a NZ farmer tell me he grows GM grass. He was a dairy farmer. I can’t verify this as in prove it however the man who told me, I do not believe would lie about this. NZ is not GE free as claimed going by previous information. Read our GMO pages.
EnvirowatchRangitikei

From naturalsociety.com on GMO grass approval…

“New GMO-Approved Grass may Infiltrate a Lawn Near You

The USDA has just approved a new genetically modified, glyphosate-resistant grass without a single environmental review. Apparently, Scotts Miracle-Gro company and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) thinks GMO grass, targeted for sale to golf courses and other turf-like arenas – is brilliant. The government agency just approved the new GM, glyphosate-resistant grass without a single environmental review…..”

Read more: http://naturalsociety.com/new-gmo-approved-grass-may-infiltrate-lawn-near/#ixzz3OGtywcaw

As another of naturalsociety’s articles at their site says, we can kiss grass-fed beef good bye. Don’t think they won’t try that here. We already have a recent Herald article saying ‘GMO is the way to go…’ from Massey’s Peter Kemp. All the information from the independent research falls on deaf ears. What is their agenda?