The message
from "Sarah" contains these words:

But i am a bit worried i have an infestation. It is a new allotment and have
no idea how bad these grubs might be.

Chafers and Vine Weevil grubs are smaller than cutworms, growing about
3/4" long. They are creamy in colour with a dark head and are generally
found in a 'C' shape in the ground. Cutworms are longer, creamy brown
with brown shiny heads. Cutworms are about 1½" long. Leather Jackets
are another form of insect larvae that you will come across in grassy
ground they can also do some damage and need to be removed. They are
greyish, about 1½" long and live among the grass roots just below the
soil level almost at the surface.

The old fashioned method of control was Bromophos powder but the powers
that be decided that it worked too well and so banned its sale in the UK
g These grubs tend to be a pest in newly worked grassy ground. I
have two acres and each time I open up a new patch I have to remove the
offending beasties by hand but the hens enjoy a feast of wrigglies. I
feed them to the hens whole and alive, their feeding mechanism responds
better to a wriggling thing than a squashed one. You will tend to find
cutworms in groups of half a dozen or so nestling in the plant roots
upon which they feed, but they fall out of the soil as you turn it so
they should be easily found. Just pick them out and destroy them.

Keep a look out for Wireworms, also found in newly turned ground. They
are about 1/2" to 3/4" long, yellow and as the name suggests, wiry.
Wireworms do much damage to roots, especially spuds.

I find that gardening books help with many questions and there are loads
to choose from at all prices. My particular favourite is one I bought
for 10p some years ago in a junk shop. It was published in 1920 and has
a good section on allotment gardening. However, no book can wholly
replace good advice from people with first hand experience such as you
will find in this news group.

Hope this helps,

Compo - poster welcomes constructive criticism.

The message
from "nambucca" contains these words:

Water the entire allotment every 10 days with a solution of Armillotox
that will kill any unripened vine weevil eggs and a lot of other nasties too


The problem with chemicals is that they kill indescriminately.
Armillotox is a great garden soil steriliser but it does exactly that -
kills everything. Remember, soil sterilizers are poisons and can harm
humans and animals as well as soil pests. IMO sterilizers should only
be used as a last resort. Gardening is a hobby and there can be much
satisfaction gained from picking out the pests oneself and feeding the
birds with them :-)

--
Cheers,
Compo - poster welcomes constructive criticism.

Paul Simonite wrote in
:

The message
from "nambucca" contains these words:

Water the entire allotment every 10 days with a solution of
Armillotox
that will kill any unripened vine weevil eggs and a lot of other
nasties too


The problem with chemicals is that they kill indescriminately.
Armillotox is a great garden soil steriliser but it does exactly that
- kills everything. Remember, soil sterilizers are poisons and can
harm humans and animals as well as soil pests. IMO sterilizers should
only be used as a last resort.

I find my robins are enormously effective against vine weevil. I found a
whole lot of grubs in a pot the other day, so I emptied out the compost and
spread it thinly in a spot where I'd already mulched with some newspapers
(so at least they couldn't quickly burrow away).

I was bit worried that this was rash, but Mr & Mrs Robin were up there in
no time - I went back for a second look 20 minutes later, and found just a
couple of grubs left hidden under the compost,so I gave it another poke
with my fork to expose them and let the robins go to it.

I am now followed by a hopeful 2-robin anti-weevil team wherever I go in
the garden.

Victoria

On Fri, 27 Feb 2004 11:37:51 +0000, Victoria Clare
wrote:


I was bit worried that this was rash, but Mr & Mrs Robin were up there in
no time - I went back for a second look 20 minutes later, and found just a
couple of grubs left hidden under the compost,so I gave it another poke
with my fork to expose them and let the robins go to it.

I am now followed by a hopeful 2-robin anti-weevil team wherever I go in
the garden.

We've never seen two robins at the same time in our garden.
--

Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit;
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad

On Fri, 27 Feb 2004 11:37:51 +0000, Victoria Clare
wrote:


I was bit worried that this was rash, but Mr & Mrs Robin were up there in
no time - I went back for a second look 20 minutes later, and found just a
couple of grubs left hidden under the compost,so I gave it another poke
with my fork to expose them and let the robins go to it.

I am now followed by a hopeful 2-robin anti-weevil team wherever I go in
the garden.

We've never seen two robins at the same time in our garden.
--

Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit;
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad

On Fri, 27 Feb 2004 11:37:51 +0000, Victoria Clare
wrote:


I was bit worried that this was rash, but Mr & Mrs Robin were up there in
no time - I went back for a second look 20 minutes later, and found just a
couple of grubs left hidden under the compost,so I gave it another poke
with my fork to expose them and let the robins go to it.

I am now followed by a hopeful 2-robin anti-weevil team wherever I go in
the garden.

We've never seen two robins at the same time in our garden.
--

Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit;
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad

On Fri, 27 Feb 2004 11:37:51 +0000, Victoria Clare
wrote:


I was bit worried that this was rash, but Mr & Mrs Robin were up there in
no time - I went back for a second look 20 minutes later, and found just a
couple of grubs left hidden under the compost,so I gave it another poke
with my fork to expose them and let the robins go to it.

I am now followed by a hopeful 2-robin anti-weevil team wherever I go in
the garden.

We've never seen two robins at the same time in our garden.
--

Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit;
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad

On Fri, 27 Feb 2004 11:37:51 +0000, Victoria Clare
wrote:


I was bit worried that this was rash, but Mr & Mrs Robin were up there in
no time - I went back for a second look 20 minutes later, and found just a
couple of grubs left hidden under the compost,so I gave it another poke
with my fork to expose them and let the robins go to it.

I am now followed by a hopeful 2-robin anti-weevil team wherever I go in
the garden.

We've never seen two robins at the same time in our garden.
--

Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit;
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad

On Fri, 27 Feb 2004 11:37:51 +0000, Victoria Clare
wrote:


I was bit worried that this was rash, but Mr & Mrs Robin were up there in
no time - I went back for a second look 20 minutes later, and found just a
couple of grubs left hidden under the compost,so I gave it another poke
with my fork to expose them and let the robins go to it.

I am now followed by a hopeful 2-robin anti-weevil team wherever I go in
the garden.

We've never seen two robins at the same time in our garden.
--

Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit;
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad

The message
from martin contains these words:
On Fri, 27 Feb 2004 11:37:51 +0000, Victoria Clare
wrote:


I was bit worried that this was rash, but Mr & Mrs Robin were up there in
no time - I went back for a second look 20 minutes later, and found just a
couple of grubs left hidden under the compost,so I gave it another poke
with my fork to expose them and let the robins go to it.

I am now followed by a hopeful 2-robin anti-weevil team wherever I go in
the garden.

We've never seen two robins at the same time in our garden.

I had a pair working alternate short shifts last year when I dug a bed
in the front garden. Judging from their payloads they had a nest of
cuckoos....

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

The message
from martin contains these words:
On Fri, 27 Feb 2004 11:37:51 +0000, Victoria Clare
wrote:


I was bit worried that this was rash, but Mr & Mrs Robin were up there in
no time - I went back for a second look 20 minutes later, and found just a
couple of grubs left hidden under the compost,so I gave it another poke
with my fork to expose them and let the robins go to it.

I am now followed by a hopeful 2-robin anti-weevil team wherever I go in
the garden.

We've never seen two robins at the same time in our garden.

I had a pair working alternate short shifts last year when I dug a bed
in the front garden. Judging from their payloads they had a nest of
cuckoos....

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

"martin" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 27 Feb 2004 11:37:51 +0000, Victoria Clare
wrote:


I was bit worried that this was rash, but Mr & Mrs Robin were up there
in
no time - I went back for a second look 20 minutes later, and found just
a
couple of grubs left hidden under the compost,so I gave it another poke
with my fork to expose them and let the robins go to it.

I am now followed by a hopeful 2-robin anti-weevil team wherever I go in
the garden.

We've never seen two robins at the same time in our garden.

I have on only one occasion, when they were obviously fighting to the death.
--
Nick Wagg

"martin" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 27 Feb 2004 11:37:51 +0000, Victoria Clare
wrote:


I was bit worried that this was rash, but Mr & Mrs Robin were up there
in
no time - I went back for a second look 20 minutes later, and found just
a
couple of grubs left hidden under the compost,so I gave it another poke
with my fork to expose them and let the robins go to it.

I am now followed by a hopeful 2-robin anti-weevil team wherever I go in
the garden.

We've never seen two robins at the same time in our garden.

I have on only one occasion, when they were obviously fighting to the death.
--
Nick Wagg

"Jaques d'Alltrades" wrote in message
...
The message
from martin contains these words:
On Fri, 27 Feb 2004 11:37:51 +0000, Victoria Clare
wrote:

We've never seen two robins at the same time in our garden.

We've got three pairs sharing our plot which is about 320ft long by 120ft
wide, with a hedge border and a copse beyond.
They have clearly defined territories, with one pair regularly coming to the
kitchen windowsill for tidbits.
The male in the "copse-end" pair is very distinctive because he is mottled
white. (Melanistic?)
We have seen three together on occasions - probably offspring rather than
pairs mingling.

"Jaques d'Alltrades" wrote in message
...
The message
from martin contains these words:
On Fri, 27 Feb 2004 11:37:51 +0000, Victoria Clare
wrote:

We've never seen two robins at the same time in our garden.

We've got three pairs sharing our plot which is about 320ft long by 120ft
wide, with a hedge border and a copse beyond.
They have clearly defined territories, with one pair regularly coming to the
kitchen windowsill for tidbits.
The male in the "copse-end" pair is very distinctive because he is mottled
white. (Melanistic?)
We have seen three together on occasions - probably offspring rather than
pairs mingling.