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Gardening Information
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Brace yourself gardeners, Scyphophorus acupunctatus, the black snout weevil, has arrived.
The great Agave meltdown. The mighty agave plants which form dense, living hedges across the region of Murcia and are regularly mistaken for Aloe Vera by newly arrived ex-pats face an uncertain future. Majestic striped, or blue agave americana are drooping, wilting, literally melting in the hot sun, keeling over in an attitude of helplessness by roadsides...
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The Datura Stramonium is a dangerous plant
The Datura stramonium or jimson weed grows throughout the Region of Murcia This week national Spanish TV carried a report about a plant which is worryingly common throughout the Region of Murcia, the Datura stramonium plant, also known as jimson weed, devils trumpet, stinkweed, devil´s cucumber and in South Africa as the mad seeds plant. The news that this seemingly innocent white...
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The Geranium moth in Southern Spain
How to recognise and deal with the Geranium Moth One of the great glories of spanish gardening are the vibrant colours of mediterranean plants, geraniums being a particular favourite amongst expats becasue of their hardy nature and generous displays of vibrantly coloured flowers. However we´ve received a couple of emails recently about geranium moth problems asking how to deal with...
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What to do when an uninvited Queen takes up residence
Dealing with bee and wasp nests It´s funny how things pan out. Last year we were running around trying to find a beekeeper for everyone else and this year we needed one ourselves. The office is a converted garage area, so we have left the external wooden doors in place, but fitted internal doors as the old wooden ones have very large gaps which...
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Picudo Rojo, a very unusual case
Picudo rojo/ Red palm Weevil A very interesting set of photographs were sent in to us this week from Jonathon, the Murcia tree surgeon, showing a tree which had been completely infested by red palm weevil, yet appeared to be completely healthy. One of the biggest problems facing those fighting the infestation of red palm weevil is the fact that...
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Picudo Rojo, report following Mazarron seminar
Red palm Weevil/Picudo Rojo, it´s down to you 2010-12-08 At the request of several residents, we attended the seminar given by Mazarron council about the treatment and spread of the Red Palm Weevil across the Region of Murcia. There's been a great deal of concern amongst the expat population about the proliferation of this pest and the damage it...
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Red Palm Weevil/Picudo Rojo, information summary
Picudo Rojo, article overview 2010-12-08 Basic information about Red Palm Weevil/Picudo Rojo The Red palm weevil in Murcia, important information for residents Click Red...
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Is there a preventative for the Cochinilla del carmin?
The Cochinilla is devastating prickly pears in members fincas. 2010-11-09 The unseasonally warm weather is exacerbating the problem with the Cochinilla del carmin which is devastating the regions' prickly pears and causing a problem for many members of the gardening club at the moment. There were varied discussions about the problem at the last meeting,...
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60 million insects released to combat tomato wilt virus
Murcian news, the percentage of damaged crops has gone from 60 to 2 percent 2010-09-27 One thing anybody gardening in Spain soon learns is that there are a vast number of pests and problems in the region, many of which are completely unfamiliar to novice Spanish gardeners. Pests out here tend to occur in large numbers, and the word locals apply to these concentrations , "plagas" literally,...
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Dealing with unwanted bee and wasp nests
The quest for what to do about wasp and bee nests came from a succession of emails from yourselves and has proved surprisingly time consuming to resolve. The main problem was the bees, as whilst the general consensus was that wasps are just a nuisance and nobody was concerned about chemical disposal, the bees are another matter altogether, their conservation being top priority. Finding a beekeeper...
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Inspirational Gardens in the Region of Murcia, great ideas you can adapt for yourself
One of the most beautiful places in Aguilas to enjoy a summer drink and a great source of inspiration Rincon del Hornillo, Aguilas This little corner of Aguilas is inspirational to gardeners with gardens of all sizes, right through from those with just a little patio to maintain, to those looking at...
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Totana will collect domestic prunings and green waste for free
Local news Totana, council wish to avoid piles of prunings littering bin areas Totana council have issued a notice reminding residents that the council offer a free service for the collection of prunings and green garden waste throughout the year. Residents wishing to use the service should bag up their waste and call the council using the municipal 010 number to ensure that someone...
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Aloe Saponaria, superb ground cover or specimen plant for any dry spanish garden
Essential plants for dry Spanish gardening, Aloe Saponaria, one of a gardeners best friends There is no point fighting the Spanish climate and trying to plant sappy flowers with soft leaves, in order to create dry landscapes which will survive the hot summer, it is necessary to choose plants which can resist the extreme heat of summer and survive with...
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Plants to be aware of if you are prone to allergies and hay fever
Spanish gardening problems, Olives and conifers have surprisingly high pollen counts Many of those moving out here and gardening for the first time in Spain may not be aware of the increased risks of allergies and hay fever when planting certain types of plants in their domestic environments. We posted a news article about the problems being experienced...
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Whitefly, how to recognise them and treat them
Gardening in Murcia, Spain, dealing with whitefly There are clouds of whitefly in the air at the moment, as they feed on new growth and suck the sap from a wide variety of plants. They're very much like aphids in that they breed incredibly quickly and infest plants in vast numbers, the difference being that when a plant is shaken or moved, large clouds...
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Aphids, a spring plague here in southern spain, how to recognise and treat.
Gardening in Murcia, how to recognise and deal with aphids Abundant lush spring growth is the welcome flush of green which fills the countryside with colour following the spring rains, but which heralds the onset of the most persistant and destructive of spring pests, aphids. Whilst one or two are controllable, these attack in their millions,...
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Propagating lavender and enjoying one of the best dry landscaping plants at your disposal
Gardening in Murcia, how to propagate lavender Lavender is one of the most important staples of Mediterranean gardening, the glorious vision of idyllic stone cottages drifting in an undulating sea of fragrant lavender a favourite choice for lifestyle magazines worldwide. Whilst the hills of Southern France and the shocking red of Tuscany have long...
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Oleanders, how to propagate and important information about the dangers of pruning them
Gardening in Spain, Oleanders are extremely easy to propagate and very useful in a dry garden Oleanders are one of the most popular choices for hedging or for filling up large, empty spaces, and can also be extremely useful as topiary specimen trees in areas where there is plenty of space. They are very hardy, evergreen,...
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Propagating Ice plants, one of the easiest and best plants for this dry climate
Gardening in Spain, Propagating Ice plants, a gardeners' best friend. We're calling a whole selection of plants by this name, to avoid typing excessively long names and muddling up our lampranthus, delosperma and drosanthemums. For simplicities' sake we'll call them all ice plants. These are one of the easiest possible plants to propagate,...
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Exciting trials in cartagena could solve the problem of the Red palm Weevil
Cartagena Spain, researchers trial Beauveria Bassiana in fight against Picudo Rojo, Red Palm Weevil 2010-05-04 A team from Alicante University were in Cartagena yesterday to administer the first stage in trials of the fungus Beauveria Bassiana which could be the big breakthrough so desperately needed by Murcia to help it fight the devastating Picudo Rojo , the Red Palm Weevil, which has...
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Beauveria bassiana could be the breakthrough to fight the Red Palm Weevil
Trials to take place in Cartagena next week which could save trees from destruction There's been a very interesting development in the fight against the Red palm weevil, with the emergence of more information about trials taking place in Cartagena this week which use a fungus to kill the insect rather than chemicals or nematoids. The Red Palm Weevil...
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Procession caterpillar alert- levels higher than normal in murcian forests
Procession caterpillars, La Procesionaria, a lethal menace in southern Spain. 2010-03-21 Today it's officially the start of spring, which hopefully will see an end to the cooler weather and a rise in temperature as we move into the best time of year, the glorious Murcian springtime.
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Garden Features Advertorial
When buying a newly built property, careful consideration of landscaping should be given to create a garden area around the property which exactly fulfils your criteria, either as a resident owner or part -time owner.
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January- Make your own grape vines for free, take cuttings now.
At this time of year the farmers and neighbours are busy pruning back their grape vines, reducing abundant growth to just a small knobbly trunk, which hardly looks capable of putting out the vast amounts of fresh growth and luscious bunches of grapes it will produce in the forthcoming year.
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Gardening in Spain, Hard Landscaping- Why does all the coating keep falling off the walls?
One of the most important parts of creating a manageable garden with low ongoing maintenance and minimal water use is hard landscaping. For many residents living on urbanizations, walls are the first stage, but as with all things we have to battle with out here, they can be one of...
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La Cochinilla del Carmin is destroying vast tracts of prickly pears
Chumberas, prickly pears, problems A new pest threatens to wipe out the emblematic prickly pears that form part of the traditional Spanish landscape, sweeping down from the North of the region and leaving ugly blotches as it destroys vast tracts of cultivated...
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Red Palm Weevil/ Picudo Rojo, Legal Disposal methods for infected trees.
2009-12-13 Trees with Red Palm Weevil/ Picudo Rojo do not have to be removed. It is possible to treat even a heavily infested tree.
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Harvesting the olives to turn them into liquid gold.
Several members of the Gardening Club joined us on our finca last week to bring in the olive harvest and learn how the olives are processed to convert them to olive oil. Olives are harvested using nets ,...
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Soil conditioning and where to find a load of horse manure in the area
At the last couple of meetings the question has been raised on more than one occasion about whether cuttings and young plants should be planted directly into the ground or started off in a pot. There are 2 points to really consider here in order to properly answer...
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Spanish Gardening- Basic propagation techniques, Agave Americana
These are the simplest plants to both grow or propagate. Their striking, architectural shapes dominate Spanish hillsides and fincas, grown for their extreme drought tolerance, low maintenance requirements, erosion control properties, and in gardens for their elegance and versatility.
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Gardening in Spain- Growing patio veg.
There's no excuse for not having just a little pot or two of something edible growing on any balcony, townhouse or duplex, even if the garden is only a windowbox. Back in the UK people pay fortunes for the privilege of eating organic veg, grown and steamed by grossly overpaid chefs,...
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Spanish lifestyle- just what do I do with a glut of figs?
2009-09-05 One of the greatest joys of Spanish summertime is the luxury of being able to walk out into the back garden and eat a sweet warm fig straight from the tree. Reputedly the favourite fruit of Cleopatra, its interesting...
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Spanish gardening - Carobs, worth their weight in gold?
2009-09-05 Carobs- worth their weight in gold? Nearly every country property in this area has at least one carob tree, currently dropping pods all over the floor and making a lot of mess, so if you have these in your...
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Vegetable growing in Spain, what to start sowing now.
2009-09-05 Adjusting to the change in planting times is one of the greatest difficulties facing novice vegetable growers in the Spanish climate. Whilst the Gardeners World presenters are stomping around in wellies and...
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The significance of palm trees in Spanish culture.
Did you know that a palm tree in the middle of nowhere signifies the presence of water, or that palm trees at the entrance of a house show that the inhabiting family are of Moorish descent? We are so fortunate to have Antonio as a member of our group. He brings local knowledge and a personal...
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The Red Palm Weevil in Murcia, Spain, important information for residents
The Red Palm Weevil in Murcia At the May meeting of Simply Gardening, we talked about the growing problem of the Red Palm Weevil , how to recognize the symptoms, and, more importantly, how to treat it.
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Leaf miners
Leafminers attack many other plants, but here in Spain, citrus are their favourite snack, and the damage caused by their burrowing larvae can devastate new growth, leaving the tree looking very untidy,...
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Citrus Tree Problems – Yellowing of Leaves.
Spanish Gardening Problems, Chlorosis in Citrus trees, yellowing of leaves Chlorosis is the yellowing of leaf tissue due to a lack of chlorophyll. Chlorophyll...
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Snails and slugs rampaging around the garden
Ecological snail removal solution.....
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Spanish Gardening pests and problems, The fluted scale insect.
These little pests, which look like small cotton buds stuck to the bark or leaves of common Spanish plants such as citrus trees, acacias, mimosas and roses are starting to appear after the winter months. Scale insects feed by sucking sap from the leaves and stems of their host plants...
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Jobs for March/ April in the Vegetable plot
You haven't got one? Shame on you! There's nothing to beat the sweet taste of a home grown cherry tomato eaten sweet and warm from the plant on a warm summers day, or the aroma of fresh basil that fills the air whilst watering in the cool of the evening. Even if there's no space for a vegetable bed, sow a few seeds now to fill patio pots and crop home grown...
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Jobs for March/April, Cut back Aloe Arborescens
CUT BACK Aloe Arborescens after flowering. This stunningly architectural plant has had it’s moment, so now’s the time to cut off the spent flower spike s and tidy the plant up for the summer. It’s really not worth leaving the plant to set seed as they are so easily propagated from cuttings. ·Either cut with a knife, or use a slight twisting action to remove spent...
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How would you like to be growing ten million plants at the moment...........?
This year, we will buy and plant an estimated 800, 000,000 plants worldwide. That’s right, eight hundred million. Many of us will confess to a spot of compulsive plant buying, yet few ever have the privilege of seeing where our plants come from and the incredible technology involved in production on such an incomprehensible scale, so I was absolutely blown away by the opportunity...
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Jobs for March/ April, Transplanting Osteospermums and taking cuttings
Gardening well in Spain requires adaptation. Searing summer heat, torrential autumn rains, fierce spring winds and rock laden soil present a challenging obstacle for all but the most resilient of plants, so the key to success is not to fight the elements, but grow the plants that flourish in these specific conditions. The neighbours grow Osteospermums because they´re the most...
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Jobs for March/ April - cutting back Lantanas
Lovely Lantanas During the winter months the lantana provides an almost continual show of ecstatic colour, rightfully earning its´place as a must have for the less energetic or water conscious gardener, its´vibrant, sunny flowers offering a wealth of applications for both larger or courtyard gardeners. As the weather warms, flower production slows, and the plant rests for the...
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