Tackle Spring Pests With Nemaslug and Nemasys

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Tackle Spring Pests With Nemaslug And Nemasys: As spring edges closer, now is the time of year dedicated to patrolling your garden to make sure no pests take over. If steps are not taken to tackle your pests now, they can become damaging to plants and vegetables as we move into the warmer months. Taking action now will ensure your time and hard effort is not lost.

But as the weather starts to warm up, which pests do I need to tackle first? Over the autumn and winter months, vine weevil larvae stay beneath the soil and feed on roots, causing plants to wilt and die, and if they survive, the grown adult weevils then eat plant leaves during spring and summer, resulting in irregular-shaped notches on the leaves. Also, slugs begin to make an appearance from March as the British climate makes the perfect breeding ground for them.

Tackle Spring Pests With Nemaslug and Nemasys

Nemasys and Nemaslug offer the perfect solutions to pest control, and the various species grown by BASF, in the only specialist nematode production facility in Britain, can protect your plants from a variety of pests.  BASF grow six different nematodes, all of which are simply mixed with water and either applied from a watering can with a coarse rose or sprayed onto the foliage and soil, depending on the variety. There is no need to keep children or pets away from treated areas and the whole programme is entirely biological so that all the Nemasys products can be used by organic gardeners.

Nemasys Vine Weevil Killer: apply from March to October

Vine weevils are beetles with a long, thin snout. It is actually the larvae of the weevil that causes the main damage to plants, as they remain in the soil and eat the roots. Nemasys Vine Weevil Killer targets the larvae while they are still in the soil and kills them before they have a chance to cause damage.

A regular regime of using Nemasys Vine Weevil Killer every four weeks throughout the growing season is the best way to control the pets.

Nemaslug: apply from March to October

With each slug laying up to 300 eggs, in up to 50 separate batches during a season – that’s a lot of slugs! It is estimated that each cubic metre of soil can contain around 200 grown slugs. The best time to target slugs is when they are newly hatched, so the period between March – October is ideal. As nematodes are able to travel through the soil, to where the newly hatched and young slugs’ dwell, they are able to attack them before they are even in sight, unlike slug pellets.

A regular regime of using Nemaslug every six weeks throughout this period, from March to October, is the most effective way to keep slugs controlled throughout the growing season which will help keep your plants safe.

Stock Up On Pest Control For Warmer Winter Months

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Stock Up On Pest Control For Warmer Winter Months: It is becoming clear that the planet is becoming warmer and warmer each year, and particularly in 2018 gardens have experienced the full force of Mother Nature. From the Beast from the East in March bringing endless amounts of snow to the scorching hot summer in July, the growth of grass, plants and trees may have taken a hit. But as we coast into winter, we have been experiencing increasingly mild temperatures for this time of year – with a number of pests staying put in the garden instead of hibernating away as they would usually.

Because of this warmer winter weather, it is creating the perfect breeding ground for slugs to still attack and wreak havoc in your garden, even in the winter. This is why it is important to stock up and take control with pest solutions now in preparation for the uncertain weather temperatures ahead.

Stock Up On Pest Control For Warmer Winter Months

The slug killer, Nemaslug by BASF, offers a biological solution to pest control and can protect your vegetables, fruit, flowers, shrubs and trees from a variety of pests – even in December. To use, all you do is mix the product with water and apply from a watering can with a coarse rose over the soil area. The temperature of the soil you are treating should be nothing lower than 5 degrees Celsius, which for December this would usually pose an issue, but for the climatic weather, it is not been a problem this year. Also, there is no need to keep children or pets away from treated areas and the whole programme is entirely biological.

Individual slugs are capable of breeding throughout the year but do so typically in times of favourable conditions, warm and wet weather, and it would seem even in December and January. If you were to leave the slugs be until the spring season, which is when pest control typically begins, you would find foliar damage which would be severe enough to cause significant plant loss on a vast number of susceptible crops very early in the season.

Nemaslug orders can be placed online, with an entire season’s worth being sent out as and when needed. This means that you can tackle the slugs in the garden now but also be prepared for the spring and summer months ahead – allowing you to concentrate on planting and growing in your garden, safe in the knowledge that your pest control is taken care of.

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10 Years Of Wildflowers For Hampshire Manor

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10 Years Of Wildflowers For Hampshire Manor: A Hampshire wildflower meadow, grown and supplied by Wildflower Turf Ltd in 2008, has recently reached the ripe old age of ten.

A decade after it was installed at Grade II listed Ashley Manor in the Test Valley, the wildflower meadow continues to thrive and provide a safe haven for an abundance of wildlife. Improving long term biodiversity and ensuring a species rich habitat is now an important goal for landscape designers, and Ashley Manor is testament that a well-maintained wildflower meadow offers great longevity and can be relied upon to provide colour and interest year after year.

10 Years Of Wildflowers For Hampshire Manor

At the commencement of the original landscaping endeavour in September 2008, Wildflower Turf, a soil-less, pre-grown wildflower mat, was installed across two tiers of the steep south and west facing banks to the rear of Ashley Manor.

In total, 655m² of Wildflower Turf was laid and, despite the challenging profile of the banks and only a thin layer of top soil to work with, the installation of the turf was achieved without the use of pegging. A late-summer installation also meant that the turf did not require any additional watering.

The turf rooted in quickly and established itself well over the winter months, flowering beautifully in the spring and summer of 2009. The perennial Red Campion variety did particularly well on the lower slopes and the turf also acted very successfully as a weed suppressing mat.

The wildflower meadow at Ashley Manor also formed a home for a number of mammals and invertebrates, with voles and slow worms quickly taking up residence.

As well as the obvious aesthetic and wildlife benefits, ten years of meadow management has also given Ashley Manor’s Head Gardener, Olly Samways, ample opportunity to trial and perfect his meadow cutting regime.

Initially, a two-cut approach was used, with the first cut usually undertaken in late June. This regime greatly assisted with the initial establishment of the late season varieties in the turf, as well as allowing for the removal of old growth that would have otherwise started to compost and raise nutrient levels by the autumn.  In recent years Olly has swapped to a single-cut regime, with the meadow beneficially requiring less maintenance as it has matured.

Managing Director of Wildflower Turf Ltd, James Hewetson-Brown, said, “We already knew from the 15-year-old Wildflower Turf meadow at our production site that, if properly established, wildflowers offer a long-term solution requiring little maintenance.  Olly’s positive feedback over all these years has expanded our knowledge and confidence in our products and we are grateful for his interest and passion.”

Ashley Manor Head Gardener, Olly Samways concurs, “Our experience with our Wildflower Turf over the last decade has been excellent and I have no reservations at all about waxing lyrical about it to anyone who asks about it.” Olly continued, “Whenever I give tours around the garden, the wildflower areas continue to draw the most interest, as they have done every year since the turf was installed.”

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Rigby Taylor At Hever Castle

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Rigby Taylor At Hever Castle: The “fantastic” success of Hever Castle’s use of Rigby Taylor’s Euroflor urban meadow flower seed mixes has spurred the Kent-based stately home to not only increase the number of areas that will be planted next year and existing plots enlarged, but it has also led to additional, similar projects off-site and the potential launch of a retail scheme which could see the flower seeds being offered to visitors.

Sitting on an estate covering over 400 acres, including an adjoining golf course, the project initiated by Hever Castle Golf Club head greenkeeper Rob Peers to “encourage visitors to both the golf course and the estate to fully enjoy and be immersed by and engaged with the complete site” has, he says, “been an overwhelming success” with the varied displays attracting:

Rigby Taylor At Hever Castle

  • A social media frenzy of visitor photos, plus local and national press coverage;
  • An endless stream of laudable comments from visitors, as well as from Hever Castle staff and proprietors; and
  • Numerous requests (from visitors) asking how they can achieve similar displays of the eye-catching colours and wonderful scents.

After carefully choosing a number of strategic areas for meadow flower seeding, some by the golf course and others between the course and the estate, a variety of Euroflor mixes (from Top Green, the largest seed producer in Europe) were selected; mixes identified as ‘best fit’ options in terms of colour and height, as well as in texture and form. The chosen mixes were:

  • Flora Britannica – 26 species including Black Medick, Viper’s Bugloss and Red Clover;
  • Rainbow annuals – 14 species including English Marigold, Tickseed and China Aster;
  • Posy (cut flower mix), comprising 12 species;
  • Sarah Bouquet – 30 species;
  • Peace (white), six to eight species;
  • Honey – 12 species including Borage, Cosmos and Baby’s Breath; and
  • The Souvenir 100% Red Poppy mix.

“After clearing the unused, mainly overgrown plots – which largely entailed the removal of grass, brambles and weeds – the areas were prepared for seeding and there is no doubt that the key to flowering success was in the preparation of the beds, especially the applications of weedkiller,” says Rob.

“We sowed on May 21-23 and within just five days saw the first seeds germinate. Despite having no rain for the following 62 days, we enjoyed a fantastic display beginning at the end of July – and it continues to last now [October] well into late autumn.”

Lack of natural rainfall this summer put obvious pressure on germination and plant growth: “But I was determined the project wouldn’t fail, and it was a case of all hands to the pump – including family members – to keep the seeds/flowers watered using bowsers and watering cans three times a week. Since the end of July, when it did rain again, the plots have largely taken care of themselves.”

Rigby Taylor At Hever Castle

He adds: “It would be egotistical to say that the displays have added to the footfall here – Hever Castle puts on many added-value attractions throughout the summer to attract visitors – but there has clearly been more people making their ways to the areas of the estate where we planted and there’s been lots of favourable comments.”

In addition, Rob says, “I’ve never seen so many pollinators on the estate – a wonderful sight” – an aspect that is in tune with his enthusiasm for biodiversity and environmental issues.

For 2019, a number of the areas will be left ‘to do their own thing’ in terms of re-seeding, while other patches will be expanded and new areas added. In addition, the success of the meadow flower seed mixes has also generated plans for plantings on other properties.

And now, due to visitor response, discussions are taking place about the possibility of retail offerings – perhaps packets of seed, or potted wildflowers or, indeed, a ‘lay down and plant’ package using Rigby Taylor’s FloraFleece biodegradable matting, which will eliminate the need for extensive soil preparation.

For more information, visit: www.rigbytaylor.com

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Cornwall Project For Wildflower Turf

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Cornwall Project For Wildflower Turf: Wildflower Turf Ltd have recently been nominated as a key supplier by Cornwall Council as part of the council’s Green Infrastructure for Growth (GI4G) project.

The Hampshire-based wildflower experts are assisting Cornwall Council and their incumbent contractors Cormac with the delivery of a far-reaching programme that will see £3.5 million invested in public recreational areas, roadside verges and old churchyards to make them better places for people and wildlife.

Cornwall Project For Wildflower Turf

Seven Cornish towns have been identified to receive investment through GI4G, with the environmental funding focus creating a nature-rich habitat across an area equivalent to 35 rugby pitches.

In consultation with environmental specialists from Exeter University and with guidance supplied by the team from Wildflower Turf Ltd, Cornwall Council established a number of wildflower trial sites during late Summer/Autumn 2017.

The germination and growth results were very convincing and both Wildflower Turf and Wildflower Earth™ products are now being used across the various sites nominated by the Council, who have worked in close consultation with local communities to identify areas to benefit from this urban green space investment.

James Hewetson-Brown, Managing Director at Wildflower Turf Ltd said, “It is heartening to see the commitment of Cornwall Council to developing biodiversity and wildflower spaces in the South West.” Hewetson-Brown continued, “We are delighted to be involved with this exciting project and have enjoyed watching the speed with which these habitats have established and are now benefitting wildlife.”

The Green Infrastructure for Growth Project is supported by funding from the European Regional Development Fund, Cornwall Council, and the University of Exeter.

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