Orto di Casa Cecconi

My first allotment, and then one thing leading to another…

L’orto di Casa Cecconi Plants Recipes Me & Kew One Year at Wisley

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  • If fruits do not enjoy the sun

    When the sun is too strong (intense sunlight, high temperatures, low humidity), or when wet fruits get hit by the sun (do not water in the heat of the day and water the base of plants rather than spraying all over them), they can get sunburnt. Sunburn is a disorder, that is: a physiological reaction…

  • Of webs and apples

    When I first came to the Netherlands I was shocked by the really extensive moth webing on several plants, which made them look as sick and neglected: not something I was very familiar with, at least in cultivated gardens. The spindle Ermine moth’s caterpillar also have a habit of hanging from threads in the webs…

  • Deformed leaves: when aphids are the culprit

    A little bit of warmth in the spring air and aphids are round the corner. Some of them feed on the underside of leaves, which causes blistering and/or deforms the leaves, so they curl up. Given as I spent some time in the last few weeks explaining red blistered and curled leaves, this post on…

  • Aphid predators

    Ladybirds and their larvae, as well as (some) hoverfly and lacewing larvae: sworn enemies of aphids and rather voracious critters – we are talking dozens to hundreds victims a day. Add to those parasitoid wasps that lay their eggs in the aphids’ bodies, turning them into shiny little golden globes, and you have an arsenal…

  • When pear shoots go black

    After coming out green and fresh, full of life, pear shoots can suddenly turn black and droopy. The sight is quite dramatic but can really signify anything from harmless to “quick, remove that and burn it!”. Below are two of the most frequent reasons, starting with the harmless one. Pear shoot sawfly (Janus compressus) Not…

  • Peach leaf curl (Taphrina deformans)

    Another plant species that is commonly known to suffer from red, curled up leaves in the spring is peach. The curling up is caused by a fungus, Taphrina deformans. The fungus, which favours cool and wet weather, causes leaves to pucker; the blisters are often red and rather showy, just before the fungus starts producing…

  • Pear pests and diseases

    One of the joys of horticulture is the continuous learning process you go through while caring for and observing your plants through the seasons, year after year. One of the frustrations is that we seem to know rather less than we think we do about plants and the environment: it is sometimes difficult to be…

About Me

M.Paola M.Paola, that’s me

I got my first allotment in the UK in 2007 and started gI got my first allotment in the UK in 2007 and started growing my own food. Learning as I went along was not enough, so I studied horticulture. Faced with the horticultural warfare, I became a conscientious objector: I use no chemicals and support organic principles and regulations.

Brexit gave me a new life in the Netherlands, three new plots by a nature reserve and an MSc in sustainable food systems.

I write in my personal capacity and, as a language perfectionist and a non native speaker, I keep reviewing my entries’ text for clarity.

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