TIP #2 Pest Control in Everlastings
Everlastings, like any plant grown from seed, are highly susceptible to pests. Slugs and snails are the most problematic, followed by rabbits. The best method is prevention. Be aware of the problems you may encounter and take steps to eliminate predation.
Slugs and Snail control
If you have a garden with snails and slugs, then you WILL need to apply one of the following;
Slug pellets or snail pellets. These come in rain-fast or non-rain-fast versions. The rain-fast version is 2 to 3 times more expensive and provides longer-lasting protection. The non-rain-fast version is still very effective but will not last as long. Both are harmful to pets.
Iron phosphate pellets. These are less effective than the slug pellet because the snail/slug has to ‘stumble’ across them rather than be attracted to them. You will have to apply more iron phosphate pellets; however, they are not very expensive, and no harm is caused to animals.
Non-chemical. Home remedies. These may include a beer trap (the slug is attracted to the beer and drowns), eggshells in your garden, slug repellent, using bran or gravel around the garden, and placing flywire over your site so snails can’t traverse. For further information regards natural methods of slug control – aumanns.com.au).
REMEMBER, slugs come at night, so often they are undetected as the cause of your loss of seedlings.
Mites
Mites are a huge broadacre issue, and using chemicals is the best method to control them. These come in two forms – a synthetic pyrethroid chemical which is relatively harmless to humans and animals, and a very effective organophosphate, but can cause problems with toxicity in the long term.
There are indirect natural ways of dealing with mites, for example, companion planting and planting species that will lead to common insects controlling the mite or the use of eco oils.
DON’T TREAT mites unless you have them!! They can very quickly become resistant to control methods.
Rabbits
They are very hard to control! But fortunately, the taste for everlastings is an afterthought, and they will preferentially graze other species first. Therefore, the best control method is removal by baiting or other forms or encouraging them to eat something else (grain or hay).
Tip #1 Weed Control in Everlastings
Weeds in any farming situation, are the NUMBER ONE consideration. In broadacre agriculture the research and funding placed into developing new chemicals and methods is substantial, so progress is fast, however with growing Everlastings, these recommendations are not available.. so it is a little bit of trial and error!
Everlastings are in the family ‘Asteraceae’, which is the same family as Capeweed and is impossible to control. It produces the same fluffy seed and forms a large taproot to cover the ground surface, stealing nutrients and water.
Chemical methods within an everlasting crop cannot control capeweed. The only removal method is mechanical, using a shovel or pulling the weeds by hand.
Of course, the best method is to control capeweed BEFORE the everlasting crop is even attempted. To do this, after the opening rains (or using irrigation), either fallow the site, keeping it bare and removing the germinating weeds until weeds are in small numbers… or chemically spray the site. If your weed burden is still large, it may be worth waiting a little longer for further germinating weeds and repeating this control method, ensuring the most success… then planting.
Grass weeds can be controlled in Everlastings. If your Everlasting site has predominantly ryegrass or other grassy weeds, use label recommendations to spray evenly over the crop. The sooner you spray the grassy crop the better, as there is always some damage to the Everlastings with any spray.
As mentioned, it is important to prepare your Everlasting site in the years prior. Monitor the weed burden and look to control the weeds, so when you plant, there is not an overwhelming burden. Any weed allowed to grow will leads to 1000s of plants, and soon the site will be exhausted by numbers. There is also the chance of a weed-seed bank in the soil. Weeds will come up in future years, even though you thought you had controlled them. Everlastings are not strong vigorous plants, so weeds soon become dominant. It is often a method to ‘tickle up’ the soil to aid with germinating these weeds, having an even better chance of control. Do this by watering, gently raking and waiting ten days, then removing the germinated weeds. Repeat if necessary.
Another method is to plant a legume as a break crop before seeding the Everlastings. This will add plenty of nutrition and nitrogen and provide a different option for chemical control of weeds for the year before planting the Everlastings.
Perfect!
Australian Country – The Power of Pink
Western Australian farmers Jen and Rob Warburton turned their everlasting flower crop into a force for good with an inspirational fundraiser.
The adage that when the going gets tough, the tough get going could have been coined for Western Australian sheep and grain farmers Jennifer (Jen) and Rob Warburton. As newlyweds in 2000 they were challenged by a double whammy of Jen’s diagnosis and setbacks with Multiple Sclerosis (MS)and Rob’s diagnosis and treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
While both could have been forgiven for crawling under the doona and remaining there forever, they took it in their stride, enduring treatments, which involved arduous 600-kilometre round trips to Perth from their farm near Kojonup in WA’s Great Southern region. Family rallied and helped with seeding while Rob underwent chemotherapy and he was lucky to emerge from a tough six months of treatment with his health regained. Then the couple faced another set of challenges as they faced the rigours of IVF and finally welcomed daughters Lucinda, who is now 19 and Zara, 15, into the world. As if that weren’t enough to deal with, last year Jen was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer and underwent surgery and chemo, which only ended in February this year. In the middle of all this, Jen still deals with MS with regular medical and physiotherapy appointments, and a gradual decline in her mobility, which means that she now needs a Zimmer frame to walk and relies on Rob’s constant presence if she has to walk unaided.
