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Gardening in Oz

help with veggie patch

9 years ago

So I have a few problems with my veggie patch. First of all, my radish leaves have this white squiggly lines all over them (leaf miner?) and I have no idea if this is going to ruin my radishes or how to stop it organically. Secondly, there are these huge moth-fly things (also known as Mothra in my household ;P). They look like a moth but less furry and they fly around fast like flies and they keep chilling on my corn, there are also heaps of tiny black flies chilling around my garden too.... I dont know if they are good or bad because I have no idea what they are! And last but not least, my beetroot seedlings which I planted on the 7/10/14 are still tiny and some of them are falling over/or have fallen over and now the part that goes into the ground has kinda gone really thin and black.

Im so sad because I really love my garden and I go out almost every day to check on the progress and I just have no idea what is going on! This is my first time as well and I dont know anyone in person to ask. I live in Toowoomba Queensland, and the weather is around 25-30 during the day at the moment and drops down to 18-20 at night. I have mulched my garden and water it in the morning before the sun hits it, I do a light water every day because the soil looks really dry when I go out in the mornings. I just cant believe how many bugs are attracted to my garden considering I only just moved in and there was nothing there before hand... anyway hopefully someone can help

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Comment (1)

funnelweb
9 years ago
The white squiggly lines are caused by the leaf miner, they burrow through leaves. Systemic insecticide is the best treatment but they're frowned on now-a-days. You could just pull off the affected leaves depending on how serious the infestation is. As for the rest, well, sub-tropic and tropic gardens are simply awash with bugs this time of years, I try to get all my vegies under way in winter and mostly harvested before the bugs - I'm currently awash with tomatoes I planted as seeds in trays in May. Also, as you are new to all this I'd suggest you invest in a good garden book, Yates Garden Guide is a very good beginning.
B.

PS. As for your beetroot, I've never found that easy, however a trace of Boron in the soil before planting helps. You might also consider getting your ph tested, most vegies prefer a slightly alkaline soil.
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