by Wally Richards
MARCH GARDENING
March is a very busy time in the garden with lots of things to do. They include making sure our plants get a drink when the soil starts to dry out in the hot sun. Watering is best done in the morning if you can or later in the day if earlier watering has not been done.
The last time and not the best time to water is evening before dusk.
When watering late in the day there is a greater chance of powdery mildew and other leaf problems caused by humidity from the watering that does not dry as it does during the day in sunlight and wind.
But if that is the only time you can water then do so by all means, as the plants need water and if you start to see powdery mildew or other leaf diseases appearing simply spray with Wallys Super Neem Tree Oil.
It has nice fungicide benefits and if there are insect pests present it will help control them also.
Only spray the Neem Oil late in the day when sun is off the plants.
Watering by hand regularly is far better than sprinklers or irrigation systems, both of which have their uses when a greater amount of water is needed.
Buy a watering wand if you don’t have one, as they are the best way to hand water. Then go around late afternoon or early evening and water your container plants, vegetable and flower gardens. This is a nice stress release time from the day’s activities and gives you a chance to check your plants for pests and diseases.
You can also pull a few weeds while watering and if you have a pair of secateurs in your pocket you can dead head your roses (remove spent flowers and nipping back to set of leaves to encourage new growth and another flowering).
Water the soil which is easy to do with a watering wand and daily watering when it does not rain uses less water and keeps the soil moist.
If the water does not seep into the soil then you have surface tension which can be solved simply by putting warm water into a watering can and a good squirt of dishwashing liquid, lather up with your hand and water over the dry area. In lawns you often see a brown patch which is called dry spot, Treat with the soapy water.
If while watering you see aphids or other pests on a plant then adjust your wand to a jet and give them a blast of water to wash them off the foliage.
It does not completely control them but it certainly ‘upsets their apple cart’. Then sometime when you are using Wallys Super Pyrethrum or Wally Super Neem Tree Oil you can check for their presence and give them a spray which is best done just before dusk.
Gardeners who have taken my suggestion to purchase one of our Housing and Filter for their outside tap to water the gardens with the filtered water, which removes the harmful chlorine, have reported that they see a significant improvement in the health of their plants and that earth worms are returning to the soils. A great investment if you want really good plants and gardens.
Some also have put the same using different attachments to their bathroom showers and find that showering is far more pleasant and stops skin problems, hair loss and flakey scalp or dandruff caused by the chlorine.
A number of gardeners have told me that they have now got their whitefly, leaf hoppers, caterpillars and shield beetles under control by using Wallys Super Pyrethrum every few days at dusk.
It’s made at only half a ml (that’s a drop and a pipet is supplied to measure that amount) into a one litre Trigger Sprayer; you go out disturb the foliage and spray the adults in flight like you do with fly spray and flies (by the way you could use it in your house for flies and mosquitos, cheaper than fly spray cans).
The blue bottle with 100 ml of Wallys Super Pyrethrum makes 200 litres of spray as it is very concentrated. It has to be in a blue bottle because that is the very best way to prevent deterioration when exposure to light.
Your 1 litre trigger sprayer allows light in so if you don’t use all the spray then put the sprayer into a dark cupboard, so it’s good for future use.
Wallys Super Neem Oil also comes in a dark blue bottle for the same reason and is made at 5 ml per litre of water (ideally warm water so it mixes better). Spray that under and over the foliage where white fly and other pests are. The half ml of Wallys Super Pyrethrum can be added to the one litre if so desired as they are compatible and a double means of control.
One gardener told me he has no white butterfly caterpillar or army worm damage to his brassicas and other plants by spraying them every couple of days with Wallys Super Pyrethrum at dusk. What happens is the baby caterpillars that have hatched out get a dose of pyrethrum and die quickly. If you add the Neem Oil to the pyrethrum then only need to repeat spray every 4 days, under and over foliage at dusk.
Summing up, Wallys Super Neem Oil for both leaf diseases and insect pests and Wallys Super Pyrethrum get the worst pests like whitefly under control.
With citrus trees, sprinkle Wally Neem Granules under the tree to drip line and give a light watering to activate and within 6 weeks or so all the insect pests on or in the tree will be gone. It works like magic!
Now do you want even better gardens than you already have?
I have had several gardeners tell me that they have simply taken Wallys Magic Botanic Liquid (MBL) at 10 ml per litre with Wallys Mycorrcin at 5 ml per litre and added molasses to the mix.
They are amazed at the beneficial changes to their plants. One gardener said every thing is looking healthier and radiating beauty.
Another told me that he has never seen his vegetables growing faster and healthier looking than before from a spray of the mix every few days. If you are growing strawberries spray them also for bigger, sweeter berries and longer harvesting.
Another gardener reports her roses and flowers now have perfumes which they did not previously.
OK, here is how to make up the super plant mix — a one-litre and then a 5-litre sprayer.
One litre trigger sprayer: dissolve a tablespoon of molasses into one litre of hot water, stir to ensure well dissolved. Add 10 ml of MBL and 5 ml of Wallys Mycorrcin. Now go and spray your preferred plants and vegetables ideally late in the day.
For a 5 litre sprayer take two litres of hot water and add 5 tablespoons of Mycorrcin, stir, then add 50 ml of MBL and 25 ml of Mycorrcin. Now you are ready to spray a lot of plants and gardens.
If you don’t use all the spray it will keep out of sunlight but open the sprayer so it can breathe as microbes in the brew will multiply and can balloon a sealed container.
If you have any insect problems on plants and vegetables that you are going to spray the brew on, then you could add Wallys Super Pyrethrum to the brew at the appropriate amount for the amount of spray made up (half a ml per litre of spray).
As we warned last week, vegetables may be cheap now, but they are going to get much more expensive soon and much of it is to do with now expensive freight costs.
Plant seed and seedlings now and use the Magic Brew — from above spray them 2-3 times a week and watch them grow much quicker.
If you don’t have room to plant then simply take a sunny area of your back lawn, mow the grass short, spread cardboard over the area, put the grass clippings on top of the cardboard, then sprinkle Tui Sheep and Chicken manure pellets over that (if you don’t have alternative source of manure).
A sprinkling of Wallys BioPhos and Calcium & Health then cover with a nice purchased compost which I prefer Daltons or Value Compost from Bunnings (its better and cheaper)
You plant your seedling or seeds directly into the compost, keep watered and spray with the brew and enjoy tasty fresh vegetables in a few weeks/months when they are expensive.
My comments about what is happening currently are on Reality Check Radio with Rodney Hide doing gardening blogs. Go to https://realitycheck.radio/replays/real-talk-show-replays/
Click on Rodney Hide and scroll down to see the pod casts from the past we did and listen to them if you dare. 🙂
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