Grasshoppers are a common problem for gardeners during the warmer months. There are different forms of grasshoppers, the most common being brown, around 1.5 cm long and having no or insignificant wings. You may be familiar with the snapping and buzzing sound that grasshoppers produce as they jump.
Beans can be wonderfully productive during February. For the beans that make it into the kitchen (that are not devoured right there in the vegie patch!), there are lots of delicious salads and stir fries to make, or perhaps blanch and freeze a few packs for the cooler months ahead.
Healthy, well fed beans can continue to produce pods well into autumn however mites are one of the pests that can bring about the premature demise of bean plants.
Mites, also called spider and two spotted mites, are at the most prolific during summer’s hot weather and they particularly like dry conditions. Watch for bean leaves starting to look yellow and mottled as you could have a mite infestation. Mites are literally sucking the life out of the leaves! Large populations of mites create masses of fine spidery webbing in between leaves and stems (pictured right), which is often when a mite infestation is first noticed, as the mites themselves are very tiny.
Mites can be controlled with weekly sprays of Yates Mancozeb Plus Garden Fungicide & Miticide, which contains sulfur, which is an effective miticide. The mancozeb component of Yates Mancozeb Plus is a broad spectrum fungicide and will control common bean diseases such as leaf spots and anthracnose, which can infect both the leaves and the pods. So by using Yates Mancozeb Plus on your beans during summer, you can keep both mites and diseases under control with the one product.
Continue to keep bean plants well watered during February and feed them each week with Yates Thrive Flower & Fruit Soluble Plant Food. Mix 2 spoonfuls into a 9 L watering can and apply over the leaves and root zone.
