What's new, what's growing, what we're learning. Updates, guides and stories for people who take their garden seriously.
Bright orange spots on the pear leaf: pear rust looks dramatic but has a decisive weakness. It absolutely needs a juniper as its second host. How to break the cycle and get rid of the rust for good.
A garden is not a battlefield. How a clear ladder of prevent, strengthen, encourage beneficials and deter mechanically keeps most problems from ever growing large, and why the chemical hammer is the very last step.
An identification helper for the five commonest fruit tree diseases: apple scab, fire blight, brown rot, pear rust and peach leaf curl. How to recognise each by its damage, why fire blight is notifiable, and how an airy crown and tree hygiene prevent most problems.
The dark patch at the bottom of the tomato is not a disease but calcium shortage from uneven watering. How to recognise blossom end rot for sure, why scattering lime rarely helps, and how to prevent it reliably with even watering and mulch.
Spider mites love dry, hot air and give themselves away through pale stippling and fine webbing. Why moisture of all things is your best remedy, how the paper test confirms the infestation, when predatory mites help, and why the chemical hammer often backfires.
The vole eats roots and can kill young fruit trees, while the mole is a protected beneficial. How to tell the two apart reliably, why traps in the active run are the most effective method, and how wire baskets and natural enemies protect your plants for good.
The Spanish slug eats almost anything and has hardly any enemies. How to tell it from the useful leopard slug, why consistent collecting at dusk is the best measure, which slug pellets spare hedgehogs and pets, and why beer traps do more harm than good.
Aphids are rarely a disaster, more often a signal of too much nitrogen or missing beneficials. How to act with the escalation ladder from observing through spraying off to soft soap, why ants protect the aphids, and how the beneficials take over the work.
Ladybirds, lacewings and hoverflies keep aphids in check on their own. How to bring them into your garden for good with flowering islands, hiding places and a poison-free bed, instead of buying and releasing them at cost.
