[Gareth J]

Hi all,
 I am new to gardening, like a lot of you I am desparately trying to get a plot. Apparantly I am "near the top of the list" so, fingers crossed.
At the moment I have commandeered half of the lawn! (after some serious negotiation with the summer swimming pool brigade AKA the kids). My new potatos look really good, and have flowers on which have started to open.   CAN I GET DIGGING??

[DD.]

Hi Gareth & welcome.

Best to just have a scratch around below the surface of the soil & see 'what lies beneath'!

[Gareth J]

Thanks DD, I am off to do some scratching when the rain eases. Call me stupid but, those green insecty things I've discovered on my broad beans should'nt be there should they? whats good for evicting them??

[DD.]

Rain?

Greenfly??? - if so the organic way is to spray them with a washing up liquid solution.

Do they look something like this?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/lookeast/content/images/2007/06/11/mike_trendell_250_250x300.jpg

[Gareth J]

Thats them DD, okay l guess greenfly sounds more proper than green insecty things. So just put a few drops of washing up liquid in a sprayer and fill with water and no greenfly! Can that be used for all nasties?

[DD.]

I think I'd better let someone more experienced in the organic field answer that.  I don't use a lot, but do tend to use a commercial spray, but only when absolutely neccessary.

Having said that, I bought a 'BugClear' gun for the roses, based on Pyrethrins, extracted from members of the chrysanthemum family and it zapped them good. The greenfly that is, not the roses.

[Gareth J]

Whoops I knew I forgot something!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have not even considered this organic Vs chemical thing. I have been so busy removing the builders rubble that had been "swept under the lawn" then building raised beds and planting anything and everything, I have not thought about it. At the risk of restarting what is probably an already well discussed subject, what are peoples thoughts?

[gobs]

The organic way, you don't much greenfly to worry about at all. That might sound smug, but after a few years, that's the case, you just don't have this problem.

[Gareth J]

Thanks gobs, so is washing up liquid the way to go?

[compostqueen]

the organic way means that peeps leave the aphids to be eaten by hoverflies, wasps and bluetits rather than spraying crops with chemicals.  The organic veg grower feeds the soil as a good, fertile soil makes plants grow strongly so are less like to succumb to pest and disease

i think that about sums it up  

[Gareth J]

ok compostqueen (nice name by the way), after being left with clay that demi moore could make vases with I put a lot of rotted manure in my beds. will the hoverflys take up residence or is there anything I can do to encourage them? And now you mention it, A loverly pair of bluetits have been visiting lately