Archive for 'Pests'
Spring Cabbages and Plant Spacing Problem Update
Posted on 08. Jun, 2011 by Tracey.
Back in February I had a Spring Cabbage Spacing Problem in my raised bed primarily because I had sowed my cabbage seeds too close together (closer together than the recommended spacing on the seed packet). I tweeted my problem on Twitter and kindly some fellow growers gave me the following advice: @3menandaplot – Recommended that [...]
Continue Reading
It’s a Bugs Life in the Vegetable Garden
Posted on 25. May, 2011 by Tracey.
The great thing about vegetable gardening is the interaction with nature and wildlife. If you grow vegetables in your back garden like I do, there’s not far to travel to get a sense of the wildlife around you and beneath your feet. You’d be amazed how much you miss by just walking past a vegetable [...]
Continue Reading
Plot Problems No 1 – Plant Spacing in Raised Beds
Posted on 23. Feb, 2011 by Tracey.
One of the problems I have when growing vegetables in my raised beds is Spacing. I have kind of self taught myself and use the not so scientific way of ‘guessing’ how close I can sow or let vegetables grow together. Of course this method lends itself to the phrase ‘learning the hard way’ with [...]
Continue Reading
Winter Vegetable Pests: Cabbage White Fly
Posted on 04. Nov, 2010 by Tracey.
What are Cabbage White Fly? The cabbage or brassica version of white fly feed off the sap in the plant leaves and can spread to other similar plants in your plot. How do I know if I have it on my Cabbages/Brassicas? Lift up the lower leaves of your cabbage or brassica and see if [...]
Continue Reading
Summer Pests to Look Out For On Your Vegetable Plot
Posted on 03. Jul, 2010 by Tracey.
Inevitably as a vegetable grower you will come across at least one pest or disease in a growing year, the trick is to arm yourself with the knowledge of how to prevent, divert or get rid of pests when they arrive, so your vegetables continue growing without too much interruption. In this summer series of [...]
Continue Reading
Pests or Not? Ants on Broad Beans
Posted on 19. May, 2010 by Tracey.
During May when broad beans are flowering you may find ants running up and down the stems feeding from small dark black spots. These dark black spots are clusters of tiny blackfly (or black bean aphids) and the ants will be farming them and eating their honey dew secretions. If you have ants, you usually [...]
Continue Reading
How to Fix Your Potato Chitting Problems
Posted on 18. Mar, 2010 by Tracey.
Anyone who’s grown potatoes from tubers will have experienced one or more of these chitting disasters. However most potato chitting problems can be solved so never fear you will still get a good crop of potatoes in the end! What is Chitting? Chitting (or pre-sprouting in America) is a way of forcing the potato tuber [...]
Continue Reading
Frost Bitten Broad Beans – Symptoms and Solutions
Posted on 11. Mar, 2010 by Tracey.
Frost is one the things that gardeners always have to look out for when growing tender plants during the winter and early spring months. Unfortunately even though my broad beans had a cloche over them, the outer rows have succumbed to the effects of frost. Please see my February Growing Update for more about my [...]
Continue Reading
The affects of Snow, Ice and the Cold on your Vegetable Garden
Posted on 14. Jan, 2010 by Tracey.
With the cold snap of snow lasting for a little while longer, I have enjoyed seeing snowy vegetables on other peoples blogs like Kale and Brussels Sprouts on Nip It In The Bud’s Winter Wonderland Post and Leeks on Eight by Six’s blog and I was interested to find out how the snow is affecting [...]
Continue Reading
Pest Watch – Spot the Caterpillars
Posted on 03. Nov, 2009 by Tracey.
I would have thought all the caterpillars would have gone by now off into hibernation for winter but no, the tiny green and brown caterpillars on my Plot 1 have been tucking into their last supper of my winter seedlings of Japanese kale, mustard greens and for afters a few bites of my pointed spring [...]
Continue Reading
About Me
I'm Tracey Bacon from Essex, UK, author of iGrowVeg.com
I'm an avid vegetable grower, writer and tweeter. I aim to show that anyone can grow their own vegetables at home on a windowsill, in pots or raised beds.
Join My Newsletter
Sign Up to my NewsletterNext Issue Emailed: May 13th 2012
