Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
seed to avoid even the chance of bringing infection into the garden. Longer-lived
brassica plants, such as cauliflowers, should always be given a good start in
clean compost, preferably with a pH between 6.5 and 7, and planted into the soil
bed only when they have five true leaves.
Once the soil is infected, all brassica plants, including mustard greens and
daikon, will struggle to cope. To get smaller but still worthwhile harvests in
future years, use only varieties sold as 'club-root resistant', or rework your tunnel
plans to avoid these plants entirely.
Cutworms
Cutworms kill young plants by chewing through the roots and stems just below
ground level, and are voracious feeders. They are the larval form of the turnip
moth, which is fortunately nocturnal. If you shut the tunnel doors an hour before
dusk, even in warm weather, you are unlikely to encounter them.
Earwigs
Although earwigs can be irritating because they nibble the edges of leaves and
petals, the damage they cause is usually only superficial, so unless you are growing
flowers there is no need to worry about it. The exception to this is the emerging
seedlings of direct-sown plants, which can take heavy casualties particularly if
there is a mulched area (which earwigs like) nearby. If you need to reduce the
earwig population in the tunnel, put traps down overnight and remove them in
the morning for a good shake-out, well away from the tunnel. You can use crumpled
pieces of damp cloth or rolls of corrugated card, but 15cm-long offcuts of soaker
hose work particularly well (the recycled rubber stuff works best). Dip them in
water and leave them on the soil surface in trouble spots in the evening, then
collect them in the morning and shake the earwigs out elsewhere. Repeat nightly
until you're not catching any more.
Eelworms
These tiny pests are too small to see with the naked eye, but the damage is obvious
enough: young onion plants are swollen and twisted, and if allowed to grow on
they will produce a soft bulb that tends to split at the base. There is no cure for
eelworm attack - lift and burn the affected plants as soon as you notice them,
and do not grow any alliums, beans or carrots on the affected patch for the next
two years.
Flea beetles
Flea beetles nibble tiny holes in the leaves of young plants, particularly brassicas,
and, while the damage is usually only superficial, a serious attack can set plants
back severely. To reduce their numbers, coat one side of a piece of card with
anything sticky (grease, lard or even jam) and pass it over the top of affected
plants while disturbing the leaves with your other hand. The beetles jump when
