Make sure you don’t give good guys the boot
S B
QUEAMISH gardeners tend to step on creepy crawlies first and ask questions later. But it pays to know your insects because you could easily squash something that was actually on your side.
Years ago we relied on a golden rule for telling friends from foes: if it moves slowly it’s vegetarian and therefore a pest that ruins your plants so exterminate it. But if it runs quickly it’s a hunter that feeds on other insects. Leave it alone. To some extent this is right. Caterpillars and slugs are worthy candidates for the boot while the more active hoverflies are nature’s good guys.
Now we’ve gone greener it’s not all quite so black and white.
A good few creepy crawlies are a little ambiguous. Take spiders for instance. They give a lot of folks the creeps indoors but out in the garden even the tiniest money spider consumes huge volumes of greenfly. And there are other species in various sizes that specialise in chasing prey through the foliage or trapping them in webs spun between shrubs or in the greenhouse. Good looks aren’t reliable indicators. I know ladybirds, bees and butterflies are great garden do-gooders but some of the ugliest creepy crawlies are very beneficial too.
For example, the big black beetles that shoot out of the undergrowth when you’re weeding do a great job of eating slug eggs and small soil pests. Centipedes have similar tastes. Lay some nice bits of rotting wood around your patch and they’ll hole up underneath during the day to keep themselves cool and damp, then come out to work at night.
Millipedes are unpopular as they may have a go at plants but they mostly prefer rotting vegetation and also take some plant pests, so on balance I wouldn’t worry unless your garden has plagues of them.
The same goes for woodlice, which most gardeners are convinced exist just to pinch seedlings.
They do enjoy rotting material and are attracted to soft, leggy, overcrowded seedlings in the greenhouse or those that are damping off. UT give them a nice compost heap and they do sterling work by chewing up garden rubbish ready for earthworms to work on, so they’ll help the general breakdown process.
Earwigs used to be regarded as major villains by enthusiasts who grew dahlias and other flowers for cutting or for exhibition.
It’s true they’ll often nip petals and leave little marks but they also clear greenfly and other pests and since they clamber among the high shoots and flower heads they reach parts few bugs can.
So when you’re starting to spring clean the garden, nature’s own “little helpers” will give you a hand if you give them half a chance.
TOMATOES ARE A VINE OF THE TIMES
THE crop that has taken greenhouses, patios and vegetable gardens by storm in the past few years is tomatoes. They come in all shapes and sizes and several colours, they aren’t difficult to grow and they’re very productive.
You can start seeds off now on a warm windowsill indoors, otherwise order “plug” plants, or wait until planting time and buy young plants from the garden centre.
But when you are choosing varieties it’s worth understanding the jargon on seed packets and nursery labels to work out which type is best for you.
Greenhouse varieties are intended to be grown at 10C or more. Plant them from mid-April for the longest possible growing season. Outdoor varieties can be planted in pots on patios or in mild, sheltered, sunny veg patches shortly after the last frost from mid-May onwards (or earlier in cold greenhouses).
Traditional varieties such as Moneymaker and Ailsa Craig are the popular medium-sized, round, red tomatoes like those you buy from the greengrocer (typically weighing in at five to the pound) but nowadays new varieties are bred for disease resistance so don’t need spraying, while the latest can withstand tomato blight, which has been a problem in damp summers.
Cherry tomatoes such as Gardener’s Delight are the tiny sweet bite-sized ones.
They start ripening early as the fruit is so small but each truss holds dozens of tomatoes so you’ll pick lots per plant. They also need rather less water than other varieties.
Beefsteak tomatoes are the opposite, with huge meaty fruits that are all solid tomato, with almost no seeds and juice.
This makes them brilliant for slicing into sandwiches and they are also a good choice for people who can’t cope with tomato pips.
There are lots of unusual varieties and even if total yields aren’t huge they look good and often have great flavour.
Coloured tomatoes (yellow, white, green, pink or even striped) are novelties that make colourful salads.