Gardening Blog
Allotment Diary
May 5, 2009: telling friend from foe
Take a moment to familiarise yourselves with the gardener's best friends - the larvae of the ladybird and the lacewing, advises Terry Walton
We have entered the glorious month of May and the hopes of the gardening fraternity soar high. To me May is the best month in the gardener's calendar with spring slipping away and summer approaching fast. The weather is getting ever warmer, the days lengthen at an ever-increasing pace and the worries of a last visit from Mr Frost simply melt away. The landscape of the plot almost changes before our eyes and the seeds are germinating and breaking up the drab appearance of the soil. The coming days will bring us pleasant sunshine, gentle rain and plenty of hours of sheer enjoyment.
Early May is the time to slow awhile in our sowing regime and take another look at our plan. If you are like me the basic plan has been adhered to but a little more space has been used up than expected. Take a look in the greenhouse and see what you still have there that has not been planted out on the plot. Check that seed tin and check what seeds you have bought and not yet sown. You may be surprised that the amount of ground you have left does not match up to the amount of seed still left to sow. Don’t worry, be like me - rethink your strategy and cram it in. If your ground has been prepared well enough - and the fertility is high all - these extras will grow!
It is still a little early yet to plant those delicate runner and French beans outside but their canes can be erected. This will give you a better view of the space left to be used.
As mentioned in previous articles, as the food source becomes more readily available so does the number of pests waiting to feast on them. Being organic, we need to encourage all predators to feed on these pests. It is often difficult to separate friends from foe, but two of our most helpful friends are the ladybird and the lacewing.
Both of these adults feed on aphids but it is their larvae that are the most voracious consumers of these pests. But how many gardeners recognise these larvae? Both sets of infants of these friends have rather ominous looking larvae. The larvae of the ladybird look like grey alligators with a series of yellow bands around their body. They look more like pests than predators. They scurry around the aphid-infested plants feasting on these slow-moving sap suckers. Do not mistake these and destroy them!
The larvae of the lacewing also look more like a pest than a helper. These larvae are about 6mm long and have soft brown bodies, legs and sharp jaws. They are very reminiscent of a caterpillar. So again beware not to destroy one of the biggest eaters of aphids. It is reckoned that each lacewing larvae will consume thousands of aphids in it short infant life.
So do not go about spraying those chemicals indiscriminately or you could be wiping out a powerful ally in the control of our enemies. Get to recognise your friends and welcome them as they will pay you back manyfold.
Sometimes even with a little help from our friends we have to take steps to eliminate heavy infestations. My answer to this is the forefinger and thumb and a gentle squeeze or, in the more difficult places, a direct jet from my power sprayer containing nothing more than pure water.
So in the world of organic controls there are many weapons in our armoury and recognition of our 'little helpers' is a great help along the way.
Useful links
- April 28, 2009: weeding out the pests
- The munch bunch are after your lunch
- Terry Walton's weekly allotment diary
- Controlling slugs and snails
- Getting rid of aphids
- More on tackling aphids
- Creature comforts - encouraging biodiversity in the garden
- The gardener's best friend? Meet the common frog
- Chat to other gardeners at Saga Zone
My Life On A Hillside Allotment
Terry Walton is a regular contributor to The Jeremy Vine Show on BBC Radio 2 and has written a book called, My Life on a Hillside Allotment, published by Bantam Press. The book is available from Amazon
