How is Your Vege Garden going?

Brett_H

Wow Steve, Im in awe! We have issues with Possums and Turkeys. I've tried everything from motion-sensor sprinklers to bird netting but still our fruit and vege is devastated. I reckon the local flying foxes started the 'grow food not lawns' campaign.

GaryatGala

Here in Perth it,s more like fungi, caterpillars, grasshoppers, aphids on our roses and citrus trees as well as locusts that chew their way through leaves and fruit that starts to ripen. Am glad we don,t get possums and birds.

Steve1

Possums eh? I have heard that if you plant a blue gum and keep cutting it to about 1.5 meters the possums will gorge on the new growth in preference to most other things. Turkeys are out of my league though. The biggest problem I had with my fruit trees was the complete disappearance of an entire harvest one year by an elderly couple up the road - though I lose a few quinces and all my almonds to the sulphur crested cockatoos and corellas. Bugs do happen here, mostly pear and cherry slug for me - nothing seems to eat them. I fertilize rarely and only low dose (organic) when i do, and although things grow much slower they are less soft and tasty for the bugs and grubs and it seems they are hardier with little or no water. The fruit however is still amazingly tasty. 🙂 Here are some beans I grew a couple of years ago...

Steve1

Hi All, Was walking through Melb Uni Burnley Gardens the other day and took a few pics. The aphids look out of control but really aren't - if you have a close look most of them are white (dead) and there are a few bugs with wings (lacewings - great aphid predators). There are many beneficial insects: hoverflies, tiny 1mm and larger wasps and of course the lacewings already mentioned that will do in large numbers of pests (aphids, catapilliars...) I've read (and found) keeping some carrots or parsley in the ground to go to seed over the spring/summer/autumn provides extra food for the beneficial insects and helps keep them in your yard on the job. Spraying (though often necessary in farming mono-cultures where habitat for beneficial insects is highly modified or absent) wipes out the pest and predators. Food for thought. Cheers Steve

Kevohere

Steve1 wrote:

Food for thought. Cheers Steve

Good food... Good thought. I have been looking at ways in bringing balance into my veggie garden even to having certain flowers nearby that deter the bad bugs. My new partner has been amazed by the freshness on the plate with the past crop of carrots, lettuce broccoli and beetroot. Better than "the fresh food people" she says! :thumb:

eggbert

My broccoli just got smashed by caterpillars just as the heads were starting to form. Pulled the last one out last night. Still, have a load of eggplants coming through at the moment, and the thai tomatoes are still producing well. That time of year when not much else will grow in the tropics though. I've been making a few different wicking beds this year using IBC's, 44 gallon drums cut in half, and tip shop wins. and

Moon

My new vege patch .. while the other is resting

Moon

Anyone know which insect dumps this huge load of eggs?

Moon

Koffee_Kosmo

I have fruit on my trees Figs, Pomegranates, Lemons and coffee trees are all in fruit KK [attach=1] [attach=2]

Koffee_Kosmo

Moon wrote:

Anyone know which insect dumps this huge load of eggs?

Are you sure it's not a fungus ? As it sure looks like one If not and you have water nearby It may be frogs KK

Kevohere

Koffee Kosmo wrote:

I have fruit on my trees Figs, Pomegranates, Lemons and coffee trees are all in fruit KK

Very nice KK :thumb: I love a good fig but can't seem to grow them that well down here. Problems with birds and bats, so netting is necessary and I couldn't be bothered. How long did it take for your coffee trees to flower and fruit? Are these the ones I recall you planted in those plastic wheeled garden bins? I've had two on the go for the past 5 years, one flowering (moderately) only once in that time. Mind you they were in pots, getting moved around for shelter for about half that time whilst I was a flat dweller. I put them in ground just over two years ago, after moving to a (hopefully) permanent residence. They have looked fairly healthy since with some brown tip leaves occasionally, slight increase in size, but only about 70 to 80cms high and no sign of flowers. Sorry, there's probably another more suitable thread for this. Kev

Koffee_Kosmo

My coffee trees have grown very quickly since they were re-potted last year prior to that they were in small but root bound pits since 2011 While in there new home they get regularly watered and fertilised and Seasol to keep the soil healthy Just took a photo wth my wife close by for height reference This year is the first mass flowering they have had - Last year only a handful of flowers came out KK [attach=1]

Moon

Koffee Kosmo wrote:

Are you sure it's not a fungus ? As it sure looks like one If not and you have water nearby It may be frogs KK

Nah .. definitely not fungus, which has grown on and around dead tree trunks nearby. This occurred overnight and has mucus around it. The mass is about 10cm x 5cm x Ht 3cm and tapers down. It also happened about a week ago .. although in that instance .. the egg mass turned orange as it dried up. Whatever lays them is relying on the garden being watered so that the eggs remain moist .. cause they dry out quickly in the sun. Again .. some of the eggs were just below the surface when I dug under the mass to scrape them off the surface. It must have a huge abdomen to drop that amount. Even a large butterfly is a stretch. No water pools nearby. Your trees are looking very healthy.

Koffee_Kosmo

Well the next thing I can deduce is that it is Slime Mould KK

Moon

You'd have a lot of different species up in Brisbane that are keen to eat up your produce. Having said that though .. it appears to be attracted to the lettuce .. as on both occasions they dropped their load closest to them.. with tomato being the next closest. Best chance of identifying this grizzly - is perhaps a local Melburnian who has had the same thing turn up in their vege garden. After transferring this mass into a sunny position .. it developed an outer crust of eggs that oozed a orangy puss. Now .. I've no doubt Bear Gryllis would find some locals in Asia who would find this a tasty protein source .. however I'm yet to share the local enthusiasm shown on his TV programs about eating crickets and Turantulas .. who's abdomen was considered the choice part of the spider when a young local was asked .. and replied .. because it is creamy. ??? Not exactly our cup of coffee, perhaps .. but I can see the sense in exploring other protein sources in the West when we run into future food shortages. I also poked it to study its inner consistency, which was like a yellow runny custard .. and gave it the odour test. it had an earthy smell. .. and I was careful not to get my snozzle too close .. as the outer eggs were light and getting blown around when disturbed .. so inhaling at an inappropriate time may have resulted in me snorting up whatever they may be .. and the thought of them growing inside of me conjured up an image from the film 'Alien' Yep .. that one.

Moon

Amazing what you can find in a home vege garden Here's the visual of what I'm talking about. Looks a bit like a custard filled muffin :rofl:

Koffee_Kosmo

Moon wrote:

Amazing what you can find in a home vege garden Here's the visual of what I'm talking about. Looks a bit like a custard filled muffin :rofl:

It's definitely a slime mould At about 1 min in this video you will see an exact likeness to yours http://youtu.be/B79Z56vl02A And a very useful companion link - http://www.science-guy.com/Science-guy-com%3A--Protozoa.php KK

Moon

Hey excellent call KK .. that's impressive! WOW! Cheers for looking that up .. and the vid. :thumb: ---------------------------------------------------------- I was going to scoop this up and put in a plastic bag and into the bin .. only it will only transfer it to multiply somewhere else. might have to terminate these with a dose of chlorine solution. Shame if they're beneficial to the environment, only I'd rather not risk 'The Invasion of the Slime Mould' scenario. Things could get out of control the way those little suckers behave .. spores n all. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I'm looking it up and researching whether slime mould is ok or bad for gardens before doing anything drastic. Don't like harming the good guys .. and girls. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- UPDATE: Apparently Slime Moulds aren't a problem for plants or Humans .. so no need to order a full biohazard suit for when going out into my back yard.

RichardM

I've been getting a lot of those. As far as I can tell, anywhere that I've put coffee grounds, and then have added sulphate of potash, they spring up like crazy. They don't seem to cause any issues though for veges. I have found with a few of them, they fluoress if you put vinegar on them (similar to how some stinkhorns do - though I'd take these slimes over stinkhorns anyday). I will take a photo next time I get one. One day, I had one in my coffee plant pot (which is basically 90% coffee grounds that they are growing in), and overnight, it took up the entire plant surface, and climbed down the side of the pot to the deck.

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