Hi- my first post to this ng.

I live in London and my gardening is limited to indoor plants, not through
choice but through the fact that I currently live in a flat. I do love
outdoor gardenig and actually landscaped my parents' garden at the age of 12.
And I didn't mess it up either! Maybe some day i will have my dream walled
paved garden but meanwhile, pelargoniums on the window sills it is.

My current concerns are the zonal pelargoniums I've recently bought as rooted
cuttings and am now trying to raise. I got about a dozen of these from Vernon
Geraniums around six weeks ago now and all have thrived bar one which I think
was/became diseased and which I threw out. These are rooted in gauze or net
bags and the plants are potted on arrival with the bags which they are
supposed to rot away in due course. What I've noticed is that these plants
(or rather the compost) seems to be attracting a lot of attention from those
tiny flies that I think are called fruit flies, and I'm a bit concerned that
they may be laying eggs in the compost and the larvae may be mistaking my
zonals for "fruit". I'm wondering about using pesticides- I do remember
something about making a noxious liquid from boiling cigarette ends, although
this probably doesn't qualify as organic but it does avoid handling and using
the most noxious orthodox pesticides. Would the boiled fag-end solution be
appropriate here? My pelargoniums are not very big- all about 1 to three
inches of stem plus a few leaves. Any suggestions appreciated.

For email- if address is munged please use joe-b at clara dot co uk
--
Joe B.

"Joe B." wrote in message
. com...
Hi- my first post to this ng.

I live in London and my gardening is limited to indoor plants, not through
choice but through the fact that I currently live in a flat. I do love
outdoor gardenig and actually landscaped my parents' garden at the age of
12.
And I didn't mess it up either! Maybe some day i will have my dream walled
paved garden but meanwhile, pelargoniums on the window sills it is.

My current concerns are the zonal pelargoniums I've recently bought as
rooted
cuttings and am now trying to raise. I got about a dozen of these from
Vernon
Geraniums around six weeks ago now and all have thrived bar one which I
think
was/became diseased and which I threw out. These are rooted in gauze or
net
bags and the plants are potted on arrival with the bags which they are
supposed to rot away in due course. What I've noticed is that these plants
(or rather the compost) seems to be attracting a lot of attention from
those
tiny flies that I think are called fruit flies, and I'm a bit concerned
that
they may be laying eggs in the compost and the larvae may be mistaking my
zonals for "fruit".

These flies are not fruit flies, they are feeding on the compost, they are
quite common with peat-based composts. They wont harm your plant.

I'm wondering about using pesticides- I do remember
something about making a noxious liquid from boiling cigarette ends,
although
this probably doesn't qualify as organic but it does avoid handling and
using
the most noxious orthodox pesticides. Would the boiled fag-end solution be
appropriate here? My pelargoniums are not very big- all about 1 to three
inches of stem plus a few leaves. Any suggestions appreciated.

A quick burst of fly spray on the compost will deal with them if it bothers
you but they arent doing any harm.

BTW, it seems peverse to worry about 'noxious orthodox pesticides' (whatever
they are) if you or the people in your flat are directly inhaling various
actually known-to-be-toxic substances into your lungs on a regular basis!


--
Tumbleweed

Remove theobvious before replying (but no email reply necessary to
newsgroups)

Xref: kermit uk.rec.gardening:149714

On Mon, 16 Jun 2003 9:44:55 +0100, Tumbleweed wrote
(in message ):

BTW, it seems peverse to worry about 'noxious orthodox pesticides' (whatever
they are) if you or the people in your flat are directly inhaling various
actually known-to-be-toxic substances into your lungs on a regular basis!

Indeed, but I'm a non-smoker and would have to find some third party to
supply dogends if I needed them. Not a request that I was looking forward to
making, I must say.

Thanks for the feedback. I will regard the flies with amused benevolence in
future.

--
Joe B. remove composer for email

On Sun, 15 Jun 2003 00:25:52 +0100, Joe B. wrote:

supposed to rot away in due course. What I've noticed is that these plants
(or rather the compost) seems to be attracting a lot of attention from those
tiny flies that I think are called fruit flies, and I'm a bit concerned that

Compost flies. I have them in my conservatory. Don't worry about them. Try
to water from below the plant rather than above, and let the top of the
compost dry out if possible to help kill the flies off.

You could also try spraying with a very weak solution of washing up liquid
and water onto the surface of the compost to help clear it up.

Sarah

On Mon, 16 Jun 2003 21:00:13 +0100, Sarah Dale wrote
(in message ):

Compost flies. I have them in my conservatory. Don't worry about them. Try
to water from below the plant rather than above, and let the top of the
compost dry out if possible to help kill the flies off.

That's lateral thinking. Thanks!

--
Joe B. remove composer for email

On Sun, 15 Jun 2003 0:25:52 +0100, Joe B. wrote
(in message ):

What I've noticed is that these plants (or rather the compost) seems to be
attracting a lot of attention from those tiny flies that I think are called
fruit flies, and I'm a bit concerned that they may be laying eggs in the
compost and the larvae may be mistaking my zonals for "fruit". I'm wondering
about using pesticides-

I just got some literature today and this sounds a little worrying, I may be
taking defensive action after reading this...

This is from a BGPS booklet called "Fancy-Leaved Pelargoniums":

"Sciriads or fungus gnats of various species run over the soil and
occasionally fly. The larvae of these tiny black flies are small thin white
maggots with black heads which will eat the roots and work into the root and
stem junction. ... These are usually found at the base of the plant but may
be seen anywhere in the compost. The first sign of their prescence is the
sudden wilting of the of the top growth where the grub has eaten through a
major portion of the root system. These soil pests can be treated with an HCH
compiund."

This would explain what happened with one of my young rooted cutting
pelargoniums which appeared to just stop growing and after a couple of weeks
of that and it continually looking somewhat unhappy I decided to throw it
out. I do recall the main stem came away from the roots rather too readily.
So maybe that is what happened to it.

And can anyone tell me what an HCH coupound means?

--
Joe B. remove composer for email

"Joe B" wrote in message
. com...
On Sun, 15 Jun 2003 0:25:52 +0100, Joe B. wrote
(in message ):

snip

This would explain what happened with one of my young rooted cutting
pelargoniums which appeared to just stop growing and after a couple of
weeks
of that and it continually looking somewhat unhappy I decided to throw it
out. I do recall the main stem came away from the roots rather too
readily.
So maybe that is what happened to it.

Sounds probable, I had a venus fly trap eaten by the maggots

And can anyone tell me what an HCH coupound means?

no, but Bio Provado will see them off - it's just for use on potted plants.
The flies themselves may be just a nuisance but IMHO their larvae are
definitely pests, esp. on plants that need to be kept damp.

Pickle