Pest and Disease Control July farm Gardens | Aplus Farms

"Winter cold helps pest and disease control in Backyard Farming"

Pest and Disease Control - The Vegetable Farm Garden

Pests and Diseases take a break over winter but the cabbage white butterfly is about, as are snails and slugs. Handpick and squash any green caterpillars on brassicas then cover these crops with insect exclusion netting to prevent the adults laying more eggs.

In areas with wet winters also check for snails and slugs. Use traps such as saucers of beer to catch these slimy visitors. Also do a snail hunt by torchlight on wet evenings. Squash immediately, or dispose of snails and slugs of in a bucket of salty water. Follow up by scattering an organic snail bait based on iron. 

Iron-based baits are safe to use as they are not toxic to pets or wildlife. Glasshouses may be winter havens for pests,especially whitefly. Ventilate glasshouses during the day and check for pests. Prune off pest-affected growth and apply organic spray. 

For a productive but trouble-free winter patch grow fast-cropping snow peas, English spinach and Asian greens, including Chinese cabbage and bok choy. Keep everything growing well with weekly feeds of organic liquid fertiliser.

Pests and Diseases are less of a problem in winter than at other times of the year. As well, milder temperatures mean plants come under less stress than in the hotter seasons. Although it is mild, it's also likely to be dry as this is the midst of the dry season for Australia's tropical zones. 

If there's water to spare, there are many vegetables to grow now, including beans, beetroot, capsicum, sweet corn and tomatoes. Water all crops, especially leafy crops and those growing in raised beds or containers, to encourage fast, tender growth. 

• Liquid-feed the patch at least fortnightly.
• Harvest crops that are ready to use. 
• Excess can be frozen. 
• Keep up regular pest inspections. 
• Keep an eye out for cabbage white butterfly caterpillars and grasshoppers - squash.
• Dipel is a last resort treatment for the caterpillars you miss. 
• Remove diseased leaves and cut off branches affected by scale.

Pest and Disease Control - Fruits Farming

While a period of cold is vital for most deciduous fruit trees, frosts and cold spells can damage subtropical fruiting plants grown in colder climates. To enjoy the cold, cover or protect cold-sensitive plants while deciduous trees clock up the necessary chill hours. 

Deciduous fruit trees including apples, pears and peaches need to experience several hundred to more than 1000 hours of chilling (accumulated temperatures below 7°C), depending on variety. In milder winter areas look for low-chill varieties to suit the conditions.Cold conditions can also help reduce pest numbers. 

While deciduous trees are leafless when dormant they can be pruned to reduce their size (so it's easier to protect and harvest the crop later in the year) and to open up the tree for improved ventilation and to get more sunshine through the branches so crops ripen. Also clean up around trees, removing mummified fruits from trees or under trees. Allow the chooks to forage among fruit trees to reduce overwintering pests and their eggs. 

In exposed areas, winds may knock flowers from fruit trees and reduce subsequent crops. Make a windbreak with shadecloth or hessian and start planting a living windbreak using dense plantings of local natives. 

Although conditions are dry at this time, fruit flies may be around, so keep baits refreshed around any trees cropping now, such as lychees. Where possible, use fruit fly exclusion bags. Plant strawberry plants now for spring fruit. 

• Cape gooseberries can also be grown now - their outer covering protects them from pests. 
• Harvest citrus fruit as needed, keeping plants deeply watered, well mulched and weed free. 
• Spray horticultural oil to reduce populations of citrus bugs. 
• Only apply oil sprays at the recommended rates and don't apply if the sun is warm. 
• Deeply water mangoes, avocados and custard apples to encourage good-sized fruit.

How To Prepare Soil For Planting

Composting slows down in winter; earthworm and other activity slows and heaps may get wet. Aerate heaps by forking them over to improve composting. Cover heaps that are very wet during rainy periods. Compost heaps are appealing over winter to rodents and other pests. 

Prevent animals burrowing in by burying a barrier in the soil around the heap or by transferring compost to a lidded bin. Cover added vegie scraps that are decomposing slowly with soil or layers of dry leaves, or pre-compost kitchen scraps in a Bokashi system (a fermenting composting system in a lidded bucket) to make them less appealing as food for rats and possums. 

Despite the chilly weather weeds are still growing. Lightly hoe among rows of winter vegies to keep them at bay. The cooler weather is also a good time to work on soil. If soil is poorly draining clay, dig in gypsum and organic matter now to both improve drainage and raise the soil level. Cover the worked areas with a good layer of mulch and leave until late winter or spring for planting. 

Cover fallow areas (garden beds that are not being used for growing) with mulch or compost, or sow a green manure crop such as clover, which not only keeps the weeds away but when it's dug in to the soil in late winter or spring provides nutrients for spring growth. 

Planting Tips For Beginners

• Don't plant directly into fresh manure, which will burn plant roots and damage or even kill plants. 
• If an area is hard to dig due to its high clay content, sprinkle over gypsum or water with Claybreaker. 
• These products help to make the soil easier to work and better for plant growth. 
• Spreading organic mulch over soils also makes the area more appealing to earthworms, which can also help improve soils.
• In areas that are being prepared for a planting, dig in bucket loads of compost and manure. 
• Cover the improved soil with mulch and allow everything to settle before planting. 
• Push the mulch aside to plant into the soil.