When I tipped the cage over, I could see a few small Kipfler potatoes in the bottom, which was encouraging,
but as I started to collect them from amongst the compost and sugar cane mulch, I discovered - much to my horror - dozens of these horrible, fat curl grubs amongst them all.
Needless to say, they were having a fine old time amongst the baby spuds :-(
So, between the 28-spotted ladybirds attacking the leaves, and the curl grubs eating the roots, no wonder my poor spuds all died off! I can't take a trick with 'taters it seems; last year the ones I planted in the ground were also attacked by 28-spotted ladybirds, and then mostly rotted in the ground after really, really wet weather. Sigh.
Anyway, in the end I collected a colander full of teeny tiny Kipflers from the cage, which we will get probably two meals out of. What was encouraging though, was the sheer number of spuds in the cage. Many people growing spuds in cages, tyres or bins don't seem to end up with a very good harvest at the end of the season, but if all the spuds I collected yesterday had grown to full size, I've no doubt we'd have had a bumper harvest from the five tubers I planted out.
So, I'll be interested to see what we get from the second cage, although those spuds aren't growing anywhere near as vigorously as cage #1 did; possibly they are also under attack from the curl grubs? Hurrumph. Despite this though, I will definitely have another go next year, they are certainly an economical use of space in my small garden where space is at a premium. I just need to do some more research on the organic control of curl grubs and leaf-eating ladybirds!
9 comments:
Hello Julie, I too have those ladybirds eating the potatoes in my tower. I planted a little later than you and haven't checked to see if I have any spuds yet but if so, I suspect they could be rotten due to all the rain we have also had on the Gold Coast. I haven't had any luck previously with potatoes either but plan to keep trying. I think you may just have to strike the right time of the year.
My family are farmers in Tasmania and grow magnificent vegies so I also spend a lot of time sighing. The disappointing results are soooo frustrating.
The few you have look good.
Regards Patricia
I saw a clip on BHG about those grubs once, I think Graham Ross said that eucalyptus oil or maybe it was tea tree can get rid of them. You could look it up and treat the other cage before it's too late. Not sure about the lady birds though.
Good luck
Hi Patricia,
Isn't it frustrating and disappointing to see how well (it seems) everyone else is doing? Good luck with your 'taters - I hope they haven't rotted, but gee you've had some rain lately, they must be very soggy :-(
Hi Deb,
Ah excellent, thank you! I'm off to do some research :-)
Cheers, Julie
incredibly odd I know, but do you know my DOG eats them? The curl grubs I mean??
When he carries on at the dog next door, he roughs up the dirt along the sideway and EATS them.
Yes, he's a weird thing my poor old dog.
I'm digging mine up this weekend - Although, the top hasn't quite died off yet, I can't stand the waiting anymore!! :)
Hi Julie,
A blogfriend recently gave me the "Perfect Blend of Friendship" award. The "perfect blend" is cited as "trust, caring, kindness, and honesty" .
I decided to award one to you, because you care for the earth and you're honest in reporting the garden plants that aren't doing well. It's here, if you want a glance at it:http://lavenderbay.wordpress.com/2008/12/08/nice-things-for-a-monday/ .
Cheers!
It is bad enough seeing what is doing damage above the ground let alone discovering that creatures have also been at work under the ground. lol!
The 28 spotted ladybirds are munching away on my potatoes too so I have no idea what sort of crop I will end up with.
But I too will perservere :)
The only lady bugs I have seen on mine are a regular 6 spot one : )
My pink eye's are flowering now so I'm excited to see what lies beneath! Will keep you updated.
I'm going to bandicoot my Dutch Cream and King Edwards this weekend to see what is under there. My first year growing spuds and they look quite good above ground, fingers crossed it is just as good below. Next year I will try the cages.
take care
Pip
Thanks so much for revealing this idea to me! I've been wanting to do a potato tower, but had known of the old tyre version, and wasn't going to do that, so I'm excited to know about the wire tower - (forehead slap!)
Good luck with your next season of spuds - hope the biodiversity will keep the bad bugs at bay. I'm always thrilled to find stick insects in my garden, as I heard that means the environment is sound.
Charndra
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