Cutworm Prevention and Management

I wrote a post last weekend entitled Vine Weevil Larvae? featuring a rather unpleasant discovery on my plot. I had concerns that it was a vine weevil larvae, however I wasn't entirely convinced as I thought it was too big, not quite the right colour, and that it appeared to have legs as you can see below (vine weevil larvae apparently don't have legs).

However, thanks to Trevor over at UK Veg Gardeners, who has identified my rather unattractive and unwanted visitor as a cutworm, a rather confusing name since they are not worms but are actually larvae of night-flying moths. It appears that they hide under soil (I found them just under the surface of the soil) and venture out in the dark to eat. They tend to attack the first part of the plant they encounter, i.e. the tender stem of your precious seedlings, subsequently cutting it down. So, quite a clever name really :) The larvae have a fondness for asparagus, bean, cabbage and other crucifers, carrot, celery, corn, lettuce, pea, pepper, potato, and tomato plants.  However, the adult moths do not cause plant damage.

This picture below (courtesy of Neil Phillips) is of a cutworm larva of the Large Yellow Underwing (Noctua pronuba). The ones I found did not have the same colouring, however they curled up in exactly the same way and look to be of a very similar size.

As I have discovered, cutworms over-winter under the soil. So, what can you do to prevent cutworm? Furthermore, what can you do to get rid of them? There are a number of strategies to try and stop them from eating your carefully-nurtured seedlings:

1. Dig over your plot in the autumn. This helps destroy or expose overwintering larvae or pupae;
2. Keep your plot weed-free in autumn and winter. This removes potential egg-laying sites and a food source for young cutworms.
3. Regular dig-over soil in winter to expose the larvae to predators;
4. Lightly dig-over soil a couple of weeks before planting, again to expose larvae to predators;
5. If you know that an area is infected, dig it over to a depth of about 2 inches and manually remove and destroy the cutworm - the removing bit I coped with, the destroying bit I did not;
6. Encourage insectivorous birds by hanging feeders;
7. Avoid using green manure as it will encourage egg-laying;
8. Avoid planting in areas that you know are infested with cutworm;
9. Place aluminium foil or cardboard collars around seedlings. Make sure one end is pushed a few inches into the soil, and the other end extends several inches above ground.  This should prevent most species of cutworms from getting to your plants.  The collar can be removed when the stem of the seedling grows to about the thickness of a pencil;
10. Push 3 toothpicks into the soil around and close to each stem. The cutworm has to curl its body around the base of the plant at soil level to eat, the toothpicks prevent it from doing so. 

Tomorrow, I will be having fun doing more of number 5 :(

Bargain Insect Hotel!

Look what I bought today. I had to do the food shopping today and was really pleased to spot this insect hotel in Morrisons. I've wanted one of these for ages, however was always put off by the silly prices. I had also thought about making one myself but was put off by my rubbish DIY skills and the virtually guaranteed trip to A&E. Anyway, now my insect hotel dreams have come true at the bargain price of just £3.00! Now it just needs installing on the shed wall. I'm looking forward to see if it gets any visitors.

The weather today has been really quite horrible, however the forecast for the rest of the week is good (aside from the temperature). If the forecast allows I'm hoping to make it up to the allotment to finish some tidying up jobs and to make a start on sowing my broad beans, aubergines, and radishes. 

Vine Weevil Larvae?

Although a little chilly it was a lovely, sunny day yesterday. There are quite a few tidying up jobs that need doing so I thought I would try and strike a few off the list. I decided to weed last years runner bean/sweet pea plot, which the brassica's are going in this year. I dug up several of these rather unpleasant creatures, which I suspect are the larva of the black vine weevil (Otiorynchus sulcatus). However, I did read somewhere that they do not have legs and as you can see in my photo above this one did, so I am not certain. Anyone got any ideas?

While digging up the old runner bean plot I also dug up a 7-spotted ladybird (Coccinella 7-punctata), which I initially thought must be dead. However I moved him/her into the greenhouse and placed it on a strawberry plant we have in there. Ater a couple of minutes it started moving about as you can see below. I knew that ladybirds hibernated but I didn't think they hibernated underground.

After messing around for quite a while attempting to take these pictures (I am struggling a little with my new camera) I did finally manage to get some of my jobs done. I was hoping to sow some broad beans and aubergines, but was beaten by the clock :( I can't wait for the summer nights where it is still light at 10 pm!

Tomatoes That I Will Hopefully Grow in 2013

Tomatoes are my favourite food. Every since I was little I have eaten lots and lots of tomatoes. In our first season on the allotment back in 2011 we attempted to grow greenhouse and outdoor tomatoes. It appeared the outdoor ones were not too fond of our lovely Lake District weather, so last year we didn't even bother with any outdoor tomatoes and just stuck to growing well-known varieties (Gardener's Delight, Sungold, Ailsa Craig) in the greenhouse. 

This year I wanted to try growing a few new varieties, but I hadn't really thought much about it. I visited Wilkinson's on a quest to see if I could find some Lebanese courgette seeds, which I did. My prized Lebanese courgette seeds were only available in a multipack and there was 3-for-2 offer on seed packs so I decided to also get a tomato multipack and a sunflower multipack. So, this year I will hopefully be growing:

• Orange Berry
• Costoluto Fiorentino
• Red Pear
• San Marzano
• Lldi
• Tigerella

I've had San Marzano tomatoes before, and they are very tasty, however I am particularly looking forward to growing the tigerella. I'm not quite sure how I will manage to fit all of these into our little greenhouse. They are all suitable for growing both outside and in the greenhouse. So if the weather cooperates this year and provides us with a lovely hot and long summer I could maybe make use of all my seeds!

A New Toy!

I am very lucky to have been able to get a new camera, what's more I am even more lucky to have been able to get something I have wanted for about 20 years - a macro lens. The weather wasn't cooperating with my plans today so I just had a play with it indoors. The light was far from great and I really need to spend a couple of weeks getting to grips with it, however I am hoping that I will be able to get some super closeup pictures at the allotment this year.

Decisions, Decisions...

The weather has not been allotment-friendly of late. We had a lot of snow on Friday, which had turned to slush by Saturday, and now we have the delights of heavy rain and gales. Anyway, I thought it was best to start thinking about what to grow this year. Potatoes first....last year we grew, Sharpe's Express, Pentland Javelin, Pink Fir Apple, Kestrel, and Désirée.

The Sharpe's Express (above) and Pentland Javelin did well. Then disaster struck and we got blight (Potato Woes), so we had to move fast and dig everything up. The Désirée (above) did OK, but not fantastic as the potatoes were all on the small side. However, as you can see below the Kestrel and Pink Fir Apple crops were pretty disastrous.

So, what should I grow this year? After much umming and arring I plumped for Belana (first early), Shetland Black (second early), and Sarpo Mira (maincrop). I chose the Belana as I fancied growing a first early that I hadn't grown before, the Shetland Black because I like attempting to grow something unusual (and I thought the kids might be a little intrigued by their appearance), and the Sarpo Mira purely because of the fact that they are resistant to the evils of blight (as you may guess I am not feeling too optimistic about the weather this year!). 

I will probably end up growing some other varieties also. Despite an extrememly disappointing harvest in 2012, my Pink Fir Apple's gave me a really good crop in 2011 and I love their odd shape and their nutty flavour. On the recommendation of Flighty over at Flighty's Plot I may also have a go at growing Vales Emerald as I have never grown them before.

Fun in the Snow

No digging could be done at the allotment this weekend as the ground was frozen solid. We had no snow, which was a great disappointment to the children, so we set off to higher ground to see if we could find some...

As you can see, we did! Just fifteen minutes drive in the car and we found enough snow for Finn to throw a few snowballs about. Finn really wanted to build a snowman, however after a few minutes in the snow he decided that his feet were too cold and went to sit in the car, leaving Ethan, my Mum and Dad, and myself to do all the hard work.

I think this is the smallest snowman I have ever made, however there wasn't really enough snow. Ethan wanted to go sledging but there wasn't enough for that. I'm really hoping we get at least one good snowfall this winter.