eco-system management
Aug. 23rd, 2009 09:50 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tylikAt one point my reaction to seeing the cottony egg sacs of mealy bugs was to wince and consider destroying them. Now I look at them and think "Ah, a nursery for the next generation of Cryptolaemus larvae." Our C. montrouzieri population is doing quite nicely - as, for the moment, is our mealy bug population. We're hoping the oscillations don't get too chaotic.
And we really need to get the aphids under control. Keeping an eye out for wild ladybugs to import... The C. montrouzieri will, in theory, eat them if mealy bugs are not available, but I don't think we'll see that particularly soon. And while my eggplants are growing and all, I think the aphids are holding them back substantially.
K did a great job keeping everything going in my absence. Came back to a ripe tomato and more beans than I could eat in one meal. (The beans in the west window aren't so happy, but that's a harder location.) He didn't touch the worm bin, but the worms hardly seem to have noticed - things were slightly wetter than I would preferred, and they were most of the way through their food, but mostly because their population has shot up. I should probably apply beneficial nematodes today, as it looks like we have a few flies.
BTW, this is apparently my 3001st post.
And we really need to get the aphids under control. Keeping an eye out for wild ladybugs to import... The C. montrouzieri will, in theory, eat them if mealy bugs are not available, but I don't think we'll see that particularly soon. And while my eggplants are growing and all, I think the aphids are holding them back substantially.
K did a great job keeping everything going in my absence. Came back to a ripe tomato and more beans than I could eat in one meal. (The beans in the west window aren't so happy, but that's a harder location.) He didn't touch the worm bin, but the worms hardly seem to have noticed - things were slightly wetter than I would preferred, and they were most of the way through their food, but mostly because their population has shot up. I should probably apply beneficial nematodes today, as it looks like we have a few flies.
BTW, this is apparently my 3001st post.
