TO DO THIS WEEK IN THE GARDEN

1

Plant climbing French beans in a mound formed along a tall trellis. Sweeten the soil with dolomite and enrich with compost. Cover the seed and sprinkle dried eggshells along the row to deter cutworm.

2

Apply a cupful of dolomite around the drip line of citrus trees to sweeten the soil and prevent fruit drop. 3

Deadhead old penta and salvia flowers and side-dress with compost to promote late autumn flowering.

4

The days are a little cooler so it’s time to colour the garden with pansies, petunias, lobelia and Johnny Jump Up violas for a blazing winter display.

Q AMary Liley from Malanda writes: “Can you identify what is attacking my silverbeet and beetroot chard plants? We do rotate our plantings.”

Mary, from your photo, it appears your silverbeet is infected with a fungal pathogen called Cercospora beticola and, once established on a group of plants in the Amaranthaceae family, is very difficult to treat. The fungal spores live in the soil and are often active in weeds and chards which are host to this disease. Rotational planting with different plant families is the main method to prevent plant diseases, but that appears not to have helped in your case. I suggest you remove all the affected leaves then spray the plants with wettable sulphur and also spray the soil around the plants. Do this three times, 10 days apart. Plant new silverbeet, beetroot and spinach in a new garden bed with compost and a handful of dolomite per square metre in an area that has not previously grown vegetables of the same family.