Home Remedies for Edible Garden

We all love our Fruit Trees. We choose them carefully, read up all about growing them, plant them in an optimum site, feed them fabulous nutrients, watch them burst into blossom, spring into leaf, form tiny fruits which slowly grow larger, and then, when they look ripe and ready to eat we pick them and bite into the flesh only to find that some critters have got there before us.

Darn! So what to do?  Well, of course there is a range of highly toxic sprays and treatments that we can use to destroy the pests who presume that they have the right to destroy our food (which is certainly the way Nature intended it to be) but although we will never eradicate them, and should not think along those lines, we can control the numbers in which they seek to inhabit our Home Orchards and veggie gardens.

Some of our customers tell us about remedies that they have tried and have had a fair amount of success with. One of these is Mr. Prendergast from Ngaruawhia, who has been using this method to control Coddling Moth quite successfully for about 10 years.

Collect plastic drink bottles and with the lid left on, cut a flap in the side of the bottle leaving the flap to act as a roof to stop the rain getting in. Hang the bottle in the tree before blossom burst, pour in some cheap red wine or port - about 2 - 3 cms at the bottom of the bottle. Top this up as it evaporates and keep doing this until summer. The moths are enticed into the ‘pub' for a tipple and this proves to be their demise!

Another very successful remedy for all manner of fungal diseases is the use of Copper oxychloride. Sprinkle the copper around the tree or mix up as a spray. And used in conjunction with a good oil spray, this gives all-round protection.

Copper Oxychloride is effective in the control of:

• Fungal diseases of fruit trees, vines and vegetables
• Black Spot on apples, pears, tomatoes and citrus fruits
• Downy Mildew on vines
• Leaf Curl on stone fruits

Leaf curl, the main disease that plagues nectarines and peaches, can be controlled with a spray every year just after leaves have fallen. Copper- based fungicides must have at least 50 per cent copper in the mix to be effective. Applications of fungicide in spring must also be timed carefully. A copper fungicide should be applied preferably before buds begin to swell, but definitely before bud-break (when green colour is first visible). If your trees now have leaf curl you are best to pluck off the worst infected leaves and prune out badly infected branches then destroy this material. Leaf curl is a springtime disease which is worse in wet and humid springs. By summer your tree should be producing new leaves free from the disease.

Note: Be aware that overuse of copper can degrade the quality and health of the soil and affect microbial activity, so use sparingly!

Home made sprays:

• Soapy water spray - great for controlling aphids: Use Plain soap which is detergent free and dissolve about 225g in 9 - 10 litres of hot water. To ensure that the soap has all dissolved, stir the mixture well and allow to cool. Spray on the top and underside of leaves and stems and really drench the plant. After a while, rinse the plant with fresh water.

• Garlic Spray - use for control of caterpillars and ants but be aware that the beneficial caterpillars will also die, so only use in extreme infestations (like cabbage worm). Put about 4 -5 cloves of crushed garlic into about 1 litre of water and allow to steep for 4 - 5 days. Strain the mixture and add a litre of soapy water (see above). Spray on affected plants only.

Chamomile Spray - excellent for controlling Mildew. Use fresh or dried flowers or just buy the tea sachets and make a pot of tea as you would to drink it. Allow to cool and dilute until very pale in colour. Spray on both sides of the leaves.

Another good old home remedy using alcohol to entice unwary pest, especially snails and slugs, to their death by drowning in an alcoholic daze is the ‘Beer Trap'.  Immerse a container (cottage cheese tubs will do) into the soil so that the rim is at ground level and half fill with your favourite beer (drink the rest immediately so as not to waste it) and go scoop out the drunk but dead bodies next morning! Actually, it is not the alcohol that attracts the snails and slugs, it is the yeast used in the brew. So if you are reluctant to share your beer, mix up some yeast and sugar in warm water and put that in the trap.

 A method of protecting tender seedlings or plants that these slimy critters regard as gourmet food is to collect all your eggshells and when you have a tin full, put them into a 180° oven for 10 minutes to harden them. Then partially crush them and encircle precious plants with the shells. The snails and slugs find them very uncomfortable and scratchy to slide over and are sure to do a U-turn and go away. Otherwise cut out the bottom of a plastic drink bottle and place it over a newly planted seedling. This will also create a microclimate to encourage growth.

A great deterrent for birds who want to share your ripe fruit is to hang all your unwanted CD's in the tree. They swing in the breeze and the light glints off the disc in multi coloured flashes and for whatever reason, scares the birds away and looks like something out of Willie Wonka's garden!

We are sure that many of our customers have their own tried and tested home remedies - we would love to hear from you!

Lloyd

We would like to introduce you to some apples we have in stock that you may not yet be aquainted with:

Winter Banana: A heritage apple that dates back to 1876.  A highly attractive bright yellow apple blushed rose. Crisp, tangy, juicy flesh is highly aromatic with a mild banana-like flavour. Well suited for warmer areas. Cooks and juices well.

Worcester Pearmain: A lovely heritage apple also dating back to 1876. Bright red, medium sized fruit, crisp and juicy with an intense strawberry flavour. Very sweet and loved by children.  Bears well early in the season.

Reinette du Canada: An apple that ripens later in the season and is a good keeper. It has a pale green skin that is sometimes flushed & often russeted. The flesh is firm & slightly dry but has a good sharp flavour and is excellent for dessert or cooking. Stores well.

Calville Blanc d'Hiver: a very old apple, grown in  Normandy in France in the early 1600s. A medium-sized, fragrant apple with an unusual appearance. The skin is a smooth, pale green or pale yellow with some red blush. This is a classic French dessert apple that is traditionally used for "Tarte aux Pommes".

Sunset: A lovely apple, crisp and juicy flesh and with a Cox-like flavour. An easy care variety suitable for the home garden. Shape as a vase or espalier along a fence line.