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I'm new to this....


windowman
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gardening lark, so I haven't got a clue what most bugs, slugs and creepy crawly things are - even whats growing in the garden at the moment is a mystery, but I'm slowly learning. I do have one question though: what are those red & black beetle things that are EVERYWHERE & should I be protecting my garden from them?
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Edit.  You type faster than me Chris, but we both have the same answer.

No, they are not ladybirds they are called Firebugs. Do a search on firebugs and you will see lots of information already posted on here.  They are quite hamless except if you are storing seeds which they like to eat. Although they all look the same from a distance, up close they are all individually patterned with marvellous shapes and patterns on their backs . 

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Yep, they're the reason I can't get anything to grow from seed in our garden. As we're not there permanently I'd love to be able to scatter some seeds in our (very fertile) soil and let stuff pop up, but so far not much has survived their appetites. Last week we had millions of the little blighters in the garden, but it does appear that they aren't overly fond of the seeds of Nigella, 'cos the garden's covered in that!! Any other clues as to seeds they don't eat would be much appreciated!!
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Croixblanches, I've had no poblems with Calandula, Poppies, Forget-Me-Nots, Spanish Rose, or Nigella, (as you said)).

This is the first year I'm trying any other seed scattering, so I'll have to wait and see, but what have you noticed them eating? Do you know for sure it's them causing your seeds to fail?

They seem to hang around our Lime tree mainly, but they are pretty much everywhere here. I never even knew they ate seeds, so thanks for that. Consider planting a Lime tree as a decoy [:)]

I wouldn't kill them, I will just adapt and sow what they will ignore.

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Well, they seem to have a fondness for nasturtiums, which normally grow like weeds in my garden at home, but although I planted tons, not one made it through to plant stage!! You're right about poppies, Tresco, as a few of the seeds I planted made it to plant stage, although disappointingly the poppies that grew last year have not produced an increased number of poppies this year, so I suspect those pesky bugs quite like the poppies even though they hadn't managed to eat all of them. The other seeds I've planted to no avail were hollyhock, which I did plant more in hope than anything, and aquilegia. With the exception of the hollyhock, all the others grow like wildfire from seed in our UK garden, and although I'd no idea that firebugs ate seeds, I've harboured a suspicion that they are the culprits for some time as they seem to be constantly crawling around in the soil where I've sown seeds.  I couldn't kill them even if I wanted to, as there seem to be billions of the little b****s in our garden. However, I'm wondering if it wouldn't make more sense to germinate some of the seeds before planting them on, just so that a few plants manage to survive..........................BTW, they hang round our climbing rose in their millions, so in the absence of space for a lime tree we could plant more climbing roses[;-)]
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I'm not totally convinced that it is this particular punaise that is eating your flower seeds, it seems that it prefers tree and shrub seeds that are fruity (whatever that means) and also eats a lot of dead insect "bits" and micro organisms. I can't say that I've noticed any germination problems where they are present in large numbers, although I have noticed that aquilegia doesn't seem to self seed as readily as in the UK, so maybe that is one that they like.

Chris

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I'm prepared to be convinced otherwise, Chris, but I do find it bizarre that in our very fertile soil, where shrubs planted in last year's drought have thrived, untended apart from a membrane over the soil to keep the limited moisture in, seeds just don't seem to germinate. Strangely, seeds from the neighbours' tree are an exception to this, so maybe the wrong kind of "fruity", or maybe our gendarmes are particularly gourmand??[;-)]
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Prob much the same as you, Tresco, as you're in the same area. Haven't tested it 'cos if I did I wouldn't learn anything I could make use of, but it's very dark, loose soil which drains well, is very easy to dig, and seems to suit most plants....... Oops, given the game away:[:$] I'm not exactly Charlie Dimmock, am I??  It seems lime trees are the staple diet of the little blighters, though, and mallows which I've refrained from planting as MOH likes to massacre them once they start to grow big.......................

Chris, looking forward to the results of your experiment. Lots of little plates, perhaps, each with different seeds, tiny napkins, pads and pencils for voting which they prefer?? [;-)]

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[quote user="Croixblanches"]Prob much the same as you, Tresco, as you're in the same area...it's very dark, loose soil which drains well, is very easy to dig, and seems to suit most plants....... [/quote]

Eerrrm nope!

Your soil sounds lovely. It sounds like...soil.  Mine is solid clay, 6ft deep. I noticed a few potteries round here, but didn't make the connection [;-)]

I look forward to Chris reporting on his results too![:)]

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Er, I see! Crikey, we are lucky then! On the down side (although I guess it must contribute to the good drainage) I couldn't dig down 6 ft without industrial equipment, as I'd've hit solid limestone!! Having said we're lucky, it does mean that I generally have to spend the first few days of any visit hacking through weeds with a machete, checking for tribes of pygmies as I go............weeds seem to flourish and self-seed better than anything!! Well, at least you could always fall back on setting up a poterie artisanale if all else fails! (and if there weren't already 45000 of them in the area, of course![Www])
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