Pests Galore - Asparagus Beetle and Black-fly

Pests Galore

It’s not all bad news – the sunshine and warmth today after the heavy rain are certainly making our crops grow as well, of course, as the weeds.

I picked my first broad beans today. They’re not huge yet but, are oh so sweet and tender. The bad news is that the plants are covered in black-fly. Surprisingly enough, it is my autumn sown beans which have been affected worst and I usually think they are fairly safe.

There is a variety of ploys you can try to deter them or prevent too much damage:

-        -  Some people swear by washing them off with soapy water;

-         - Pinch out the tender tops of the plants once the beans have set at the bottoms of the stems [although -I have noticed that the black-fly are crowded much of the way down the stems of some of the plants;

-       -   Sacrifice a couple of plants to keep the flies off the majority;

-        -  Use SB plant Invigorator – sprayed on – it is organic, a foliar feed really but also seems to keep bugs at bay [ this will be my choice ];

-        -  PY bug Killer – also organic and very effective.

With both of the last two you can pick the same day.

I have finished harvesting my asparagus now although I could get another couple of pickings from the plants. I will now allow the ferns to develop to feed the roots for next year’s crops. As my ferns usually grow quite high – a metre plus – I find it necessary to stake or put up support for the ferns otherwise they will blow over in a windy summer / autumn and break off at the roots causing damage to the roots.

I have noticed that there are loads of asparagus beetles on my plants [ more than I have seen for some years and it is still early,] with rows of little black eggs up the stems.

Do check your plants for these pests as their larvae can cause an amazing amount of damage to the ferns which will destroy your crops for next year.

You can doubtless, spray these little nasties with insecticide but I have found the most effective way is to check your plants each day you are at your plot and remove the beetles [put your hand under the beetles you are going to remove, they will see you coming and drop off or move round the plant! Really! Squash them. I always wear nitrile gloves for this job. If you can see the tiny eggs remove them also. As they hatch the larvae are very squashy, slimy little greenish brown worm-like creatures with large heads. I also squash them.

Asparagus beetle is not likely to be a problem if you are growing far away from anyone else who grows this crop but, on allotments it is definitely one of those pests you have to deal with.