Some quick Q&As to get you through the next two weeks

Happy holidays! Because we are off for the next 2 weeks, I will probably not manage to release anything until January (although if anything interesting comes up, I will try to post).

A few people have asked a few questions lately, and they are pretty broad, so I thought they might benefit everyone.

Why are my plants wilting? I water them!

You and I both know that your plants are wilting because they are not retaining enough moisture.

Is your plant in a pot which is too small? Is the pot terracotta (which loses water much faster)? You need to repot into a bigger pot with good, rich, moist soil.

Is your plant in the ground? It is possible that you are not watering enough- try for 30 second with the hose on low, going the whole way around your plant, and outwards, soaking a big circle around the plant itself (to about 30cm from the base). 30 seconds is a long time, but prolonged wilting is usually because you are only watering the top of the soil and the lower roots are dying.

Is there mulch around the base of your plant? There should be! If you don’t have a mulch of choice, try mulch and feed, which comes from various different suppliers.

Can you leave your hose on drip by the plant for ages? I do this with my vege beds once a week, because they buggers are so thirsty.

Should your plant be in full sun?! If your plant is being watered properly, but wilting in the heat of the day, wherever possible, move it out of that heat. Some plants just can’t cope with a lot of (what feels like) sudden, prolonged heat- even if they are usually ok in full sun. If the environment has changed a lot since the plant was put in, eg, if we are going through a particularly hot spell, sometimes the plant isn’t used to it and will wilt even with enough water. In these cases you can spray the leaves with water if they aren’t susceptible to fungal issues; you can also temporarily try to shade it during the hottest parts of the day.

How do I get rid of cabbage white butterflies?

Gross wee buggers.

Yeugh. Best shot you have, if you have lots of time, is to brush off the eggs, and squish the caterpillars, every few days. If you don’t have lots of time, you can get mesh netting (anything thicker than windbreak). Frost cloth works well. Box your brassicas in with a little home made house of mesh.

A cabbage white egg. Just brushing it off will stop the caterpillar from growing.

There is no easy solution except to make sure butterflies can’t touch the brassicas.

Can I make my plants grow faster?

Usually people don’t fertilise or water enough. Wind will also stunt growth, so a windbreak or carefully placed plant will help. Sometimes I put my big pots in the garden beside struggling plants, as it keeps the ground a bit more moist and provides a windbreak. Liquid fertiliser is your go-to, and dig in some solid fertiliser (but the plant won’t be able to access it for 6 months or so). I like Powerfeed.

Why are the leaf tips of my plant wrinkly?

Usually there are aphids hiding in there, or aphids nibbled the tips before the leaves grew properly. Spray with a combo of dishwashing liquid and seasol (seaweed fertiliser). Seaweed fertiliser is great because it puts the aphids off, makes the plants taste less nice, and makes the plants stronger (harder for the insects to eat generally).

A particularly wrinkly leaf, and some aphids to squish.

Your leaves were damaged in growth so they will not become less wrinkly, but if you deal with the bug problem they will still be healthy.

Why did my plant die/why is my plant so sad?

Every year, 2-3 of my plants struggle or die. It was something I agonised over when I had less experience under my belt. There are so many reasons why a plant may struggle, and sometimes it’s a matter of the wrong spot for the wrong plant.

For me this year it looks like my chillies (I didn’t plant them early enough), capsicums (didn’t realise how shaded that bed would get), a lot of my perennials (planted them with good compost and the birds flicked up all of the dirt, damaging the roots. Then they dried out in the heat before I noticed!).

Ask yourself some questions-

• Did you know on some level that this plant may not survive, because of its type, because it’s died on you before, because it was planted in a different spot to what was recommended? (Be honest!)

• Did you neglect the plant a bit during especially hot/dry/windy periods and it probably sustained some damage?

• Has other stuff in that spot survived well, or is it a bit of a dead-plant-black-hole? (If so, only plant shallow rooting plants there)

• Do you have other plants of a similar type that are doing ok (for instance, one rose is sad but the others are good; one part of a hedge has died but the others are fine)? This would indicate that there is something wrong with the plant itself, or that water collects in a specific way in that location (might be drowned, or too dry)

• Read the label and some basic NZ specific information on the plant. Did you follow these instructions?

Don’t beat yourself up, just do your best next time.

Seasons greetings to you all! Possibly see you next week; probably will send out a new newsletter the first weekend of January. :)