Home Gardening: Control Fruit Flies and Slugs Organically

Farmers and gardeners have used natural techniques to deal with pests in the gardens since time immemorial. Sadly, now that quick chemical fixes are available, we tend to adopt those instead. But what we need to do is invest our time in experimenting with and practicing the most natural farming methods we can find.

Below are two questions recently posted on the Crops in Pots page that received a lot of attention. My detailed replies to each provide easy organic solutions to the problems. Read on so that you too can add some organic pest-fighting tricks to your gardening tool kit.

Q: Hello! I’m based in Lahore and have four guava trees in my garden. I need advice on how to eliminate the worms inside the ripe fruit, which makes all the fruit inedible.
- Zeba Ashraf
Dear Zeba,
It seems like a fruit-fly attack. Fruit flies lay eggs under the skin of the fruit. The eggs hatch as the fruit matures, and then larvae start feeding on the fruit. It is a natural wonder in itself, but it cannot be encouraged, as it will indeed make your fruits inedible.
Go for any of the following organic pest control methods:

1. Grow strong-scented herbs under your trees, such as chives. You can also plant garlic and marigolds around your trees. This will help in repelling the fruit flies.
2. Treat your trees with organic pest repellents. Add a few drops of neem oil per liter of water and spray the mixture on the trees. You can use the spray weekly. Start spraying before the next fruiting season starts. This will prevent flies from coming near your fruits.
3. Bag your fruits while they are young. You can use calico fabric for this. Gently bag clusters of fruits on branches when they are young. Bags can be washed and used again.
4. Pick unripe fruit. This is the last thing I want to do, since fruit that are left to ripen on the tree taste better. But I prefer to compromise on flavor and not on the no-chemicals policy when it come to my fruit.

 Q: I found seven slugs roaming around in my garden…what to do?
- Umme Kulsoom Inam
 
Dear Umme Kulsoom,
There are number of things you can try, and none of them involves using chemicals.

1. Use slug baits available in the market that use organic compounds. Other poisonous baits are deadly for your pets and harmful for anyone who comes in contact with them.
2. Use citrus or cabbage peels to attract slugs. They will gather under the peelings, and from there you can collect them with the help of tweezers and discard them. You will have to do this for a few days in a row, and then, as their numbers become less, once a week.
3. Save and use eggshells. A gardener friend of mine recommends using eggshells near the root ball. Slugs and snails don’t like the sharp edges and will stay away from your plants.

published on NEWSLINE MAGAZINE   on 10th August,2011

A creative trellis for vegetable vines

Few days back, Annie, a reader of Crops in Pots, emailed me these inspirational photos of her garden. I love the way she used a grill as a trellis.  Well done Annie ! :)

 

extra grill can not have any better use :)

Looks healthy!

Yummy!

\

Keep it up Annie! :) Thanks for sharing your pictures! Loved them!

 Happy Gardening !

Zahra

Rose Moss is Simple and Probably Perfect for Your Garden

Rose Moss (aka as Moss Rose) is the perfect flowering plant for those new to gardening. Photo: Zahra Ali

If you are new to gardening, find it difficult to work in the garden under the summer sun or simply appreciate nature’s most simple plants, Rose Moss is exactly what you should be growing.
Rose Moss (Portulaca Grandiflora, 11 o’clock, or Moss Rose) is an edible weed that comes in many shades and colours. The plant grows about six inches tall and spreads two feet wide. It will grow in poor and sandy soil and will not only grow well in hot summers but will also produce overflowing mini roses from morning to evening for the rest of the year.

Rose Moss looks brilliant in hanging baskets, rock gardens, as ground cover or a border, and even in a container.

Rose Moss looks brilliant in hanging baskets, rock gardens, and as ground cover. Photo: Zahra Ali

Starting a Plant
You can cultivate Rose Moss both by sowing seeds or taking cuttings from an adult plant.
Buy seeds from a horticulture store or borrow them from a friend’s garden. Mix the seeds with a little sand and spread it all around the patch or the pot in which you want to grow your plants. Lightly cover with soil, and water with a soft shower. Make sure you have selected a place that gets full sun during the day. You can also start your plant by taking a two-inch cutting from an adult plant and simply planting it back in the soil.
Grow Rose Moss this season and share the seeds, cuttings or plants with your friends.

Tip: Rose Moss reseeds itself. Deadhead flowers (trim the spent flowers) before it seeds if you do not want the weed to get out of control.

Published at Newsline Magazine on 28th June, 2011

And the winners are....

Thanks to all the participants who showed interest in receiving free seeds from Crops in Pots. Here are the first 10 participants who will receive their set of vegetable seeds.

1.Afia Salam
2. Shabih Haider

3. Shamim Rawjani
4. Rabia Shah
5. Faraz Farooq
6. Adnan Khan
7. Uzma Awan
8. Maniya
9. Munira Zoomkawala
10. Zain Jafry

Congratulations! We hope that you will share your experience with us. Here are few links that you might find useful if you are new to growing vegetables.

Grow your vegetables at home
Grow your own food the ancient way

Happy Gardening :)

Free vegetable seeds from Crops in Pots

To celebrate World Environment Day Crops in Pots is sharing vegetable seeds with its readers to spread organic farming in cities. You can request your set of free seeds by sending your postal address to crops.in.pots@gmail.com before Wednesday 8th June,2011.

First 10 participants will receive their set of Cucumber Beit Alpha, Eggplant Black King, Tomato Roma, Green Chillies and Okra in the coming week.

Currently, this offer is for residents of Karachi only. But keep coming back as we are bringing a wide range of seeds for you soon.

We would love to see your photos from the kitchen garden you grow from the same seeds :)

Happy Gardening !

Zahra


image credit : Mehlum Sadriwala Studios