Another year, another new aphid in town. On the weekend I found a cluster of black aphids feeding on the flower buds of a Japanese aralia in Christchurch, NZ.
They match the description of ivy aphids, a Eurasian native aphid that specialises on ivy and related plants in the Araliaceae family.
The species was first spotted in Auckland in 2015 (on #iNaturalist), and mine is the second record of the species from NZ's South Island. The first was an observation by Libby Stevens in Christchurch in October.
It's worth keeping an eye out for. It would be great if it helped knock back the competitiveness of English ivy, which is a weed here. More worryingly, it's also known overseas to feed on *Schefflera* species, and NZ's endemic patē, seven finger, is *Schefflera digitata*. NZ's whaupaku, five-finger, and horoeka, lancewood, are also in the Araliaceae, so please keep an eye out for any black aphids feeding on these.
Hab heute ein paar Blattläuse fotografiert. Die waren eines der Tiere das ich auf jeden Fall auf Fotos erkennen können wollte als ich vor paar Jahren ne Kamera besorgt hab. Würde sagen, kann man abhaken.
#CompanionPlanting with #Beans
by Barbara Pleasant, 26 April 2018
"Fast to mature and easy to grow, beans have several characteristics that make them good partners for other vegetables. They tolerate partial shade, and most beans have tiny hooked hairs on their leaves that entrap #aphids and other small insects. Beans can fix nitrogen taken from the air, so they make fewer demands on the soil's nutrient supply compared to other vegetables. Beans also deter weeds with their dense growth both above and below the ground.
How you use beans as companion plants depends on what you hope to accomplish. High-rise walls of pole beans can be used to provide shade for neighbors that suffer in strong summer sun, while low-growing bush beans can be used as weed-suppressing ground covers between rows of potatoes.
Whether they grow on vines or bushes, you will need good access to beans that are harvested as green or snap beans, which need to be picked every other day when the crop is ready. Dry beans, which are left on the plants until the pods dry to brown, can simply be left to grow, so they are a great option for Native American-inspired Three Sisters plantings comprised of corn, beans, and long-vined winter squash or pumpkins."
Learn more:
https://www.growveg.com/guides/companion-planting-with-beans/
#SolarPunkSunday #GrowingBeans #Gardening #ThreeSisters #GrowYourOwnFood #GYO #FixingNitrogen
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