LIME SULPHER

Would lime sulphur be a good organic alternative to spray on my fruit trees?

Reply
Lime sulphur is believed to be the earliest synthetic chemical used as a pesticide and is used in organic gardening. It is sold as a spray for deciduous trees to control fungi bacteria and insects living or dormant on the surface of the bark. Lime sulpher burns leaves so it is not as useful for evergreen plants (It also burns skin too! So use with extreme caution with full protecive clothing). If you do use it then it needs to be applied in the dormant period.

Horticultural.

LICHEN

Photo: Lichen growing on the rocks at Linsfort beach

It looks as though we should get a bumper harvest of our fruit crops this year. I have seen currant bushes, and all manner of fruit trees falling over with fruit. If you have planted fruit trees this year keep an eye on them to make sure that they are well supported and the roots have plenty of water.

I have some pear trees and they are covered with a silvery growth. What is this and will it damage my crop?

Reply
The silvery growth is lichen. Lichens covers about 8% of the earth's surface. There are about 30,000 species known in the world and between five and ten new lichens are discovered in Ireland and the UK each year. They are important to us because they are part of the nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur cycles and they are also vital in the early stages of soil formation. The fact that you have them on your tree is a sure indication that we have clean air around us on the peninsula. They will do no damage to your crop.

Environmental.

HOUSEHOLD TOP TIPS

FRIDGE SMELLS
To get rid of unpleasant smells in the fridge, put a saucerful of charcoal left over from the barbeque onto a shelf overnight. The small will be gone in the morning

STOCK CUBES
Store stock cubes in the fridge and they will be far easier to crumble.

Household

EPA

EPA LAUNCHES 24-HOUR PHONE SERVICE

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) unveiled details of a confidential telephone service designed to encourage reporting of illegal dumping of waste or of abandoned illegal dumps. As part of a campaign entitled ‘Dump the Dumpers’ members of the public can report illegal dumping via a 24 hour lo-call telephone number 1850 365 121. Local authorities, the gardaí and the EPA will follow up on the information provided by the public, as appropriate.
The focus of the campaign will be to identify large scale dumping sites that may still be operational or any remaining abandoned illegal dumps. However, the new phone service will also allow members of the public to report larger fly-tipping activities such as sites used for habitual fly-tipping of waste, which have become a scourge of many rural communities in particular. The ‘Dump the Dumpers’ campaign is the latest initiative by the Environmental Enforcement Network, which includes the EPA, all local authorities, the Gardaí and the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. The service compliments current local authority litter phone lines, which are being actively used by the public to report littering and small-scale fly-tipping activities.The ‘Dump the Dumpers’ campaign is being launched on a pilot basis for six months. A national and regional press and radio campaign will support it over the coming

Environmental.

TREE PROTECTION

Last week I mentioned cob building and straw bale construction as alternatives to the regular house building methods. One issue that keeps coming up is the issue about damp creeping in to the building. If the buildings are well maintained there is no more risk of this happening than in a concrete built house (they are pourus too!) Large overhangs from the roof is one solution to keep the rain off, the other method could be to build the house in a sheltered place near trees. Sites with trees fetch a premium and it always amazes me when developers chop them down. Things are improving a bit though and the value of the tree is being more widely recognised. In addition to their ornamental value trees provide shelter and screening and they can also act as a filter to dust and noise. Trees also give an air of maturity to a new development. In order to live a tree must be able to breathe through its leaves and to absorb sufficient quantities of water and nutrients through its roots from reasonably aerated soil. Mature trees grow within a delicate balance of soil, moisture, nutrients, aeration, drainage and micro-climate. If any of these conditions is disturbed by construction activities on the site the health of a tree will be impaired. Ground levels should stay the same around the trees. I saw an instance recently in Muff where the developer has dumped tonnes of soil into a wooded area to make way for houses. They have raised the ground level by about five feet around the trunks of the trees. The damage caused to the roots by the diggers and the increase in the levels will eventually kill them, although it will take a few years for the full effects to be seen. Trees have most of their roots in the top 1.25 m (4 ft) of soil and generally they extend to just beyond the spread of the branches. Mature trees are very sensitive to such changes. Ground levels, therefore, should not be altered within the crown spread of the tree. If possible houses need to be built away from the trees. Careful planning of the cables is needed too. Overhead cables will mean that the tree will need to be lopped, and there’s enough of that going off already around the peninsula. Putting cables or pipes in the ground near the tree will damage the roots so avoid that too. If you are building a house on a site with a tree in place try to plan around it. Keep the builders away from it by putting up a fence around to the edge of the canopy to stop compaction or pollution of the soil. If you are building a house on a site with no trees, get planting as soon as the builders move out!


Photo: Chopping down a tree lets more than the light in.

TOP TIP

WHITEFLY CONTROL
An effective way to reduce a whitefly infestation is by vacuuming. Portable car vacuums are reckoned to be ideal way of doing this. The domestic vacuum may just eat all of your plants at the same time if you’re not careful! A.K. by e-mail (I think a disclaimer here would be a good idea)

Horticultural.