Beat the beasties
Bothered by bugs?
Carnivorous plants only manage to digest about 5 per cent of the insects nearby, so you won’t eliminate these buzzing pests from your garden by growing them, but Venus flytraps and pitcher plants are very interesting to observe while they lure flies and mosquitoes to their doom. GROWING TIPS
■ Plant in a mix of peat moss and coarse sand, or peat moss and pumice (perlite) or plant in plain sphagnum moss; carnivorous plants generally prefer a low pH mix.
■ They don’t like hard tap water, so use rainwater wherever possible. Many grow in swampy areas so like to be kept moist and prefer to stand in water (hanging pots should have a fitted saucer).
■ Check whether your plant needs summer-level watering over winter (most don’t, but some do).
■ Before putting a plant outside, check whether it is frost-tolerant.
■ Plants outside don’t need to be fed. But for indoor plants you’ll need to catch flies and cockroaches for food. Don’t use flyspray to kill insects you intend to feed to the plant.
■ Keep small, delicate plants, such as sundews, inside or birds may peck them out of their pots.
Keep a close eye on plants
Spending a little bit of time each day inspecting your vege plot can prevent a lot of heartbreak as you can take prompt action at the first signs of pests, diseases or water stress.
Look out for powdery mildew on pumpkins, cucumbers and courgettes and remove affected leaves as soon as it’s spotted; ensure tomatoes, eggplants and peppers are adequately supported on their stakes; nip out the flowering tips of herbs and take terminal digital action (aka squash!) any incursions of aphids, green vege bugs or caterpillars.
Remember too that plants become more vulnerable to pests and disease when they are under stress – so if you spot any early symptoms, ensure there isn’t another environmental factor impacting your crops, such as lack of water or poor drainage.
Propagate strawberries
As summer draws to a close, so too does strawberry production. Now’s the time to make more plants to boost next season’s harvest.
Once fruiting has almost finished, the plants start sending out long runners. Baby plants (plantlets) will form along these snaking tendrils and quickly start to form root systems of their own. These babies are genetically identical to the parent plant and are the perfect way to increase your strawberry stock for free.
The easiest way to help them along is to peg the plantlets into the ground so that they’re secure and won’t be disturbed. If you’re growing strawberries in pots, they may not be anywhere near the ground, so in this case, simply place small containers of soil or potting mix beneath each plantlet and peg them in. It looks a little strange, but works a treat!
Once they take root, the umbilical cord to the parent plant will naturally shrivel and break – or you can snip them off and leave them until you’re ready to shift them to a better spot.
– compiled by Barbara Smith