Opalka

Pests & beneficial insects

🐛 Prone to: Aphids

Aphids

Aphididae

Curled leaves, sticky honeydew and ants on patrol — usually with something already eating them.

, Whitefly

Whitefly

Aleyrodidae

A puff of white when you brush the leaf, and stickiness underneath.

, Cutworms

Cutworms

Noctuidae

A seedling lying beside its own stump in the morning, cut clean through at soil level.

.

Attract Hoverflies

Hoverflies

Syrphidae

The adults only drink nectar. It is the larvae that eat the aphids.

, Lacewings

Lacewings

Chrysopidae

Golden-eyed adults that mostly drink; larvae that hunt like small alligators.

, Ladybugs

Ladybugs

Coccinellidae

The one predator here where the adults hunt as hard as the larvae do.

, Parasitic wasps

Parasitic wasps

Braconidae, Ichneumonidae and relatives

Pinhead-sized, stingless, and lethal to aphids and caterpillars from the inside.

, Ground beetles

Ground beetles

Carabidae

Night-active ground hunters, taking slugs, cutworms and leatherjackets at soil level.

to keep them in check — plant African MarigoldGreat, LungwortGreat and Belgian EndiveGood nearby.

Growing from seed

Start Opalka indoors about 8 weeks before your last frost, keeping seeds in warm soil (around 20–25 °C). Seeds usually come up in around 7 days. Move seedlings out once the danger of frost has passed, in full sun, spaced about 60 cm apart. Expect to harvest in roughly 85 days.

Opalka seed rarely stays viable beyond 4 years — track what's still worth sowing.

• 

  Growing Tomatoes: From First Sowing to the Last Ripe Fruit

  Tomatoes are the crop most gardeners fall for first — and the one that most rewards getting the timing right. This is the whole arc: sowing, planting out, the one pruning decision that actually matters, keeping them fed and even, and coaxing the last fruit to colour before the cold.

  Read the guide

Companion Planting

• 
  Wild Garlic
  

  Wild GarlicGreat pair

  • ❧Wild Garlic attracts Hoverflies, which prey on the Aphids that attack Opalka
  • ❧Wild Garlic acts as living mulch, keeping soil moist and weeds down around Opalka
  • ❧Opalka gives Wild Garlic sheltering shade in the heat of summer
• 
  African Marigold
  

  African MarigoldGreat pair

  • ❧African Marigold attracts Hoverflies and Lacewings and more, which prey on the Aphids and Whitefly that attack Opalka
  • ❧African Marigold suppresses pests that trouble Opalka
  • ❧Opalka draws Bumblebees and Bees and more that improve pollination for both
• 
  Alpine Strawberry
  

  Alpine StrawberryGreat pair

  • ❧Alpine Strawberry attracts Ground beetles, which prey on the Cutworms that attack Opalka
  • ❧Alpine Strawberry acts as living mulch, keeping soil moist and weeds down around Opalka
  • ❧Opalka gives Alpine Strawberry sheltering shade in the heat of summer

How to grow Opalka

1. Sow8 weeks before frost
2. Germinates7 days
3. Space60 cm apart
4. GrowFull sun
5. Harvest~85 days

Water: Medium · Height: 180 cm · Soil: Rich, well-draining, slightly acidic (pH 6.0–6.8)