Moonshadows Organic Garden Witchery

1: Slugs And Snails That's an easy one to start, at least we all know what they look like. With slugs, believe it or not, it's the little tiny grey ones that do the worst damage, while the great big ones mostly live on dead organic matter, such as rotting leaves. Back to the little grey numbers, there are several ways to deal with these blighters:
* You can pick 'em off by torch light, this may sound bonkers, but they do mostly feed at night. * You can sprinkle 'em with salt (bit cruel that one!). * Use beer traps placed level with the soil, so they can drown in oblivion. * Encourage critters [animals] like toads, hedgehogs and ground beetles, who's favourite snack is a slug or snail. * Or the combination of your choice. I prefer to pick them (I do it by day) and encourage the critters.
2: White Fly Although this is mainly a greenhouse pest, it's certainly worth a mention because once you've got it it's a pain to get rid of. A whitefly attack reduces plant vitality, causes premature leaf drop, and may result in the demise of your favourite plant. Yes, that one granny gave you for your birthday last year! Not to mention a nasty black mould, which results from the 'honeydew' excreted by the little darlings.
* Provided you don't have a major invasion, you could allow a tiny parasitic wasp, called Encarsia Formosa, to come to the rescue. These are available from some garden centres and seed companies. The little wasps lay their eggs in the white fly larvae, and that's that. But, if you've got a major outbreak of white fly, then the Encarsia won't be able to cope, as they don't multiply fast enough, so you'll need to take more drastic action. * Give your conservatory or greenhouse a really good clean up. If possible, you should first move all of the plants outside and give them a thorough spray with insecticidal soap or a bug spray that contains natural plant oils (don't forget under the leaves). Next, give the greenhouse, or conservatory, a really good spring clean. (Even if it's July!) Scrub the glass well, and make sure you get into all those nooks and crannies. You may, as this will hopefully be a one time major clean up, like to use something strong such as Jeyes Fluid or washing soda to get things really clean! Or, if you prefer, you can always use washing up liquid or soft soap, and scrub a bit harder! * If the weather conditions allow, keep your plants outside another couple of weeks, spraying with soap twice a week. When you finally bring them back in, you may still see a few white fly wizzing about. Now is the time to introduce your Encarsia. These little wasps will keep things under control from now on.
3: Aphids These little charmers are similar in many ways to the white fly. Except they attack a much wider range of plants, come in a variety of colours, and misbehave both in the greenhouse as well as in the veg plot! Aphids transmit plant viruses, cause stunting and deformities of leaves and stems. And similar to the white fly, they also produce 'honeydew' causing a black mould to form on the leaves. This reduces a plants ability to photo syntheses. There are many things you can do to fight aphids:-
* You can wash 'em off with a hose. * Spray 'em with soap, or growing success bug spray that contains natural plant oilsas with whitefly. * Attract the beneficials to help. Such as ladybirds, hoverflies, and lacewings, by growing flowers, such as marigolds, in the vicinity. * You can also encourage blue tits, and other insect eating birds, by putting up boxes for them to nest in. * And finally, if you're not squeamish, you can always squish 'em with your fingers!
4: Fleabeetles These aren't the leaping little beggars that bite your dog or cat. They're actually a tiny little beetle that has a preference for making lace curtains [shredding] from your Brassicas!! When you touch the cabbage leaves they ping off just like the regular fleas, only these won't bite you! A good weapon in this instance is horticultural fleece placed over your brassicas, as soon as you transplant them outside; a floating row cover.
* You can also try mixed planting, to confuse the little suckers. * Cultivating the soil regularly to destroy eggs and larvae in the soil. * Giving your plants a midday shower with the hose, as they're most active then. * Again Companion Planting, to attract the good guys. * And finally you can now buy Beneficial Nematodes, which you can water in to your soil.

Spring - Buy varieties of plants that are resistant to pests & diseases. Put out slug deterrents eg eggshells, beer traps etc if the winter was mild & watch out for aphid attacks. If you spot them early squash them with your finger & thumb or apply organic incesticide. Use a sticky trap to monitor flying pests entering the greenhouse.

Summer - Be vigilant. If the weather is warm, pest populations can soar in a couple of days. Spray at the first signs of attack. Diseases can often take hold when plants are overcrowded, so space accordingly and ensure good air circulation.

Autumn & Winter - Clear fallen leaves & burn any that show diseases. Put up grease bands around fruit trees if winter moths are a problem. In the greenhouse maintain good ventilation to avoid grey mould. Clean greenhouse & equipment with garden disinfectant.