Queensland fruit fly or Qfly (Bactrocera tryoni) is one of the most damaging pests of fruit and vegetables in Australia. This insect is native to eastern Queensland and north-eastern New South Wales, but has extended its range due to transport of infected fruit, the planting of exotic host crops, and climate change. Now that theContinue reading “How to Control Queensland Fruit Fly in the Home Garden, An Integrated Pest Management Approach”
Category Archives: Pests, Diseases & Problems
Winter Pest and Disease Control with Lime Sulphur
Winter is the traditional time to prune and spray deciduous fruit trees and vines. Spraying is carried out at this time to eliminate pests and diseases which can overwinter and emerge in spring. Two separate treatments are usually employed in winter. Oil sprays are often used to control overwintering pest insects, and fungicides are usedContinue reading “Winter Pest and Disease Control with Lime Sulphur”
What is Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
The problem of garden pest control is as old as agriculture itself, which started when humanity first cultivated plants for food more than ten thousand years ago. Modern conventional pest control methods often use chemical controls as the first option, and usually ignore the real causes of pest problems. They rely on routine, scheduled pesticideContinue reading “What is Integrated Pest Management (IPM)”
Citrus Problems, Why Citrus Fruit Drops and Flowers Fail to Develop
Is your citrus tree dropping its fruit before they reach full size, or even worse, dropping the flowers before fruit even begin to form? This problem can happen to oranges, lemons, lime, grapefruit, mandarins and all other citrus. Trees photosynthesise to produce carbohydrates such as sugars which they store as their energy source. They canContinue reading “Citrus Problems, Why Citrus Fruit Drops and Flowers Fail to Develop”
Apple Tree Problems – Sun Scald
Sun scald is not a disease, but damage caused to apples and many other fruit, caused by high temperatures and strong sunlight in summer. Typically, sun scald damage appear on sun-exposed side, which is usually towards the direction of the midday to afternoon sun. The cells die in the sunburnt area, forming an irregularly shapedContinue reading “Apple Tree Problems – Sun Scald”
Citrus Nutrient Deficiency – Yellow Leaves
If leaves are yellowing on a citrus tree, it may be a sign of nutrient deficiency, but it may not be, depending on which leaves are yellowing. Older leaves yellowing are quite normal as long as it’s only happening to a very small number of the very oldest leaves. Evergreen trees such as citrus willContinue reading “Citrus Nutrient Deficiency – Yellow Leaves”
Citrus Problems – Why Is My Citrus Tree Dying?
Why do apparently healthy looking citrus trees suddenly start deteriorating in a matter of days, with leaves curling then dropping, branches dying back, eventually resulting in the loss of the tree? There are several causes, often caused by common gardening mistakes, which are easy to avoid. Curling Citrus Leaves as An Indicator of Root ProblemsContinue reading “Citrus Problems – Why Is My Citrus Tree Dying?”
Horticultural Glues and Tree Banding Trees to Controls Ants and Other Pests
Glue-banding of tree trunks is an effective technique for controlling various pests of fruit trees. A waterproof band covered in horticultural glue, an aggressive long-lasting adhesive, is wrapped around the trunk of the tree to create a sticky barrier which prevents climbing insects from making their way into the tree canopy to feed, mate, andContinue reading “Horticultural Glues and Tree Banding Trees to Controls Ants and Other Pests”
Crown Gall, What Are the Brown Growths on Apple Tree Trunks and Branches?
Crown gall is a bacterial disease caused by Agrobacterium tumefaciens (syn. Rhizobium radiobacter), which produces tumour-like swellings on the bark of trees and plants. It can infect a wide range of dicotyledonous (broad-leaved) plants, particularly members of the Rosaceae (rose) family such as roses, raspberries, almonds, cherries, peaches, pears and apples. These disease-causing bacteria liveContinue reading “Crown Gall, What Are the Brown Growths on Apple Tree Trunks and Branches?”
Organic Control of Curl Grubs in Lawn
If you’ve ever been digging in the garden and discovered plump, pale coloured grubs beneath the soil that curl up into a “C” shape when disturbed, these are Curl Grubs. Curl grubs are the larvae of various species of cockchafers or scarab beetles (family Scarabaeidae). Depending on where you are in the world, these curlContinue reading “Organic Control of Curl Grubs in Lawn”
Citrus Problems – Why Citrus Fruit Splitting Occurs and How To Prevent It
Various cultivars of Navel and Valencia oranges, mandarins and mandarin hybrids are prone to fruit splitting, a pre-harvest physiological rind disorder. Gardeners often wonder if this phenomenon is caused by a nutrient deficiency. Actually, there’s another cause, but plant nutrition can play a part in the splitting of citrus peel. How Does Citrus Peel Split?Continue reading “Citrus Problems – Why Citrus Fruit Splitting Occurs and How To Prevent It”
Apple Tree Diseases and Planting Location
Apple tree branches covered in patches of white, woolly fuzz? What you’re seeing is a woolly aphid infestation. These pests can be controlled by spraying a few applications of horticultural oil spray (preferably a natural oil-based product rather than a petroleum oil based one) 7 days apart, it suffocates them quite effectively, and gets pastContinue reading “Apple Tree Diseases and Planting Location”
Citrus Nutrient Deficiency – Yellow Leaf with Green Veins
One of the most common nutrient deficiencies seen on citrus is the yellowing of the leaf with dark green veins. Citrus are heavy feeders and are prone to nutrient deficiencies in autumn when they’re fruiting heavily and maturing their fruit, and magnesium deficiency is a common occurrence with citrus during this period. Magnesium deficiencies canContinue reading “Citrus Nutrient Deficiency – Yellow Leaf with Green Veins”
Citrus Problems – Citrus Yellow Veins on Green Leaf in Winter
Are your citrus leaves turning green with yellow veins in winter? When gardeners see this colour change in their citrus leaves, they often wonder if this is due to a nutrient deficiency, and if so, what they can do to fix it. Leaf Chlorosis The abnormal yellowing of leaf tissue is called chlorosis, which isContinue reading “Citrus Problems – Citrus Yellow Veins on Green Leaf in Winter”
How to Kill a Tree Stump Without Poisonous Chemicals
Sometimes we need to cut down trees to remove them, but chopping trees down to the ground does not stop them putting out new growth from the stump or from the roots and eventually turning back into full sized trees again. In fact, the technique of cutting trees down to a stump and letting themContinue reading “How to Kill a Tree Stump Without Poisonous Chemicals”
How to Kill Weeds Without Digging or Toxic Chemicals
Weeds growing on path and driveways, though crack or gaps in concrete and paving, or in empty garden beds are very easily taken care of without chemicals or digging. How is that possible you may ask? Go put the kettle on, then come back here and I’ll tell you! Seriously. One of the most effectiveContinue reading “How to Kill Weeds Without Digging or Toxic Chemicals”
Citrus Problems – How to Control Citrus Gall Wasp, Methods That Work
What are Citrus Galls? Citrus galls are unsightly swellings caused by a tiny female citrus gall wasp (Bruchophagus fellis) which lays her eggs in the soft new growth of citrus trees in spring. As the new growth hardens off, a woody gall forms around the growing wasp larvae. Each gall contains many wasp larvae, eachContinue reading “Citrus Problems – How to Control Citrus Gall Wasp, Methods That Work”
How to Net Fruit Trees and Berries for Pest Control
Natural pest control techniques such as companion planting can control most of your small garden pests such as insects, but what can gardeners do about birds and animals? The seasonal event of birds and other critters stripping fruit trees clean is nothing new for farmers, but urban gardeners are now seeing more birds, rats, possums,Continue reading “How to Net Fruit Trees and Berries for Pest Control”
Crop Rotation Systems for Annual Vegetables
The great thing about gardening with annual vegetables is that it’s very cheap to get started and the plants grow very quickly, so gardeners get to see (and taste) the results of their efforts in a very short time. Some gardeners get discouraged after a few years of successful vegie gardening when things start changing.Continue reading “Crop Rotation Systems for Annual Vegetables”
How to Make Your Own DIY Homemade Garden Sprays
In Permaculture we like to do things naturally, and we like to exercise our initiative to make use of the resources at hand to achieve our ends. What better way to do this than to brew up your own DIY garden natural pesticides, fungicides, plant tonics and other such useful concoctions! I’ve managed to gatherContinue reading “How to Make Your Own DIY Homemade Garden Sprays”