The year started well at the farm; the winter had been mild and dry, and the spring got away to a good start - too good, as it turned out - we had to work harder with the ventilation and irrigation in the seedling nursery due to the exceptionally warm weather. Slugs, snails and aphids turned up in numbers to make things more interesting - probably thanks to the mild winter.
The main crop was planted on time, and then summer came - or rather, it didn't; June and July was so overcast that the soil temperature dropped significantly and the growth of the plants slowed to a standstill. This was just the excuse the aphids were looking for!
On the up-side, we did have an opportunity to play with a few more biological aphid-controls this year. I didn't spot any Lacewing larvae this year, but we had a reasonable crew of Ladybirds and a host of amazingly hungry and agile Hoverfly larvae. As added fire-power, to bought-in some parasitic wasps - one specialized in attaching to the aphid and 'vamping' them, the other injected its egg directly into the aphid - gruesome! This was a good year for noticing specialist predators - I spotted two other parasitic wasps: one seemed have a fondness for stunning spiders and dragging them down holes - I'm guessing that they became unwilling baby-sitters - and I identified another one hunting Hoverfly larvae to inject them with an egg! I didn't think too highly of them! Here's an image from our galley - a Hoverfly larvae in full swing:
There are a few more bug-shots from this season on our web site: http://www.southdevonchillifarm.co.uk/gallery5.html
The main crop was planted on time, and then summer came - or rather, it didn't; June and July was so overcast that the soil temperature dropped significantly and the growth of the plants slowed to a standstill. This was just the excuse the aphids were looking for!
On the up-side, we did have an opportunity to play with a few more biological aphid-controls this year. I didn't spot any Lacewing larvae this year, but we had a reasonable crew of Ladybirds and a host of amazingly hungry and agile Hoverfly larvae. As added fire-power, to bought-in some parasitic wasps - one specialized in attaching to the aphid and 'vamping' them, the other injected its egg directly into the aphid - gruesome! This was a good year for noticing specialist predators - I spotted two other parasitic wasps: one seemed have a fondness for stunning spiders and dragging them down holes - I'm guessing that they became unwilling baby-sitters - and I identified another one hunting Hoverfly larvae to inject them with an egg! I didn't think too highly of them! Here's an image from our galley - a Hoverfly larvae in full swing:
There are a few more bug-shots from this season on our web site: http://www.southdevonchillifarm.co.uk/gallery5.html
Our season is drawing to a close now and we are about to pick-off the remaining chillies; make a huge compost heap and start planning for next year. As the season develops, I’ll post a note when something interesting happens.
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