When everything was rosy
Well, even though I have not been able to be in my garden as such, a lot has happened lately, several sad things :(. For this #GardenJournal Challenge the first story I want to tell you is about my beloved Roselle or Jamaican Sorrel, which I planted at the beginning of the year.
Once Upon a Time.... no I'm lying hahaha. But if the story goes like this... At the beginning of November, after several months of waiting and anxiousness, I observed that the first flower buds began to appear on these plants, which were huge and splendid as you can see in the picture at the top.
The days went by and little by little they were blooming, I was happy because I was FINALLY going to be able to make the jam I had been waiting for so long. In the same way the petals of the flowers were falling, leaving the calyxes of the same ones, which is what is consumed. This part has to be left to "ripen" for a couple of weeks so that it is at its optimum point for harvesting.
But I did not expect that there was an army around, with the same intentions, and that without realizing it, they disposed of my plants. They were the red leafcutter ants, that in a matter of 3 days managed to take everything that was there, leaves, flowers, calyxes, everything...
I was heartbroken, I could no longer make my jam and I barely managed to pick up what was left on the floor to make a couple of infusions. I know that in nature these things are normal and that ants also need food but.... Why did my plants have to be the victims? I just have to keep waiting for the next production and prepare myself to defend myself against these heartless.
In addition, a few days before, an old trunk of a mango tree that I had there years ago, fell down after a heavy rain. It was quite a problem because it fell into the house of the next door neighbors, and I had to take care of it quickly since the situation bothered them, they even said that "the wall almost fell down". The next day I got my cousins (with whom I currently work) to help me lower the trunk, and cut it down a bit. Because of all this, the pumpkin and cassava plants that had just been planted were affected, also one of my very precious plantain (cooking banana) plants broke, but as it is still young, I am hopeful that it will sprout again. As you read, not everything is rosy in gardening.
Broken Plantain plant :(
Finally, despite losing almost all the roselle and a plantain plant, a few days later, one of the banana plants broke due to lack of support :( it was tied to another plant that was leaning in the opposite direction, we thought that this would be enough to hold them but you can see that it was not so and it ended up splitting, the fruits did not develop enough to let them ripen, but they can be eaten cooked at least.
That's all for now, I hope this month and the coming ones go better for my plants, and yours too! Have a Merry Christmas and we'll be reading each other in January!
Gracias por leerme. | Thanks for reading.
Todas las fotos son de mi autoría. | All photos are my own.
That's crazy how the ants have stripped the bush bare! Will it recover?
I've shared your post in the Garden Journal Weekly. Wishing you a wonderful Christmas.
Oh thanks a lot!!! I'm glad you liked my post. The Roselle will recover, it is already sprouting again, but since it is an annual, I don't know if it will bear fruit again now.
Glad to hear it will recover. Hopefully the and won't be back when it does. 🤞
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Oh, what happened to your banana? Greetings from the Philippines!
They both broke!! :( one was still young, the other one had some time but it fell
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thank you so much!!
Hi @fanyokami!Long time no see in Hive, good to see you again showing us your garden. I see you have had problems with leaf cutter ants, I will give you a natural and effective remedy: Grate white cabbage and put it, at dusk, all over the path they travel, they will take this cabbage to their cave, and this will generate a deadly fungus for them, which will eliminate them without using any chemical product. Do this several days in a row.
Regarding the log disaster, fortunately it did not fall on a person, animal or building itself, so it could have been worse. And about the banana plants, this year I had the same situation twice, due to lack of support, so it is necessary to take precautions and provide them with a good support.. I hope everything gets fixed, best regards.
Hi my friend!! I'm glad to see you around here. Thanks for the ideas to solve the ants problem, I think I have heard about the cabbage remedy before but I wasn't sure how to do it. And about the banana plants, I'm sorry to know you had problems too! it's kinda difficult to make or find a proper tool to use!!
I think what is damaging my banana plants, are the ants that carry the suckers into the trunk, and in addition, I have also seen the cottony mealybug hanging around the trunks. The presence of these pests weakens the plants and makes them more prone to breakage. I am trying to find an ecological solution, as soon as I know what it is, I will make a post with this information.
I have traeted cottony mealybug with the soapy water left from the laundry and it worked, just apply it all over the plant when the sun starts to fall at the end of the afternoon and I hope you are able to deter those horrible pests!!!
Thank you very much for the suggestion, I will try to do it. I even bought some bio-controllers, some special fungis, but the mealy bugs have stuck their tongues out!
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