Got a couple of bean questions.

1. Is it OK for water to get on the leaves (including seasol etc), or do they prefer to stay dry?

2. Found these teeny weeny little reddish brown dudes chewing up the underneaths of the leaves. Spider mites? Something else?
Any advice on treating them? (or should I just leave them, since the leaves aren’t edible anyway!)

Thanks :):)

Beans don’t mind water and fertiliser on their leaves but not in excess. It it better to avoid watering the leaves too much.

Mix up some powdered milk and spray the undersides of your leaves.

Good morning all…up and atom…sneezing my head off here (or I will if not careful)….Great winter’s days we’re having here…had trouble persuading myself to get out of bed as I have managed to snaffle MrD’s head cold as well…however Sonny Jim needs a cut lunch and I didn’t make it the night before…such a beautiful morning…

Anybody got a tomatoes thread bookmarked?

morning bon.
those bean leaves are not a good colour . mine are yellower but yours are whiter than they should be. do what RB says but be prepared to replant. i have recently found early spring beans to be more problematic than december plantings.

Thanks RB and pepe. I will try the milk spray.

Pepe I’m not sure how much the colour is due to my poor quality camera? Up until the yellow splotchiness started, the beans were looking really green and healthy. In any case, they planted themselves so I won’t be bothered if they don’t do very well. It’s still a step up from last time when the slaters massacred all the plants :D

bon008 said:

Thanks RB and pepe. I will try the milk spray.

Pepe I’m not sure how much the colour is due to my poor quality camera? Up until the yellow splotchiness started, the beans were looking really green and healthy. In any case, they planted themselves so I won’t be bothered if they don’t do very well. It’s still a step up from last time when the slaters massacred all the plants :D

Wouldn’t be surprised if those “little reddish things” are red spider mites…they will suck the life out of your leaves…

Dinetta said:

bon008 said:

Thanks RB and pepe. I will try the milk spray.

Pepe I’m not sure how much the colour is due to my poor quality camera? Up until the yellow splotchiness started, the beans were looking really green and healthy. In any case, they planted themselves so I won’t be bothered if they don’t do very well. It’s still a step up from last time when the slaters massacred all the plants :D

Wouldn’t be surprised if those “little reddish things” are red spider mites…they will suck the life out of your leaves…

I thought they might be, as I tend to see them around the worm farm, and occasionally in the bathroom :D Although.. Google says that spider mites will make some kind of webbing, and I haven’t seen anything like that yet. I might try just blasting the undersides of the leaves with the hose. Google also suggests some kind of soap spray, but I’ll try milk first..

Sprays made from soaps will work just as well, depends what you have handy.. Milk spray must be used that day. Cannot be kept outside a refrigerator.

roughbarked said:

Sprays made from soaps will work just as well, depends what you have handy.. Milk spray must be used that day. Cannot be kept outside a refrigerator.

Thanks RB. I found a recipe on the ‘net saying 1 part milk to 9 parts of water – is that what you would recommend?

I think I have some plain soap stashed somewhere for this sort of situation – I’ll check tonight.

bon008 said:

roughbarked said:

Sprays made from soaps will work just as well, depends what you have handy.. Milk spray must be used that day. Cannot be kept outside a refrigerator.

Thanks RB. I found a recipe on the ‘net saying 1 part milk to 9 parts of water – is that what you would recommend?

I think I have some plain soap stashed somewhere for this sort of situation – I’ll check tonight.

Sarah’s Mum (you won’t remember her Bon008) used to recommend milk and water…she was a market gardener in Tasmania…it may be a trick of the memory, but I think she even recommended soured milk???????????????

Dinetta said:

bon008 said:

roughbarked said:

Sprays made from soaps will work just as well, depends what you have handy.. Milk spray must be used that day. Cannot be kept outside a refrigerator.

Thanks RB. I found a recipe on the ‘net saying 1 part milk to 9 parts of water – is that what you would recommend?

I think I have some plain soap stashed somewhere for this sort of situation – I’ll check tonight.

Sarah’s Mum (you won’t remember her Bon008) used to recommend milk and water…she was a market gardener in Tasmania…it may be a trick of the memory, but I think she even recommended soured milk???????????????

I remember the name, but yeh, before my time :) Curses! I just tipped some sour milk down the drain last night!

bon008 said:

Dinetta said:

bon008 said:

Thanks RB. I found a recipe on the ‘net saying 1 part milk to 9 parts of water – is that what you would recommend?

I think I have some plain soap stashed somewhere for this sort of situation – I’ll check tonight.

Sarah’s Mum (you won’t remember her Bon008) used to recommend milk and water…she was a market gardener in Tasmania…it may be a trick of the memory, but I think she even recommended soured milk???????????????

I remember the name, but yeh, before my time :) Curses! I just tipped some sour milk down the drain last night!

sarahs mum still posts in the science threads

roughbarked said:

bon008 said:

Dinetta said:

Sarah’s Mum (you won’t remember her Bon008) used to recommend milk and water…she was a market gardener in Tasmania…it may be a trick of the memory, but I think she even recommended soured milk???????????????

I remember the name, but yeh, before my time :) Curses! I just tipped some sour milk down the drain last night!

sarahs mum still posts in the science threads

I’m so pleased…she was a treasure in the old Gardening Forum…

Dinetta said:

roughbarked said:

bon008 said:

I remember the name, but yeh, before my time :) Curses! I just tipped some sour milk down the drain last night!

sarahs mum still posts in the science threads

I’m so pleased…she was a treasure in the old Gardening Forum…

She’s been doing a UNI degree I believe.

getting back to milk. This can be used on many things aphids, scale, mites; red legged earth mite and red spider mite etc., plus it has also been proven useful as a fungicide in the control of downy and powdery mildew on cucurbit crops. I have also used it on grapevines for the same problem.

roughbarked said:

Dinetta said:

roughbarked said:

sarahs mum still posts in the science threads

I’m so pleased…she was a treasure in the old Gardening Forum…

She’s been doing a UNI degree I believe.

getting back to milk. This can be used on many things aphids, scale, mites; red legged earth mite and red spider mite etc., plus it has also been proven useful as a fungicide in the control of downy and powdery mildew on cucurbit crops. I have also used it on grapevines for the same problem.

Excellent :) Sounds a lot safer than the Yates product someone (admittedly from the Yates Vegie Challenge!) suggested I use.

Thanks again RB, I’ll let you know how I get on.

roughbarked said:

Dinetta said:

roughbarked said:

sarahs mum still posts in the science threads

I’m so pleased…she was a treasure in the old Gardening Forum…

She’s been doing a UNI degree I believe.

getting back to milk. This can be used on many things aphids, scale, mites; red legged earth mite and red spider mite etc., plus it has also been proven useful as a fungicide in the control of downy and powdery mildew on cucurbit crops. I have also used it on grapevines for the same problem.

Another one? She was a computer expert from ‘way back…booted in binary, and whatever came after that…then decided she wanted to grow a potato and left Sinny for Hobart (more particularly, Snug)…

I’m amazed at the milk cure but apparently it has street creds…