Yesterday I began boxing up some of my 2015 crop. Completed about 2/3 of the harvest.
The past few days have been damp, and the leaves hanging on slats in my shed were nicely in case so they packed easily without shattering.
The leaves on one slat from 6 of my first priming of the GL539 (Aug 21) were quite covered with aphid carcasses, with higher concentrations at the root of the leaves; very few appeared at the tips. And I'm sure I would have spotted them if they had been present at harvest. The slats hang about 8" apart from the rafters - with the leaves touching adjacent slats until they dry down a bit and shrink. And none of the adjacent slats was infested.
I had very few aphids show up last year, and soap controlled the few plants affected. The critters were found almost entirely on the small tender leaves and flower buds at the top of the plants.
I conclude that a few came in with a leaf on that slat, and spread and fed over the two or three weeks while the leaves dried down and the buggers died from moisture stress. It seemed unusual because these leaves were first priming, the bottom 8 leaves or so from the stalks - well below the usual aphid locations on the plants.
Anyway no harm done - most brushed off as I boxed them up, and the remainder will add a bit of insect protein flavour to my smoke.
It's just another of the surprises Mother Nature throws our way - to keep us from becoming too complacent and bored!
The past few days have been damp, and the leaves hanging on slats in my shed were nicely in case so they packed easily without shattering.
The leaves on one slat from 6 of my first priming of the GL539 (Aug 21) were quite covered with aphid carcasses, with higher concentrations at the root of the leaves; very few appeared at the tips. And I'm sure I would have spotted them if they had been present at harvest. The slats hang about 8" apart from the rafters - with the leaves touching adjacent slats until they dry down a bit and shrink. And none of the adjacent slats was infested.
I had very few aphids show up last year, and soap controlled the few plants affected. The critters were found almost entirely on the small tender leaves and flower buds at the top of the plants.
I conclude that a few came in with a leaf on that slat, and spread and fed over the two or three weeks while the leaves dried down and the buggers died from moisture stress. It seemed unusual because these leaves were first priming, the bottom 8 leaves or so from the stalks - well below the usual aphid locations on the plants.
Anyway no harm done - most brushed off as I boxed them up, and the remainder will add a bit of insect protein flavour to my smoke.
It's just another of the surprises Mother Nature throws our way - to keep us from becoming too complacent and bored!