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This month seems like a good time to talk about biosecurity and pest control, given the Varroa mite incursion affecting bees and beekeepers in NSW. Australia has been lucky to remain free of the devastating parasite commonly associated with Colony Collapse Disorder in bee hives. It has only been with strong community and government action that we have eradicated previous incursions. I think broad-spread community action is a great way to get on top of pests and diseases that affect us all, and so I dedicate this newsletter to reminding you about upcoming pest prevention tasks in the garden! While we’re still not quite done with winter, here’s your reminder to spray your peaches and nectarines with copper fungicide before bud burst. Avoiding peach leaf curl is much less effort than treating it, and your trees will be more productive too. With deciduous fruit tree protections, if you find your tree is too tall to easily manage, it’s time to get pruning! Fruit trees should be kept at a height where all branches are easily accessible, for easy pest control measures and harvesting. This helps protect your trees, and those of your neighbours too! Sometimes you can help your neighbour just by helping your tree! Happy gardening, Sarah & Ralph
August in your garden.
Start now to protect from codling moth, which can infest the fruit on apples, pears, pomegranate and stone fruit trees. Larvae burrow into fruit and leave characteristic faeces on the fruit surface. Put out pheromone lure traps now to catch any emerging adults before they mate and reinfest your trees. As fruit start to develop, you can bag them with insect-mesh bags to keep the larvae out. You’ll find more information below and on our website on how to prevent codling moth. For lots of great August garden advice head to: www.baag.com.au/august/ Click here for a list of edibles you can plant in August.
Protecting the Yarra – how you can get involved.
From on-ground activities to getting involved in the long-term strategic planning of the Yarra environs, there are actions that you can take to help influence the health and to protect the Yarra and surrounding parklands both now and for future generations. For details on how you can get involved and to read about BAAG’s actions along with our recent submission to the North East Link Urban Design Landscape Plan please go to webpage: https://www.baag.com.au/protecting-the-yarra-how-you-can-get-involved/
Help Plant Yarra Flats
Art at BAAGCurrent Exhibition Ceramics and Sculpture
9th July to 22nd August, 2022 This great exhibition continues through most of August. Three of the artists work with clay – Annette loves ceramics, including crystalline glazes as well as Raku firing; Sharon also works with clay, both quirky sculpture and distinctive domestic ware and Bruce makes classic wheel thrown pots and experiments with raku finishes. Mel, of Forging Ahead makes metal sculpture, often bending and welding steel rods. More information and images at https://gallery.baag.com.au/event/ceramics-and-sculpture
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Upcoming Exhibition |
Prevention is Better than a Cure for Peach Leaf Curl
Right now is pretty much your last opportunity to spray them, as it absolutely must be done before bud burst. You can find all the information you need to control this unsightly problem at Click here for our strawberries factsheet.
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Take the Sting Out of Citrus Gall Wasp
If you’re the type that prefers a trap to a product such as Overhaul, then don’t forget to put them out this month. As anyone in Melbourne who has ever grown their own citrus will know, Gall Wasps are a terrible blight – even if you’ve never seen the wasps themselves, there’s no doubt that you’ve seen the distinctive and unsightly woody galls that form around their larvae during summer. As they’re caused by the female wasps laying eggs into the soft new wood that grows during spring, right now is the ideal time to treat them. Apart from using Overhaul, the best practise involves placing sticky traps – which are now available in the shop here at BAAG – into the trees to catch emerging wasps and prevent them from mating and laying eggs.
You can find more information on controlling gall wasps right here: https://www.baag.com.au/citrus-gall-wasp/
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It’s Codling Moth Season
Codling moths are a major pest, especially when it comes to fruit trees such as apples and pears. Unfortunately, the chemical treatments normally used to control them also kill beneficial insects that contribute to biological control of other pests. The best way to avoid this problem is to use Integrated Pest Management (IPM), which involves a combination of pheromones, sticky traps and good orchard hygiene. By using a pheromone impregnated lure in conjunction with a sticky trap, male moths are trapped before they can mate with a female, thus reducing the number of eggs laid. There are now dual pheromone lures available, which attract both male and female moths, and this process should be started in late August to early September and continue on for all of spring and summer.
You can find more information on controlling codling moths right here: https://www.baag.com.au/codling-moth-and-oriental-fruit-moth/
Sustainable Gardening & Living Classes
Our upcoming sustainable gardening and living classes and workshops are now online and open for booking. There’s a class at BAAG for every kind of green-thumb, from beginners to advanced. We have also recently introduced a multiple-ticket option for quite a few of our Sustainable Living Classes, which means that you’ll receive a discount when you book more than one ticket for these particular classes. So next time you come on down to the nursery to learn some new skills and be inspired, bring a friend or two along and double or triple the fun.
For the complete list of available classes and booking info head to: https://www.baag.com.au/classes/
Art Workshops
Do you feel the urge to flex your creative muscles? Have you had an itch to make something beautiful, but don’t know where to start? Do you feel a drive within to exercise your creative bone and unleash a brand new piece of art upon the world? If the answer is “yes,” then one of our Art Workshops might just be the thing for you. There’s a workshop here at BAAG that will help unleash the creative potential in everyone. For further information and a list of what’s on, head to: https://www.baag.com.au/art-workshops/
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August Specials
To receive these specials you MUST mention the special to staff BEFORE they begin ringing up your purchases. If this is a phone order, please tell the staff member about the special when placing the order.
(Specials valid from August 1st until August 31st, 2022)
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