Gardening and DIY: Kiss goodbye to summer pests

Oxalis. Photo / Paul Thompson

Pests that suck
Green shield bugs (or 'stink bugs') can be a common pest at this time of year and they tend to establish colonies in leafy, productive plants like climbing beans, tomatoes and capsicums, tamarillos and passionfruit - another favourite spot is on the back of sunflowers.

These pungent smelling bugs pierce the skin of fruits and suck on juices. Often these holes then become enlarged and can rot, causing taste of fruit to be impaired. Shield bugs are canny and hard to catch. As you approach they'll scuttle out of sight and often drop from the plant onto the soil below to make their escape.

Take advantage of this habit of dropping off plants by holding a plastic container with water in it underneath them before you tap foliage. The bugs drop off the plant but fall into the water and can't escape. They'll drown or you can dispose of or dispatch them as your conscience befits.

A brilliant tip for which our thanks goes to master gardener James Boshier of All Good Organics.

Get to your Oxalis now
Oxalis looks like clover and one of its common names is 'pink shamrock' - though not all varieties have pink flowers, you get white, yellow and purple. Clover does not produce the tiny bulbils you can see in the photo at the top of the page.

The flowers are also very different. With clover, flowers are clustered together in a head of white or pink petals. With oxalis they are more trumpet-like, single and un-crowded standing above the foliage on slender stems. Oxalis is primarily a problem in gardens because when soil it is growing in is dug through the tiny bulbils are often scattered and this produces even more plants.

It can out-compete seedlings in veg beds and take nutrients and moisture from the soil to the detriment of food plants. It is not super-aggressive or anything - just very persistent. Now is a significant time to get rid of as much as you can from your garden because the fleshy roots beneath the clumps of clover-like leaves are right now producing the tiny bulbils that will seriously spread this persistent plant through your beds if they are not removed.

Dig them carefully and put them in household rubbish or crush them on a stone or concrete surface. You can also leave them on a hot dry surface outdoors for a few days and the heat of the sun will fully finish them off.

Gardeners on the go
Go through all beds and remove pest plants that compete for water as well as nutrients in the soil - to the detriment of food plants.
Pick cucumbers as soon as they reach ripe size to keep plants productive.

For full-scale, seasonal edible gardening advice and inspiration see www.podgardening.co.nz or check out Pod Gardening on facebook.