Organic aphid removal

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When I first noticed yellow aphids on the undersides of some leaves on the mystery marrow plant, I sighed, looked at the abundance of leaves, and decided there were enough leaves to share with the invading insects. It’s one of the most difficult decisions to make when you’re trying to grow your veggies organically and stay pesticide-free.

Unlike my watermelon plants – that were the next to be infested – this hardy plant barely seemed affected, and I forgot about the aphids until I looked closely at the photos I’ve been taking to document the progress of the plant.

A pair of white ladybug larvae (circled) hunting yellow aphids on a developing marrow.

A pair of white ladybug larvae (circled) hunting yellow aphids on a developing marrow.

There were two white ladybug larvae meandering their way on the new marrow that had just set fruit, and when I looked more closely, I noticed small yellow aphids on the fruit and on the neighbouring leaves. I had completely forgotten about the aphids!

These white larvae are from the Scymnus sp. ladybugs, which are small, dusky brown ladybugs that have orange heads (rather, the front part is orange) and rear ends. They are the ones that love feeding on aphids and mealybugs, and I’m always happy to see them here. That just means that I’ve got automatic pest control that’s not chemically harmful to the creatures living here!

Here's a file photograph of a pair of Scymnus sp. ladybugs on the Red Lady papaya tree last year. You can see the rear of the one on the left, and the side profile of the one on the right. They were feeding on the mealybugs that were infesting the papaya tree at the time.

Here’s a file photograph of a pair of Scymnus sp. ladybugs on the Red Lady papaya tree last year. You can see the rear of the one on the left, and the side profile of the one on the right. They were feeding on the mealybugs that were infesting the papaya tree at the time.

I wish they had made their way to the nearby watermelon plants, though, because the plants are in a miserable state right now. :(

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The mighty marrow

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The marrow today - just shy of half a metre in length.

The marrow today – just shy of half a metre in length.

We’ve all been watching the marrow plant in awe for the past two weeks. The fruit that has been growing has been doing so at an amazing rate…

…so amazing that I’ve been measuring and photographing the evidence almost daily.

Take this, for example – it grew 5cm in length over a 24 hour period! My anticipation of that continued rate of growth was disappointed over the last few days, but then I noticed that it had been growing in girth…

10cm today, at the widest part of the fruit

10cm today, at the widest part of the fruit

Unfortunately, that girth is only happening at the base of the fruit…

In profile a couple of days ago, you can see how the bottom is much wider than the top.

In profile a couple of days ago, you can see how the bottom is much wider than the top.

We’re wondering when to harvest the fruit. Does the drying flower at the base of it provide an indication? My mum thinks so, but I’m inclined to leave it a little longer just to see how much bigger it can get.

The new marrow flower bloomed yesterday. Will it set fruit?

The new marrow flower bloomed yesterday. Will it set fruit?

In the meantime, though, a new fruit flower has bloomed at the other end of the trellis. We’ll find out in a day or two whether it will grow into a fruit or not – but if it does, I’m going to have to do even more ad-lib trellis-building again… :(

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Plant vs trellis: plant wins

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A fortnight ago, when the trellis began to be pulled inwards...

A fortnight ago, when the trellis began to be pulled inwards…

It was just a couple of weeks ago that I expressed concern about whether or not my trellis add-ons would be able to cope with the mystery marrow vine. Well, in this case of plant versus trellis, my trellis lost out.

The vine is so healthy and vigorous that both ends of the trellis have been leaning inwards as the weight of the vine on the connecting “rope ladder” pulled everything downwards. The stem of the vine is thick, the leaves are big and healthy, and new stems have been springing up along the main stem until it’s become a big mass of leafy stems.

That thick stem you see across the middle of the photo - growing below the young jicama plant - is actually the root of the marrow plant. With such a strong root, it's no wonder the plant is growing so robustly!

That thick stem you see across the middle of top half of the photo – no, not the jicama plant; behind it, like a green stick lying on the ground – is actually the root of the marrow plant. The main stem is in the top right corner. With such a strong root, it’s no wonder the plant is growing so robustly!

It’s partially my fault – with plants that are new to me, I usually like to let them have their way the first time around, so that with subsequent plantings, I know how to manage them better.

So, with this weighty issue needing attention (pun intended), I had to do some quick patching up to keep the vine from collapsing on top of the other plants in that veggie bed. The corn, in particular, was in the most peril, being the tallest of the plants there.

The jungle that my once orderly veggie bed has become...

The jungle that my once orderly veggie bed has become…

I had a few flower arrangement stands, taken from the recent family event, that I decided to use for my rescue efforts. Some may call it morbid recycling, but I couldn’t pass up those sturdy metal tripod stands that were going to be thrown away anyway. They were of differing heights, and the tallest ones were put at either end of the tilting trellis to prop up the slanting stands while two shorter ones were inserted below the drooping centre to keep the vines from smothering the plants below.

It’s just a stop-gap measure. I foresee more issues and wish I had a crane to lift the centre of the mass of vines and leaves so I can slip in something much sturdier and taller to support the vine – something made of thick wooden posts embedded in cement, preferably.

The marrow at about 10 days after setting fruit. It has been growing at an astounding rate and is currently 40cm long!!!

The marrow at about 10 days after setting fruit. It has been growing at an astounding rate and is currently 40cm long!!!

Apart from this worry, there’s great excitement in watching the first marrow growing. I know I once called our first winter melon the “Little Monster”, but let me just say that this marrow is probably going to be a fully-fledged “monster”!

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Growing Chinese chives

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Our matured chinese chive plants, complete with onion skin-like sheath at the base of the leaves.

Our matured chinese chive plants, complete with onion skin-like sheath at the base of the leaves.

Chinese chives have to be the most neglected herbs in our garden. It was back in 2010 that I received seeds from someone at the GCS Forum and excitedly sowed them in a little recycled bottle-pot that was meant for germinating seeds. When I discovered, from lightly bruising a leaf, that this was the kuchai plant – what I call the “smelly” herb – I lost interest in the plant and it was lost amongst the other potted plants on the back patio.

The first sprout was so tiny that it was almost invisible. Just look at those little root hairs growing on the tap root!

The first sprout was so tiny that it was almost invisible. Just look at those little root hairs growing on the tap root!

The poor plants that grew from the seeds in that pot have remained in the little container for three years, but they kept growing and multiplying, as you can see from the pictures. They weren’t completely neglected – they were watered and occasionally given liquid fertilizers along with the other plants.

The first leaves were very thin and grass-like.

The first leaves were very thin and grass-like.

I’ve kept them around just “in case” we need them. After all, my sister sometimes has a hard time finding kuchai in the market when she makes her famous mee siam, which you must garnish with the fragrant herb.

The chinese chive plants in the little pot, and, towering overhead is the flower spike with the flowers. See it?

The chinese chive plants in the little pot, with the flower spike bearing the flowers towering overhead. See it?

So it appears that at least one of the plants has decided that it’s time to complete the cycle of life, and has sent up a new spike that has a little bunch of flowers on it. Person that I am, I’m anticipating harvesting the seeds when they are done. Why? I won’t consume the plant – I just want to grow new plants from the seeds…

A close-up of the chive flowers - small and pretty!

A close-up of the chive flowers – small and pretty!

In a nutshell, Chinese chives are easy to grow, and very low maintenance, in my experience.

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