Tag: diseases
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PD&D: pests, diseases and disorders
As part of my coursework for the certificate, I had to write a Pest and Disease project. I researched 15 of the most common pests (vertebrates and invertebrates that feed, inhabit or otherwise live off plants, damaging or killing them) and diseases (caused by microorganisms such as fungi, viruses and bacteria), choosing ones that I…
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Plum days
I have not written for a while, busy as I was with coursework deadlines, but in the last two days I have spent some time with plum trees, which I think is worth sharing. Yesterday I helped the Plant Health and Seeds Inspectorate (PHSI) pick leaves from the orchard to be tested for plum pox…
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It’s because of the dry spell!
Today I’ve been pruning Prunus (plums and cherries) for the first time since I’ve been here. To be precise, Prunus avium, or cherry trees, and P. domestica, the plums. To be even more precise, the plants I’m referring to here are P. avium ‘Sunburst’, P. domestica ‘Opal’ and ‘Blue Tit’ ; and this last was flowering…
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A day in the veg garden
Spring is coming so it looks like I might be spending more time in the veg garden. Today we did some clearing of spent crops (chicory and chard), covering beds so the soil warms up and new crop can be grown earlier and tidying up leeks. Chicory ‘Charlotte’ The bed after clearing The reason for…
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Apple pruning season
Sizeable canker on an apple tree It’s apple pruning season, and you know why? Because the fruits have gone (so no knocking about) and the leaves are down so you can see the shape of the tree more clearly! Otherwise, apples are pretty tolerant of pruning at any time between leaf fall and bud burst,…
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Gooseberry aplenty
… as over the last couple of months I have had several stints at pruning the cordon collection, and there are still a few to go. Cordon gooseberry pruning is, as of now, the only skill that I feel I really had time to practice long enough to master. I have also tried to time…
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Preparing for winter
It is late indeed as the season has been so mild, but the time has come to puts plants to rest for winter while cheering the place up with some winter bedding. Today we put up the lean-to frames, made of wood battens and clear plastic sheeting, to cover the fan-trained peaches and apricots and…
About Me
M.Paola Andreoni
I got the first allotment in 2007 (in the UK) and started growing my own food for the first time. Learning as I went along was not enough, so I studied some horticulture. I am striving to abide by organic principles. Brexit gave me a new life in the Netherlands, and two new plots by a nature reserve.
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