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18 | August 3, 2017 | Malibu surfside news Sound Off
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Don’t Panic, It’s Organic
Ask Andy — readers’ questions continue
Andy Lopez
Contributing Columnist
Invisible Gardener
Last week, my
column featured
answers to questions
on everything from flea
control to orange-colored
rust on roses.
This week, we’re back
with two more reader questions.
Question No. 1: “Help!
My vegetables are being
eaten up (not by me), and
my citrus is looking bad.
Leaves appear to have
something crawling over
and leaving trails.”
After talking on the
phone with you, I told you
that I would answer your
question fully here so here
goes: First off, you cannot
have vegetables planted
at the base of your citrus
and expect to have both
healthy citrus trees and
good vegetable plants!
They both require
different watering and
organic fertilizations.
Your citrus is being over
watered. The citrus leaf
miner makes the trails you
see on the leaves. Whenever
a pest attacks any
plant, vegetable or citrus,
it means that the mineral
levels have dropped low
enough to make the plant
food for the insects. You
can tell the mineral levels
of your plants by using a
refractometer, which measures
Brix levels. While
Brix measures sugar levels
in plants, it also actually
measures mineral levels.
When you use a refractometer,
what you see
when you look into the
lens is an area of white on
top and an area of black
on the bottom. The line
where they meet is your
Brix level. If the line is
sharp, then it shows less
variety of minerals, and if
the line is blurry, it shows
a more variety of minerals
available. Brix levels will
also show nitrogen. So a
plant that has been giving
high nitrogen fertilizer
will have a high Brix level
for a day. Then, it will
drop below the previous
levels. You might say it
has a bad hangover.
You are over watering
your citrus, and this
causes mineral levels to
drop. When this happens,
pests attack. Your
vegetables are also being
watered incorrectly and
the same results with
them. Citrus will do fine
with once a week watering
during hot spells and
every other week during
normal temperatures.
Vegetables need a different
type of fertilization
than the citrus. They need
different watering cycles
than the citrus. I would
grow the vegetables in
a separate area and bury
a drip line. They will do
better in a raised bed.
Change the watering of
the citrus to once a week
deep watering, about 30
to 45 minutes. Modify
the watering of the vegetables
to every two days
with watering only from
the buried drip line and
run for about 10 minutes
each time.
Also, it makes a difference
whether you
buy organically grown
vegetables or just the
chemically grown variety
in the nurseries. You cannot
buy these chemically
grown vegetables and
expect them to do well
organically. They will be
too weak, and every pest
will attack them in your
neighborhood!
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I hope this helps you.
Question No. 2: “Hope
you are well. My husband
and I recently had you to
the house to consult on our
yard. Our landscaping is
just about done - without
the use of RoundUp!
My question for you is
about our raised garden
beds. We had our landscaper
build three large
beds for edible plants. And
then we remembered rats.
So we have asked him to
build a large enclosure to
keep pests out. However,
I want to let in as many
pollinators as possible.
I’ve read all kinds of posts
online about how juvenile
rats can squeeze into spaces
a quarter-inch wide.
That seems implausible to
me. In your opinion, what
gauge wire mesh should
we use to keep as many
pests out but allow the
good guys in?”
What a great question!
Yes, the rats start out
very small. They may
come in and then get
trapped inside because
they grow fast. Here is
what I would suggest you
might try doing. I do not
know how you plan to
build your “enclosure,”
but you can make a slight
change in the design. I
would see if you can open
and close the top. The top
should be on hinges, and
at the very top of the enclosure.
You also don’t say
how big your enclosure
is. If it was big enough,
you could allow various
insects to live inside. Did
you know that you can
pollinate your plants yourself?
A small fine-haired
paint brush will work just
fine. Just paint the flowers
of the same type with
vegetables when they are
open. I would have a few
of them around and use
them for just certain vegetables.
Label them.
Another thing is that
most if not all vegetables
do not need to be pollinated
anymore since they
are self-pollinating. Also,
a fan would help. A small
fan would spread any
pollen around to the other
plants.
Also, there are many
things you can do to keep
the rats, mice, etc. away.
Many natural animal control
devices are plugged
in and emit a particular
sound that keeps them
away without hurting your
pets. But in the long run,
I would make sure your
enclosure is rat and mice
proof by using screen all
along the bottom up to 3
feet, or they will find a
way in. The screen should
also go down about 2
feet to keep them from
going under the wire. As
for gauge wire mesh, 1/4
would work for the top
but I would double layer
that under the base and
bottom. As I said before,
I would even use a screen
around the lower areas
near the ground.
Hope this helps!
Any questions? Email me at
andylopez@invisiblegardener.
com. Did you get my new
book, “Don’t Panic, It’s Organic!”
yet? The eBook version
is free just by mentioning
Surfside News!