The Wrigglers are Amateur Gardeners. This is our guide to Aphids. There are #cartoons, posters and links to Aphid control. The Wrigglers have drawn a scribe and made a poster, which will be added to the page as it develops.

As we discover more about aphids we will update this page …

Know your enemy

With a little knowledge, you can do battle and control the aphids

Indoors, aphids survive all year round. Outdoors, aphids appear in the spring and stay for the summer.

How to get rid of Aphids safely

Aphids are a natural part of the garden ecosystem and a vital source of food for many species of bird, including house sparrows. They’re only a problem if they occur in large numbers.

Gardener’s World and how to get rid of aphids safely

The cartoon headline says, “There are 500 species of aphid in the UK. Known as blackly or greenfly they can also be orange, yellow and brown, too. In the cartoon two worms are looking a leaf with orange ‘greenfly’ o it. One work says to the other one, “Look! Greenfly” The other work says, “Eric, I think you might be colourblind”

The cartoon headline says, “Rely on the natural world to control Aphids. One ladybird will eat 300 Aphids in its lifetime.” The cartoon shows a worm looking at a ladybird on a leaf with orange and black aphids in front of it. The worm says, “ I’m concerned about your diet. You need to eat more greens.” The ladybird and all of the greenfly on the leaf say “!” #putpollinatorsfirst

Aphid Control

Encourage the natural enemies of aphids in the garden, such as ladybirds, ground beetles, hoverflies, parasitoid wasps and earwigs. Be aware that in spring aphid populations often build up before natural enemies are active in sufficient numbers and then give good control.

Indiscriminate use of pesticides can reduce the numbers of useful predators

RHS – aphid control

Don’t forget …

To produce bushier Dahlias’ and more flowers’ remove all but five of the shoots sprouting from a tuber.

It’s not just us who love Dahlias, garden pests do to. The usual culprits, slugs and snails … but also earwigs. Try dispersing with an organic method … stuff some straw or paper into a small pot, upside down on a bamboo stake. They crawl in there on a hot day, for you to get rid of as you see fit.

download a pdf of this guide

This is a double page spread from a pdf about growing dahlias. It summarises the pdf, don't forget To produce bushier Dahlias' and more flowers' remove all but five of the shoots sprouting from a tuber. It finishes with a section and cartoon on pests, especially earwigs — A diagram Showing the frame parts of a cold frame being put together

For an expert’s eye on pruning:

RHS Pruning groups

Understand the groups and you understand when, how and which plants to prune.

These groups are designed to offer gardeners a general guide on how to prune a tree, shrub or climber.

LINK

Pruning is one of those grey areas for me. The info here is not only fun to read, but will save some of my plants from an overly keen secateur-wielding gardener, like me.

Simon Haynes

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