Topic: nasturtiums & blackfly

[Crystalmoon]

Hi everyone ive grown nasturtiums for the first time & enjoyed my first ever salad made from the flowers & leaves last week.
Today they are infested with black fly!
What do I need to do?....I feel like pulling them all up before the black fly spreads to everything else.
Are they suggested as companion plants because they attract black fly away from other things?
Or do they actually just encourage black fly?
Thanks for any help 

[sarah]

unfortunately blackfly are very partial to nastertiums and as you say they are used sometimes to divert from other crops. this is the worst time of year for blackfly and in a few more weeks they will have departed but by then your nastertiums will be a bit of a mess.  what to do? you could squish or water blast or soapy water.  personally i would just pick off the worst affected parts of the plants and live with the rest. the nastertiums will recover no problem.

[Crystalmoon]

Thanks Sarah will do as you suggest & just remove worst bits.
Next year I will plant them in pots so I can move them away from other crops when they are having their 'infested season' LOL   

[Robert_Brenchley]

Some (not all) of my Cosso Violetto broadies are well covered, and are attracting serious numbers of ladybirds. Hopefully, they'll soon be dealt with.