Aphids on my thyme
28 April 2021 12:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
igenlodeI was annoyed to discover an infestation of blackfly all over my thyme -- I actually thought it was caterpillar frass and wasted a considerable amount of time searching all over the pot to locate the culprit, before noticing that my fingers were all sticky with honeydew afterwards :-(
Of course this makes it rather difficult to use for culinary purposes -- I managed to salvage today's picking, at least to 'what the eye doesn't see the heart doesn't grieve over' standards (after all, they're not actually poisonous...) by soaking it in salt water. And it isn't doing the plant much good either; I'd assumed the resultant droop was due to drought, and was probably over-watering in consequence; the pot is rather small and very root-bound, and felt suspiciously light when lifted, my usual check for drying out.
The irony is that thyme oil is one of the remedies actually recommended for repelling aphid attack on other plants, but is obviously failing to deter the blackfly here in the least! Maybe if I do let the plant dry out that will starve them of the sap they crave....
Of course this makes it rather difficult to use for culinary purposes -- I managed to salvage today's picking, at least to 'what the eye doesn't see the heart doesn't grieve over' standards (after all, they're not actually poisonous...) by soaking it in salt water. And it isn't doing the plant much good either; I'd assumed the resultant droop was due to drought, and was probably over-watering in consequence; the pot is rather small and very root-bound, and felt suspiciously light when lifted, my usual check for drying out.
The irony is that thyme oil is one of the remedies actually recommended for repelling aphid attack on other plants, but is obviously failing to deter the blackfly here in the least! Maybe if I do let the plant dry out that will starve them of the sap they crave....
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Date: 2021-04-28 07:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-04-28 07:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-04-28 07:42 pm (UTC)