My worcesterberry bush is under attack by the voracious gooseberry sawfly caterpillar. These evil little critters can completely defoliate a plant in a very short space of time but luckily I spotted them before they could do too much damage ....... this time. I may be winning the battle but not, as yet, the war - I'll be on twice daily checks until this batch are all squashed and then on regular patrols throughout the summer for second or even third waves of attack. They target, as the name suggests, gooseberries as well as currants and any bushes that are hybrids of gooseberries i.e. worcesterberries (gooseberry/blackcurrant cross). With 16 susceptible plants looks like I'll be busy.On a brighter note, we've had our first strawberries from the polytunnel - only 8 fruits so far but what a pleasant treat they were so early in the season. Outside, the strawberry patch is a mass of flowers so I'm hoping for a good crop this year - I just need to work out how to get to the fruits before Ben does!!
THE HENS ATE ALL THE LITTLE BUGGERS OF MY GOOSEBERRY BUSHES :-)
ReplyDeletearrgh caps lock on( sorry)
I've had to ban the chooks from the veg patch as they were doing too much damage! I might let them in a gain later when seedlings etc are bigger.
ReplyDeleteMy gooseberies are outside the main veg patch, so they can eat the grubs...( they can eat the gooseberries, also, but so far they haven't twigged they can! )
ReplyDeleteThe spinach in the veg plot, however, is another matter...its bare stalks, thanks to Ginger eating it thro' the fence!
I've banished the hens too. Strawberries are looking good and, for the first time in four years, so is the cherry tree. Looks like the winter was finally cold enough to chill it properly.
ReplyDeleteJust picked a load more caterpillars off the worcesterberry and now the jostaberries. Grrrrrr
ReplyDeleteRosie those bugs look grim,argg! I love gooseberries so much I would be so upset if they got attacked....they are swelling up nicely at the moment,fingers crossed they continue & good luck to you in your bug blasting :o)
ReplyDeleteGTM x x x
Ahh - found you! I was looking for your link went onto CIG a clicked on a site I thought was yours...I've just left a comment saying you had changed in many ways...even your sex! It should bring some amusement though!
ReplyDeleteAnyway - we are unable to grow gooseberries anymore because of sawflies. We've found blueberries are the answer - no natural predators here to date!
Oh - go on, tell me - who did you confuse me with? .... but glad you found me in the end :-)
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