Annoying Garden Pests: No Hugs for Mealybugs

Imagine this picture for a moment - it’s Saturday morning and you woke up after having a perfect night sleep. The sun shines in your living room and you decide to check on your garden plants. You feel relaxed and happy. And then, completely out of the blue, you realize that mealybugs are all over your favourite veggies.

Naturally, you freak out and start screaming. I might have a solution for both your plants and your nerves. Try to calm down and take a look at these useful tricks on how to get in a situation where you’ll be able to say - no hugs for mealybugs.

Annoying Garden Pests: No Hugs for Mealybugs

Meet Mealybug - Your Plant’s Bad Neighbour

First things first – meet your enemy. Found in warmer growing climates, mealybugs are tiny, soft-bodied insects that can infect both indoor and outdoor plants.

Mealybugs can move and sometimes they appear in such huge numbers that your plants look like it’s snowing. These plant-sucking pests produce honeydew, which is sweet and attracts ants.

Various fruits such as citrus, avocado, mango and vegetables including asparagus, beans, cabbage, cucumber, lettuce, pepper, pumpkin and tomato can all be found on the menu of mealybugs.

Use a Spray to Knock Mealybugs Down

There are several strategies for saying good bye to mealybugs. First of all, don’t over water or over fertilize your plants since mealybugs are attracted to plants with high nitrogen levels and soft growth.

If that doesn’t help, then simply spray them. I usually use homemade soap and oil spray or soap and alcohol spray. They are both easy to make.

Soap and oil spray is made of liquid soap and 2 tablespoons of cooking oil per 3-4 liters of soap. Thanks to oil this mixture becomes sticky and doesn’t drip off your plants so quickly.

As for soap and alcohol spray, I specially recommend this one because it’s great for stripping away any waxy coating on the mealybugs. Keep in mind that after spraying your plants with soap and alcohol spray you should rinse them with water.

Try out these tricks and send reinforcement to your plants! Say no hugs for mealybugs!

Your Tropical Garden Deserves the Best Soil

Garden soil is essential for good gardening. Countless micro-organisms that live in soil work 24/7 to break down decaying organic matter and provide nutrients to growing plants. So, if you want to have a healthy garden you basically need two things – quality soil and outstanding seeds. Let’s stick to the soil, for now.

There are literally thousands of different soil types, but only a few basic ones. Most common soil types are sand, sandy loam, loam, loamy clay and clay. This classification varies depending on location. For example, much of the soil in Singapore, where I live, is clay. And here is what I did when I was preparing the soil for my first gardening season.

Your Tropical Garden Deserves the Best Soil

Garden Location and Soil Samples

Firstly I picked a good location for my garden. A suitable location should allow good exposure to direct sunlight and sufficient drainage to keep the soil from becoming too soggy. In case you don’t have enough space in your garden, you may want to consider growing a vertical garden or growing plants hydroponically. I grow hydroponically for years and it’s been really exciting so far.

After choosing your garden’s location, the second step for you is to check your soil’s composition and take a pH test. This sort of test can be done in a garden supply store. If you have a clay soil, the chances are high that you will need to add some loam, sand and other amendments in order to increase soil drainage. I did all this. Want to know how? By using raised beds.

Awesome Advantages of Raised Beds

If clay is all around you then making raised beds is by far the best option you got. How to do it? Easy, like I did it. Just start digging, add some organic materials to amend the structure and in no time you’ll see that the soil is slightly raised above that ground level that was not adequate for growing. By doing this, you’re actually building a temporary raised bad. I often use boards or bricks as edging for raised beds. This way my garden looks nicer too.

Another super cool thing with raised beds is that they can protect your crops from garden pests. To make this happen, you have to use raised bed covers. I bet you have or you know someone who has problems with tomato pests or diseases that attack basil. I took these as examples because I know a lot of people who have a huge concern about these two varieties. Anyways, after adding some beautiful borders to my raised beds I took a moment or two to think about the fertilizers.

Use Organic Fertilisers and Sleep Peacefully

There’s no question about the importance of organic fertilizers in gardening. If you want to become a green thumb, start by providing fuel to your plants. You can’t drive your car without fuel either, can you? The same stands for plants. Just loosen your hand and add a generous amount of compost and organic matter to your soil. When it comes to types of organic matter to use for this purpose, I recommend animal manure, sawdust, grass clippings and vegetable peelings from your kitchen.

Any questions about choosing the right soil for your garden? As always, I’m here to help!