Aphid Attack
18 June 2009 20:09:33
Sweet Pepper
I declared war on aphids today. Well, I at least made a declaration of enmity.
I bought more aphid spray - Bug Clear, to be precise. It is for use on food crops. There is another brand but it is much more dodgy - you need to leave a certain time lapse before re-spraying and you can only apply a certain number of times to the same food crop. I don't really have organic principals but I have four children and I'd like to keep it that way...
So, I sprayed, using Bug Clear, in the greenhouse. I then took all the potted veg outside and let them sit a few hours and then hosed them over to remove dead or sickly or live aphids. I did the courgettes twice right up close and personal. I cleaned the staging surface with soap before putting the pots back and gave the floor a hard sweep. I also sprayed in the greenhouse border. Now, this is very tricky because I can't get everywhere as it is so packed with leaves at this stage. But I did the best I could, although it will not be enough.
On a positive note, the Sweet Peppers are forming and you can see the biggest one in the photo. I even have my first Cape Gooseberry forming so that is also exciting. The Aubergines are grand bushy plants but no sign of flowers yet. Had courgettes for dinner again - yum, yum.