Paddy's pot

Paddy thought it would be prudent to check the brussels sprout plants again after last weeks mealy bug outbreak.

Paddy's mealy bugs

All the plants were fine except for one that had a couple of curled up leaves that had missed being sprayed with Safer Brand 3-In-1 Insect Control Organic Garden Spray. (Last week we also visited some other organic solutions for mealy bugs)

This small colony would be enough to seed a new attack on the other plants so it seems that thorough inspection and spraying are the only way to keep them in check.

Paddy's mealy bugs

We noticed that the plants that were attacked are still not back to normal. Some of the leaves show signs of stress and the new growth on the plant has been stunted.

Paddy's mealy bug damage

On perhaps an even worse note we pulled up some more carrots to find them looking like alien egg pods!

Paddy's worty carrots

You can see why we thought we might have root knot nematode in the garden bed.

Paddy's worty carrots

The carrots are truly horrifying. Not only are they bent and gnarled but they have lumps on them resembling worts.

Close inspection of the garden bed where the carrots were growing show a lot of root work from a nearby rosemary plant. This section of the garden was dug out to about 1 foot deep and replaced with good soil and it seems the rosemary bush took a liking to it.

Paddy's garden bed soil

This complex root system is probably preventing the carrots from growing normally.

Paddy's produce

Throw in some beans and cherry tomatoes and that is this week’s produce from Paddy’s Garden… not so good!

Paddy's Garden