Urgent jobs in the garden for December

• Check fruit fly lures for fruit flies. These are the males. If present, paint eco-naturalure bait onto branches or onto a piece of wood and place in tree. This kills both male and female fruit flies.
• Net your fruit trees with fine net, tying tightly at the base to prevent fruit fly entry and to protect from birds.
• Check lures for codling moth in apples, pears and quinces. Every 2 weeks change and burn cardboard or hessian traps that have been placed around tree trunks.
• Spray citrus to prevent gall wasp attack with Kaolin clay (also marketed as ‘Overhaul’) fortnightly, until the end of second week in December. Cover the entire tree.
• Check pear and cherry trees for pear slug and treat with ash thrown onto damp leaves.
• Harvest garlic and hang to dry with leaves attached as these form the skins on the garlic heads.
• Spray summer vegetables with seaweed solution.
• Water, weed and mulch all beds to keep maximum moisture in the soil.
• Spray eggplant fruit with Dipel to prevent caterpillar infestation.
• Prepare simple shade structures for days of very high temperatures.
• Fill wicking beds weekly, but daily in extreme heat.

Note: blossom end rot on summer vegies is caused by under watering.

Written by Robin Gale-Baker