Vegetable Patch Problems

[spdpug98]

I am after a bit of advice from the PH collective, Mrs Spdpug98 has a vegetable patch in the garden and has a good selection of vegetables growing. However, the patch is now overrun with 'White Fly' and the Thyme/Rosemary & Basil all have white spots on their leaves (if you call them leaves!)

Is there anything we can use to rid the patch of the 'White Fly', and anyone have any ideas what the white spots could be and how to treat it...I have tried the usual 'google' search but have not found anything

[HiRich]

Most garden insecticides will deal with garden whitefly (greenhouse whitefly is different). Check for one that is suitable for edicble plants. You might find it better to buy concentrate and mix up your self (either a large sprayer or an old 1 litre sprayer of kitchen cleaner). A small dose of Johnson's Baby Shampoo will also help - it washes off the protective honeydew.

Need more on the spots. Could it be mildew (a powdery substance) or fungus? Is it a bug cutting into the leaves?

[LivingTheDream]

Depends on your view on being 'organic' or not. If you don't mind pesticides then many a good spray exists.

If you don't like the idea of sprays then a homemade soap spray will wash them off as suggested. Then you need to stop them coming back - I use companion planting, basically planting something with your ved that the whitefly don't like.

I plant tubs of Marigolds around the edge of my veg beds and a tub inside the door of my greenhouse. The greenhouse is clear of whitefly and the veg beds don't have too many.

[Simpo Two]

Head for the 'garden chemicals' section of your local garden centre and read some labels. Unfortunately many if not all the really efective insecticides have been banned; the remainder are pretty wishy-washy and will need repeated doses to do much at all, I fear. Organic soapy water is NOT an insecticide in my book; it does not kill insects, merely make them nice and clean!

[spdpug98]

Thanks for the replies, she is using a pesticide at the moment but we don't really want our veg tasting of it! I had thought about the old washing up liquid trick that my Nan used to use on her roses but didn't think it would work

I have attached a couple of pictures of the rosemary with the white spots, I thought it may have been a fungus at first but you can't wipe it off

[Simpo Two]

spdpug98 said:

Thanks for the replies, she is using a pesticide at the moment but we don't really want our veg tasting of it!

Insecticides come in two kinds - for ornamentals and for edible crops. All you have to do is choose the latter, apply as instructed and wait for the period it states before eating - that gives the actiev ingredients time to break down. Companies spend an awful lot of time and money testing these things and submitting data to DEFRA before they get a licence so you really don't have anything to worry about.

The 'white' spots look like chlorosis (yellowing, as the chlorophyll breaks down) but I don't know what's causing it, sorry. Probably either a disease or a nutritional deficiency.