A mixed bag of natives

[alpineart]

Hi peter , glad to hear some info was helpful. I have used potting mix in the past especially when collecting material . Long term use has seen it become water repellent even when used for potted garden plants .
Adding course washed river sand helps with drainage and open ups the potting mix .Just be cautious if its holding too much moisture as root rot is hard to detect until its too late . .

Cheers Ian

[PWC]

Ian I mainly started adding the the cat litter in the hope it would deter the curl grubs that killed 8 of my trees last summer. I don't know if it will but thought it might. Unfortunately they killed of some of my better trees. I haven't noticed any so far but will need to be vigilant as the root reduction increase potential root rot by unintentionally overwatering.

[alpineart]

Hi Peter , curl grubs have been a curse here for about 10 years . I have found that when the pots/bags are placed on the ground they seem to be the ones that become the homes for the critters .
Unfortunately I need to sit a lot of material on the ground under shade sails in summer to keep them from overheating on the granite walls.The temps here can be extreme , radiant heat is a killer .
I know they don't like scoria I think its too sharp and abrasive for them and pine bark is off the menu. In saying that if there is a good root mass I have had the occasional attack but not to the extent of killing trees.
They love Potting Mixes and Euca Mulches that are damp or wet , adding cat litter in my opinion wont deter them .

I'm a bit worried with this new mix as now you mention it , the buggers may just take a liking to it and I have found them in the old grow beds on which the trees sit now .
There is a curl grub treatment available for lawns but that's not where the problem resides , however I think I will treat the beds just as a precaution .Its not recommended for pots so Bonsai would be in that category
I have used slatakilla to control an infestation of slaters in grow beds and around potted material on benches with great success . These little critters ring bark Maples especially fused trunk configurations .

Best of luck with the grub control .

Cheers Ian

[alpineart]

Hi peter , I spent some time researching curl grub control , Neem oil appears to be the best method of control in the garden and "Pots".
There is mention of Diatomite sprinkled on and around lawns and potted plants drying the grubs out , but we water our trees regularly so that throws that theory out the window . .
I had infestations in pots with Diatomite blended into it to reduce weight so the theory did work there either .

Cheers Ian

[PWC]

Hi Ian, thanks for the follow up. I did get some Neem this spring and applied it to my trees late spring. I checked my grow pots yesterday and there appears to be no obvious grub activity. This was not a thorough inspection just a look at the outside of the root ball and replaced. The issue I posted about last year was in mid February viewtopic.php?f=19&t=30086 so maybe they are not around in the same numbers this year or not yet developed enough to have done any visible damage yet. The Neem may have worked but no conclusion as to it's efficacy yet.

I will be giving them another dose after I reread the directions, and will keep a close watch on any indicators that they may be active. It was a relief to see no damage this year so far. General indicators a are disturbed the topsoil where Beetles have dug to lay the eggs, later the tree becomes less stable in the pot as root reduction from the grubs. Then the tree health starts to decline as the root mass can not supply enough water and in my case misdiagnosis of the problem led to overwatering that then caused root rot.

[Jan]

Thanks for the information in this post, I've found it very interesting.

I have no known curl grub issues here; they're in the soil locally but my trees are up on metal mesh shelving in a shade house (to protect from strong winds, hard frosts/snow, scorching summer heat/UV and wildlife) so I can't offer any advice.

I have been plagued by a horrendous slater problems (the little b@#$rs love mulch!) in my veg garden and wicking beds. These are not areas where I want to use toxic chemicals, but I recently saw a tip to control slaters using Snail and Slug Killer (with Active Ingredient: 60g/kg Iron EDTA Complex) that claims to be native bird, fauna and earthworm friendly and to break down as nutrients for soil and plants. It has worked like magic, so far!.

Early days as I only started using it this spring but, for the first time since I moved here a decade ago, I am able to germinate vegetable seed in situ without it being destroyed by slaters. I now always sprinkle it around where I plant seedlings or put in seed and it seems to be making a massive difference. Visible slater numbers in the garden beds are down remarkably. While I still see the odd one, it's a vast improvement on the seemingly millions that were infesting my gardens.

Hope this is useful.

Jan.

[PWC]

Jan, I did have issues with slaters when I lived in S.A. but have seen none since moving back to Qld. I also had problems with snails down there, can't say I've seen any back here but do get slugs in the Vegies. I may have to look at the Snail and Slug Killer and give it a go.