Red Lentil

Pests & beneficial insects

🐛 Prone to: Aphids

Aphids

Aphididae

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

, Thrips

Thrips

Thysanoptera

Silvery streaking with black specks — the specks are how you tell them from mites.

.

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.

, Minute pirate bugs

Minute pirate bugs

Anthocoridae

Two to three millimetres, and both stages hunt — thrips and spider mites, thirty a day.

to keep them in check — plant African MarigoldGreat, French MarigoldGreat and YarrowGood nearby.

Growing from seed

Direct-sow Red Lentil outdoors about 2 weeks before your last frost. Seeds usually come up in around 10 days. Grow in full sun, spaced about 10 cm apart. Expect to harvest in roughly 110 days.

Keep track of the seeds you own.

Companion Planting

• 
  African Marigold
  

  African MarigoldGreat pair

  • ❧African Marigold attracts Hoverflies and Lacewings and more, which prey on the Aphids and Thrips that attack Red Lentil
  • ❧Red Lentil fixes nitrogen in the soil that African Marigold feeds on
  • ❧African Marigold suppresses pests that trouble Red Lentil
• 
  French Marigold
  

  French MarigoldGreat pair

  • ❧French Marigold attracts Hoverflies and Lacewings and more, which prey on the Aphids and Thrips that attack Red Lentil
  • ❧Red Lentil fixes nitrogen in the soil that French Marigold feeds on
  • ❧French Marigold suppresses pests that trouble Red Lentil
• 
  Brown Mustard
  

  Brown MustardGreat pair

  • ❧Brown Mustard attracts Hoverflies and Parasitic wasps, which prey on the Aphids and Thrips that attack Red Lentil
  • ❧Red Lentil fixes nitrogen in the soil that Brown Mustard feeds on
  • ❧Red Lentil acts as living mulch, keeping soil moist and weeds down around Brown Mustard

How to grow Red Lentil

1. Sow-2 weeks from frost
2. Germinates10 days
3. Space10 cm apart
4. GrowFull sun
5. Harvest~110 days

Water: Low · Height: 40 cm · Soil: Well-draining, sandy, alkaline