My mother's Irish Strawberry tree (arbutus unendo) is covered with flowers and fruits at all different stages of ripening. It is a beautiful little tree and has received no water for many years. It is happy in our alkaline soils and, being native to the Mediterranean regions as well as Ireland, it is very adaptable. The fruits are edible and OK but not that interesting.
Below is a photo of what Tony Scarfo calls a Cauli-Broc. This monstrous thing weighs over 2kg and cost me $5.50 today from Wilson's organics. For that I will be able to make several meals including soup, some sort of gratin and put some in a stir fry too. I wonder what Tony gets for it?
Why doesn't Tony have white fly and aphids?? I hate to admit it but the aphids at my place would weigh more than the crop! Where are all the ladybirds and lacewings? What is the problem ? Something is out of whack...I bet it's garden and nature getting up to mischief again and spending all night laughing at poor me!
I saw Tony again at the market today - before I bought the cauli-broc and we had a chat, him resting on his trolley and me with a handful of his beans. A really decent bloke is Tony.
Posts
7 comments:
We had heaps of aphids on the chilli bushes a couple of week away, we pruned them back well and seem to have got rid of the aphids, so far we only have a few white fly.
No putting direction signs up to send them to the plains Kate!
I don't have any aohids on my lone chili only on brassicas. I think it is the fact that yet another gum tree has overgrown its welcome and is casting afternoon shade right across the veg patch. Oh the trials of gum trees, will they never cease?!
When we visited your garden I was envious of the shade and dappled light you would have on hot summer days but like everything things change with the seasons.
whitefly. The current bane of my existance. I'm going to buy some lacewings plus some pest oil. Hopefully, that'll do the trick!
Hi Kate,
I am not claiming to know much about pest predators but as I often find Lace Wings inside my house at night I am wondering if they are attracted to light.
Perhaps a few well placed solar lights close to your aphid congregations may get them dancing in the 'solar light'. They seem quiet during the day and flutter about if they have found their way indoors at night. I can only assume they have come under the door which is a fairly desperate thing to do. I did have aphid issues on an old climbing rose and my broccoli when I first moved here but as I do not use poisons and let nature take its course, there has not been a big out break for some time. Just a small population to keep the predators fed. I haven't seen too many ladybirds... where are they? I wonder if the drought and lack of garden environments to live in has killed numbers off and upset the balance? Sad that these water restrictions are forced upon those who care for the environment but allow unrestricted use by big revenue raising business. Grrr. makes me cross. Good luck with your predators. Tina:)
Did you mean the flavour of the strawberry tree fruit is not that interesting? They LOOK very interesting! Perhaps they have lost their novelty for you. I've never seen them before.
I agree. The Strawberry Tree looks absolutely intriguing. Very ornamental. I have never seen this tree or tasted its fruit. Strange that something as spectacular looking should not have any interesting taste.
Post a Comment