Saturday, 13 September 2008
Thats it folks
Well my last show is over and now I will spend the rest of my time sorting everything out for next year. I need to move one of my poly tunnels and modify it to suit my onions and leeks and erect my greenhouse. I also have to reset all my parsnip pipes, remove all the sand outside to allow the rain to get at it to wash away any nasties and remaining mixture. Everything also has to be sprayed with armillatox to keep things clean and sterile, I will also let off a few bug smoke bombs in the tunnels over the next few months to kill off any breeding bugs that will hibernate over the winter.
The first real job of the season as far as growing vegetables is concerned is when the leeks arrive in December and the onions from seed get planted. I hope everything is in place by then to start a fresh season.
Didnt have much left for this show, but I did pretty well considering.
Didnt show the really big parsnips in this pic as they were just to huge so lacked in quality.
The first real job of the season as far as growing vegetables is concerned is when the leeks arrive in December and the onions from seed get planted. I hope everything is in place by then to start a fresh season.
Didnt have much left for this show, but I did pretty well considering.
Didnt show the really big parsnips in this pic as they were just to huge so lacked in quality.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Subscribe To Veg4Show
Posts
Comments
14 comments:
Hi,What sort of smoke bombs do you use in your tunnels.
I have a polytunnel and want to do the same thing.
Are those Sulphur things in tins you set alight OK In a tunnel ?
Would love to know.
Cheers,Dan
Hi Dan
Yes they are fine, to be honest I don't use anything specific. I tend to use anything i can get and will let them off right up to Christmas. I will use at least 3 different brands to ensure they work. Normally i let one of every month depending on the size of the tunnel.
Dead Fast Greenhouse Sulphur Candle Fumigator is the most common.
Thanks for that.
The guy in my local garden centre said that the smoke might turn into sulphuric acid and harm the polythene if it was to come into contact with any condensation ??
But If you've done it before with no ill effects that'll do for me.
Cheers,Dan.
P.S Cracking lot of Veg !!
True, sulphur dioxide and water makes sulphuric acid, this in turn in theory could well damage your cover.
I'm not sure if this depends on what cover you have. I have an anti fog, low condensation cover that results in all the water droplets staying ground level so the level of condensation is reduced and so is the risk.
I also change my covers every 2 years due to aeroplane fuel by product dropping on my tunnels and burning fecking holes in it. Flight path choice is spot on inline with my tunnels but i haven't got round to suing them lol.
I personally haven't had any problems but i can't guarantee you wont.
I suggest maybe you try armillatox or jeyes fluid to clean the inside first. You can also you this to soak the beds to help sterilize them aswell.
I don't think jeyes fulid suggest using it on polythene tho but again I havent had any problems with it.
I also use Citrox disinfectant on everything to avoid any fungal diseases.
You could take the cover off and fumigate the entire garden with 50 candles lol.
Maybe contact the company and ask just how high the risks are, surely minimal? they will of course cover themselves and put you off.
nteresting: I wonder if this could be used as a spray on the polythene and do a good job.
http://www.kingsseeds.com/
kolist/1/SUNDRIES/
PEST+CONTROL/13/45935.htm
Cheers for that.
I've just used some Armillatox today as it happens to clean the algae off the outside of my tunnel.
I can't stand the smell though.
I think I'll just spray some cirtox all over the place instead inside.
I've never had any soil problems remarkably inside so I don't think I'll need to sterilize the beds.
It's just all the thrips I had this year which destroyed my onions I'm worried about.
I suppose even If I kill all the overwintering ones there's nothing to stop a fresh lot flying in next Summer.
Well Citrox it is and keep an eye out for thrips next year.
Cheers,Dan
Provado Ultimate Bug Killer is pretty good at controlling thrips. I was talking to a guy at the show today who had it real bad and said Provado eventually stopped it but nothing else would. Also have you tried the thrips sticky tape traps? it helps draw them out from hiding and hopefully kill the buggers. I'm going to invest in about 50 of these next year and test them. I also have an organic spray that controls thrips but have not tested it.
I always spray early as once they take hold you are screwed, try to deter them rather than wait until you are infested.
Right,that's It.
Must get some Provado before the bloody Eco police decide to ban this too.
Just found it on the web in an aerosol spray which would be much easier than a liquid that just seems to run off the plant.
6 weeks protection too.
That'll do me.
Cheers for your help.
Dan.
No problem
P.s If you have run off, use a binding agent such as a small amount of soap, washing liquid. This just helps spread the liquid spray and also more is left on the plant when dry rather than all run off. Just a small drop is required and does no harm to the plant, as long as you don't over do it on the liquid as it can yellow the tips of the plant if you go mad with it.
Armillatox 1 to every 100 parts also deters thrips as they hate the smell.
Thrips seem to be a nightmare.
All the old insecticides which did work i.e Permethrin,Malathion and Lindane have now all been banned by our nanny state EU compliant politicians.
As far as the Provado stuff,I've done a bit of research and the chemical doesn't actually kill the thrips,It's the added Sunflower Oil which does it by means of mechanical action.
Presumably it clogs them up.
I tried some Bug Clear this year which claimed that the Rape Seed oil in it did the same thing.
It didn't.
It might have killed the odd adult but didn't do a damn thing against the larva and any eggs.
So unless you spray every day It doesn't seem to work.
Another thing was that when I did spray with it it made the plants all greasy and I'd imagine that this would stop the plants from "breathing" if you know what I mean.
So in summary there doesn't seem to be any chemical means of controlling thrips thanks to the EU apart from just covering them with Oil.
What a joke this country is regarding health and safety.
Sorry for the rant Liam.
Thanks for your help.
Dan
lol I so agree, but this is the problem we face. You cant get rid of anything only control it or try to avoid it in the first place by early prevention.
A good example is spider mite, you can control it and avoid it in most cases via spraying, but once you have it bad there is no way you can get rid of it.
Its the early stages of growth and knowing just when these little buggers start to attack to try and make them go on your neighbours rather than yours.
I didn't really think about the breathing, thats a good point and one i didn't note.
I will try the thrips sticky tape next year in the hope they are more attracted to this than my plants.
Interesting read:
http://attra.ncat.org/
attra-pub/gh-thrips.html
Predatory mites, lady beetles, and soil-dwelling mites. Now theres an idea..Alan Titchmarsh does this, it must work lol.
*Sticky tape traps
*Predatory mites
*Spraying
*Clean sterile environment
*Garlic plants or spray deters
*Atom bomb
If you think of anything else to add to the list let me know as I'm going to test it all next year.
Tumble bug or Polysect (Bifenthrin) double strength at the first sign of any damage and continue spraying every 10 days or so, alternate with Malathion aswell.
Armillatox in this way by spraying the plants and the surrounding soil at every watering with a dilution rate of 5,000 to one or 1 ml to 5 litre of water.
I know you can still get Polysect not sure on the rest.
Think I might have found another product to defeat the dreaded Thrip.
Ptrethrum or Pyrethrins.
In a powder form too.
I'm going to get some of this and spread it all over the shop next year.
Seems pretty cheap too.
Found this link:
http://www.edirectory.co.uk/pf/88888/mia/d/vitax+insect+killer+powder+for+flowers+fruits+vegetables+175g/pid/6367591
Got to be worth a go !!
Cheers,Dan.
Oops the link didn't copy properly.
Just put Vitax Insect Killer in google and you'll find it.
Dan
Cheers I'll give this ago aswell.
Yes links never copy correct here, I always have to hit enter after each line but i found it alright.
Trust me it has to be cheap via a powder form. I used deris dust this year and ended up using about..no joke more than 40 in 2 months. It never comes out the bottle correct is my excuse. (normally an entire bottle on the floor).