The Rural Voice, 1999-09, Page 69Gardening
patch. One effective way to stop the
cycle is to dust the tops of your plants
with wheat bran. The beetle gorges
itself, bloats and keels over.
Still others use homemade sprays
of basil or insert a piece of colour
plastic under their plants and shake
off the bugs and drop them into a
bucket of water. Last but not least is
the role of toads and ladybugs in the
garden. It is unbelievable just how
much they can consume in a season.
If the potato beetle is infecting
your potatoes try planting them on
the surface of your garden. Drop a
cupful of bone meal over each seed
potato and cover with a thick layer of
hay or straw mulch. The thick mulch
prevents the beetle from emerging.
Remember to check and keep the new
potatoes covered with mulch to keep
them from becoming green with
exposure sun. Harvest is easy and
relatively clean. Plow down your
mulch and enrich your soil. Now you
know why you don't rotate tomato
and potato plants in the same area of
the garden. Too many pests like both.
One last pest to watch for. If your
plants are withering and dying and
you can't find any large obvious pest,
check the lower stem for a 1/4 inch
hole. The stalk borer is a slender
insect and starts in the lower stem
and eats its way up through the centre
of the stalk. To locate the borer,
simply split the stem lengthwise from
the opening of the tunnel and
puncture the insect. You may save
the plant if you bind up the split and
give the plant lots of water.
Determining what is wrong with
your plants can be a real mystery but
it can be made easier with the
wonderful supply of books on the
market today. Anything by Rodale
Press is a good bet. Check your
library and by all means don't forget
our local OMAFRA office. They
have a great pest publication out
called, appropriately, the Gardeners'
Handbook (Publication 64) that is
well worth the money.0
Rhea Hamilton -Seeger and her
husband raise two children at their
home near Auburn. She is a skilled
cook and gardener.
o\'‘
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SEPTEMBER 1999 65