All this rain is great for the farmers and our forests, but its causing havoc in our veggie gardens!
Here are some things to be aware of:
Powdery Mildew Powdery Mildew is a constant curse in the garden and can attach a wide range of plant material in the garden. This fungal problem appears as if the leaves have been dusted with icing sugar (not to be confused with the insect pest Mealy Bug that appears more like cotton wool). Fruit and vegetables can be treated with either Eco Rose/Fungicide or a milk solution made up of 1 part full cream milk to 10 parts water.
Slugs and Snails Handpick:Handpick snails at night. Use a flashlight and drop them into a bucket of soapy water. Handpicking snails from your plants can be an effective control. If you're squeamish about slime, wear rubber gloves. Plop any captives into a jar (filled with soapy water so they don't crawl out) and use a screw top, as they have been known to push with sufficient force to pop the lid off of a container.
Snail baits:Snail bait such as Multicrop Snail and Slug Pellets or Copper Sulphate sprays such as Goodbye Snails.
Beer traps: Beer traps can be either store-bought or built at home. All you need is a shallow pan or saucer (a plastic butter tub or take away container is a good depth) sunk about halfway into the ground and filled with beer. It lures the snail with the scent of malt and yeast. Cut a few one-inch-square doors at the soil level and use the lid to deflect rain, thus preventing dilution. Adding a dash of baker's yeast makes a beer trap more effective. Avoid the impulse to empty the trap each day, as most slugs are attracted by the dead bodies of their own kind, but the beer will lose its potency eventually, so refresh it every two or three days. (We think this is the most effective control).
Other methods:Sawdust shavings, eggshells, lines of copper have all been used with varying degrees of success.
Root Rot Wilting of foliage and branches dying back one by one are symptoms of root rot. A regular spraying with Yates Anti Rot will help protect your veggies from root rot.
Rotting Garlic Garlic, which is almost ready to harvest is at risk of rotting if this rain keeps up. Keep a close eye on plants and if it looks like the tops are starting to collapse or get mushy, its best to harvest them. It's important to harvest them as soon as you see any signs, otherwise the whole bulb could rot away. If you can't keep a close eye on the Garlic, it would be best to harvest them now, otherwise you could lose the whole lot.
Potatoes Rotting Pretty much the same as with the Garlic, the continuous rain and wet soil means the tubers underground can start to rot. If potatoes were planted in time, they could be harvested now. Keep in mind that these will be small 'New Potatoes' not the full grown potatoes you would usually expect.
Other fungal diseases Many other fungal or bacterial spots can develop in wet weather, keep a close eye on everything in the veggie patch but particularly leafy things like Silverbeet, Spinach and lettuce. Treat fungal and bacterial spot with Eco-Fungicide.
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