Reusing grey water from baths, showers, washing machines and washing up allows you to use water a second time. You can buy greywater diverters that divert the water from your bath to an irrigation system or a tank.

Catch the shower water in a bucket, while it is heating up, and tip onto the garden.

If you aren’t collecting the water off your roof, now is the time to install a rainwater tank as it will rain some time. Also consider installing drip irrigation. 

What did the apple tree say to the hungry caterpillar? “Leaf me alone”. 

Unfortunately, it’s not that easy to keep grubs out of your apples, but there are a few simple ways to limit the damage.

Rake up any fallen or rotting fruit and add to the compost heaps if it’s not infected. If it does have grubs in it, place the infected fruit in a black plastic garbage bag and seal the bag to prevent any grubs that hatch, escaping. Leave the bag in the sun for a few weeks and the heat of the sun on the black plastic will effectively “cook” both the fruit and the grubs.

When you are sure the grubs have all been extinguished, you can add the contents to the compost. Or leave it out for our friendly council staff to collect.

If the infected fruit is from apple, pear or quince trees, it is likely that they are codling moth grubs, the most serious pest of these trees. With some perseverance it is possible to control codling moth without using chemicals. You need to constantly remove all grub-infested fruit from the tree and on the ground as soon as possible and dispose of it.

The next meeting of the Armidale Garden Club is on Thursday April 26 at 7.30pm in the Uniting Church Youth Lounge. This meeting will be the AGM and election of office bearers for the coming year.