Plants, pests and soil

I think a lot about visitors to our garden. About the many birds and small mammals which make their homes with us. Most of them are very welcome non-paying guests. Many of them are not, and include many unpleasant rodents including rats and mice, and snakes which come in from the nearby canefields. As far as I am concerned the bats are the worst, coming into the house and living in the rafters.
There are a lot of minute almost microscopic organisms which feed on the ornamental plants, and jf they are allowed to thrive unchecked the plants eventually become sick and may die. You will have noticed that some plants seem to attract pests no matter what treatment they get. I have two Swiss cheese plants, one of which always attracts mealy bug and scale insects no matter what treatment I give it. The other plant remains unaffected.

Good light and poor nutrition are often associated with pest and disease problems, and all you may have to do is to move them to a different situation. Waterlogging is certain to cause your problems and you’ll certainly have to do something to correct it.

Competition from weeds will cause problems. So will pests such as slugs. Ladybirds are great friends and one good reason not to use chemical sprays or dusts.
As a rule plant in very good soil with high fertility and you’ll find that most of your problems will be unusual or unexpected. Pale or spindly plants generally mean shortage of good light. Pale or stunted is likely to indicate poor nutrition. Pale and wilting might be due to waterlogged ground and will mean moving plants to drier ground.

It is a very peculiar thing that some of my roses are displaying symptoms of chemical deficiency. It’s the same ones every year, and I have long since concluded that underneath them there must be a lot of limestone, probably broken-up builder’s rubble and concrete. This annual display of chlorosis is quite easily controlled by one or two dressings of micro-elements, which always seem to be available at the main chemical suppliers or the better class nurseries, one of the best of which is to be found on the West Coast en route to Parika.

It is not unusual either to find this type of deficiency shown clearly on the leaves of roses and other plants grown in concrete pots. These have a high proportion of lime in them, and leaves of plants grown in them are often a pale green with a pronounced darkening of the veins.

As a general rule plants will grow very comfortably in soil with a pH of 6.5, and chemical deficiency problems only arise when it gets more alkaline. As a general rule it is possible to prevent soil getting alkaline with dressings of sulphate of ammonia and well-rotted cow mould. It is possible to get pH soil testing kits in Guyana to simplify matters. Soil with too much lime produces plants which cannot take in the smallest amounts of trace elements which are essential to healthy plants, and you may well have to apply trace elements which are easy to get hold of and easy to apply. Indications of deficiency problems, as I said above, include pale leaves and dark green veins.

More of this later, probably after the holidays. Meanwhile take care. Odd outbreaks of pests are easily controlled by just rubbing them out with the fingers and not wasting chemicals on them. Take care and may your God go with you.