Dying plants & some observations

[Forage420]

think they are baby ladybirds, re using wood chips has a mulch round bushes and trees quite a lot trees are cut down because they are diseased ! something to think about , atb Dal.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_XEU0NFxobt...ybugstages.png

Woah you're right, how cool! Well there's loads of aphids for them to eat on my broadbeans.


A friend of mine had mentioned a while ago that disease carried in the woodchip could be a problem. Do you have anywhere I can read up on this? It would be good to see some more evidence.

[Forage420]

that could be flee beetle

Any tips for annihilating them?

[Scarlet]

My runner beans & french beans have suffered some major losses.

Should I suspect slugs or birds? If birds are responsible I'll need to get netting on them ASAP.

The holes are slugs/snails

[SarrissUK]

My runner beans & french beans have suffered some major losses.

Should I suspect slugs or birds? If birds are responsible I'll need to get netting on them ASAP.

The left picture looks like birds to me... and the right pic is slug damage I think. But... I'm not great at identifying what munched stuff, so someone else might know for sure

[Jay-ell]

Thank you. Perhaps I should ask a mycologist, or just risk it..

If you do decide to risk it please be courteous and attach a tag to your right big toe so that the staff at the morgue don't have to.

I think my favorite effects from eating unknown fungi that I've heard of is the fungi that make you nauseatingly sick but then you get better. Then you drop dead. Can't remember what it's called but there's no antidote.

Then there's the fungi which may seem fine but can then react to other things in your system - alcohol being one of the major reactants which can result in serious nausea and stomach pains. I think that the inkcap is one of those.

Of course there's the ones that are safe to eat that look almost identical to the ones that aren't safe to eat. There's the Morel and the similar looking False Morel. One of these contains a chemical that reacts in your body to create what is essentially rocket ruel. If that don't get you it's also carcinogenic.

But remember - fungi grows everywhere, it is an important component of healthy soil. The Mushrooms that we see are only the fruiting bodies, the rest lives in the ground and consists of thread like structures.

Micro rhizal fungus has an important symbiosis with plants helping them gather water and nutrients from an area greater than their own roots can reach.

Lignin and cellulose, which are hard for bacteria to break down, are broken down by fungi returning their nutrients to the soil and therefore to your plants.

[Snoop Puss]

Flea beetles are pretty well ineradicable in my experience... Here's a link with some suggestions:
https://www.planetnatural.com/pest-p...eetle-control/

[mcdood]

ineradicable/[/url]

Word of the day.

[Jay-ell]

Flea beetles are pretty well ineradicable in my experience... Here's a link with some suggestions:
https://www.planetnatural.com/pest-p...eetle-control/

Try companion planting with penny royal.

[Snoop Puss]

^Interesting. Thanks.

[Scarlet]

The left picture looks like birds to me... and the right pic is slug damage I think. But... I'm not great at identifying what munched stuff, so someone else might know for sure

When it's birds the leaves are ragged and look ripped.

[Derbydal]

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_XEU0NFxobt...ybugstages.png

Woah you're right, how cool! Well there's loads of aphids for them to eat on my broadbeans.


A friend of mine had mentioned a while ago that disease carried in the woodchip could be a problem. Do you have anywhere I can read up on this? It would be good to see some more evidence.

no I just know that diseaed trees get cut down !atb Dal.

[Derbydal]

Any tips for annihilating them?

i'm soory Forage I dont ,but if its any consulation I had the same problem last year on my turnips and radishes ! atb Dal.

[Jay-ell]

Any tips for annihilating them?

As I mentioned above pennyroyal can deter flea beetle as well as other sucking pest such as fleas, midges and aphids. A lot of mints can act as an insectifuge however pennyroyal seems to be quite effective at it, plus it spreads slower than other mints.

It used to be used in flea collars and treatment for pets but that use was stopped when it was realised that it is toxic to cats.

[It never rains..it pours]

I have the same aphids, leaf blister on my blackcurrants but they seem to weather it ok. Did fertilise them and no rain shortage here. Find sawfly worse issue late in the year. Overall my currants have grown more this year than last, only difference is more rain here vs last year so think currants do like moisture

The Blueberries look like mine did when moved here 3 years ago, they had iron deficency as ph too high. Here iron sulphate and sulphur from ebay and they have improved a lot. Iron deficiency below link page 11
http://extension.missouri.edu/bluebe...MO%20Strik.pdf

[Forage420]

I have the same aphids, leaf blister on my blackcurrants but they seem to weather it ok. Did fertilise them and no rain shortage here. Find sawfly worse issue late in the year. Overall my currants have grown more this year than last, only difference is more rain here vs last year so think currants do like moisture

The Blueberries look like mine did when moved here 3 years ago, they had iron deficency as ph too high. Here iron sulphate and sulphur from ebay and they have improved a lot. Iron deficiency below link page 11
http://extension.missouri.edu/bluebe...MO%20Strik.pdf

Hi,

I potted up the blueberries into ericaceous compost and applied a layer of woodchip to the soil to keep in the moisture.

3 of them have produced some berries but the others are looking worse and are obviously dying. I was hoping the potting soil would resolve the problem.

I've been watering with just rain water.

Perhaps I should have taken your sulphur suggestion and applied it straight away.