Ken asks…
What are your best ideas for organic garden pest control?
I have already planted marigolds all around my veggie garden to help reduce pest, what else should I do?
admin answers:
Organic pest control is multifaceted I have learned from over 15 year managing organic farms
Crop rotation, do not plant your crops in the same spot in the garden develop a 4 to 5 year rotation
Beneficial insects. 95% of the bugs out there are beneficial or neutral. Learn your bugs and avoid all insecticides like the plague as these kill the beneficial insects as much as the pests and when this happens the pest insects will invade the garden long before the beneficial insects come back because the beneficials will wait until there is big population of food.
Row covers are cloths designed to cover crops. These exclude insects and also protect crops from wind, hail and cold.
Soap sprays are sprays made from dish detergent (if you want to be really organic you have to use certified organic soaps and not detergents). I TBL per gallon of soften water will work to control soft bodied insects such as aphids. This does not work on hard bodied insects such as the various beetles. This will harm bees. For this to work well spray all surfaces of the plants every other day for about 6 to 8 weeks.
Companion planting is planting crops that have benficial effects on each other. Planting marigolds is an example of this. I have found this is of very limited use but many people like to think it wirks even if science does not bear this out. The Book carrots Love Tomatoes by Riotte is a good book on the subject.
Good soil management-healthy plants do not attract pest insects, stress plants do. So be sure to feed your soil (it is teeming with life that keeps your plants healthy if they are healthy and in balance) with good compost and stay away from synthetic fertilizers that are not good for the micr-herd in the soil.
I find hand picking pests is very, very effective (and if I can do this in a 3 acre market garden any home gardener can do this on their much smaller plots) as long as it is done daily
Ruth asks…
Garden pest organic control and treatment?
What are some good organic methods for preventing or treating garden pest infestations such as white flies, aphids, etc
Please let me know which specific pest your treatment treats.
thanks
Betty asks…
I have heard that chickens are good to have in vegetable garden for organic pest control. Is it safe?
Is it safe to have the unaged chicken poop all over the ground in veggie garden from the chickens running around? Please site references NOT an uninformed opinion. People’s health at stake here!!!! Thanks!
admin answers:
You cannot allow chickens to have free run of your garden. Their poop is unsanitary for food crops plus it is hot and would injure or kill a lot of your crop plants. On top of that the chickens would decimate the entire garden in less than a day (unless it is more than 1/2 acre, than it might take 2 to 3 days to kill everything).
Keep the garden and chickens separated during the growing season by fencing in one or the other (I vote giving the hens a large fenced area). During off season put a fence up around the garden area and let them in. They will weed and feed the area plus dig up all sorts of underground larva, both good and bad.
Compost the poop and put it on the garden anytime after it is composted.
Laura asks…
Garden pest/pathogen organic control and treatment?
What are some good organic methods for preventing or treating common garden pest/pathogen infestations such as white flies, aphids, blights etc
Please let me know which specific infection your treatment treats….. Want to be well armed going into the spring planting season.
thanks
admin answers:
Organic methods for aphid or soft bodied insect control that I have found.
2% soap soln.
4 tsp of liquid soap – Dr Bonner, Murphys Oil Soap, pure castile, Ivory or unscented liquid hand soap
1 qt distilled or soft tap water
Spray all surfaces of plant.
Do not spray when temps are above 80 degrees Fahrenheit! Your plants may "burn” or have a reaction to what you are using in excessive heat. Either detergents or soaps work to kill insects that have soft bodies such as aphids, young scales, whiteflies, psyllids, mealybugs, and spider mites. Detergent is just more likely to injure the plants. This is known as "phytotoxicity.”
The soap is only effective while wet. Spray in evening or when temps are cooler so drying time is longer.
Some liquid soaps will harm plant tissue just like they harm insects – by cutting the waxy coating on the organism’s skin and causing it to dry out. Commercial insecticide soaps will not do this as much. Safer makes a product safe to use on plants.
Mix to produce various dilute soap sprays
http://bit.ly/qO27Na
Soap faq
http://bit.ly/qQsH3L
http://bit.ly/q29vky
Oil or soap
http://bit.ly/oTXFsg
Ladybirds are predatory beetles but it is really the juvenile stage that does the most pest control. An adult female Lady Beetle may consume up to 75 aphids a day while the smaller male may consume up to 40. One larva may eat up to 350 aphids during its 1 month life span.
Organic Gardener’s Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control
Rodale Press Inc. (Organic Gardening Magazine)
http://bit.ly/n8Qz1D
COMMON NATURAL ENEMIES OF INSECT AND MITE PESTS IN ROSES
http://bit.ly/mZZBsP
http://bit.ly/pJYvMO
http://bit.ly/ag96up
http://bit.ly/nbjPtm
Slugs are attracted to the odors given off by the fermentation process so beer makes a good lure over short distances. Research has shown Kingsbury Malt, Michelob, and Budweiser attract slugs far better than other brands. The beer will need to be replaced at least once a week or more as it looses its potency or becomes diluted by rain. Keep the container up with a 1″ rim to keep beetles or isopods from entry & drowning in it. Beetles hunt slugs and isopods eat dead things. Boards laid near vulnerable plants will attract sheltering slugs. Lift every morning and drop slugs into really soapy water.
Earwigs are nocturnal so the most effective methods are baited traps. One earwig trap is plastic pots baited with fish oil (like tuna or sardines) on water for them to drown in. Or rolled/crumpled newspapers stuffed into small paper bags baited with wheat germ or bran will offer earwigs places to hide in the day. Collect and dispose of the bags. Old lidded candy tins with a small hole punched in the side can be baited with bran also. I empty wash and reuse these.
Remove top & bottom from tuna or cat food cans and slip one over the seedling when planted. Segments of large soda bottles also make good collars. Push it slightly into the soil. The collar will keep out cut worms.
Protect seedlings with cheesecloth or nylon tents made by draping cloth over crossed stakes every night to keep moths from laying eggs. Remove or use very shear material so plants can still photosynthesize during the day. Removal is best.
Blights are fungal so require surfaces being sprayed BEFORE the spore arrives and burrows in. Organic methods are coats applied to prevent spore penetration.
Milk diluted to 20- 30% and sprayed every 5 days for three weeks then go to another spray.
Click to access Milk%20and%20mildew.pdf
Oil sprays in summer weights or neem oil are very effective fungicides.
Summer oils can be combined with baking soda for basic Cornell spray. 0.5% baking soda plus 0.5% sunspray oil.
4 tsp baking soda
4 tsp oil
Bring up to 1 gallon with water.
This can be made up as 2% baking soda and 1% oil solution proved most effective to prevent powdery mildew.
http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/bakingsoda.html
Cornmeal helps to eliminate black spot spores from the soil. It eliminates the spores in the soil around plants by supporting the beneficial fungus Trichoderma spp. That eliminates other fungal pathogens. Work in corn meal at 2 pounds of cornmeal for every 100 square feet. Water well to activate. There is a cheap, nonfood grade available at some garden centers.
Vinegar spray alters the surface pH to control fungal spores
http://bit.ly/aM6I7X
I hope this helps but please note that not all plants tolerate the same treatment nor do all pests respond the same way so spray and watch. Not all of these treatments have been well tested in repeatable and controlled situations on more than one or two plant species if at all.
Horticultural mythbuster
http://bit.ly/17NbjZ~Linda%20Chalker-Scott/Horticultural%20Myths_files/index.html
David asks…
what are some organic pest control treatments for my garden?
to deal with cut worms, aphids, slugs, and snails.
admin answers:
Encourage the predators into your garden for a start.
Hedgehogs. Allow them access. Make them a nice hideyhole to hibernate in. A pot (plastic or terracotta) laid on its side and filled with straw. Give them somewhere to sleep in the day as well like an undisturbed pile of logs.
Make a pond or bog garden to encourage newts, frogs and toads. It does not have to be very big to sustain an awful lot of wildlife. Put up bird boxes and feed the birds.
Put up bat boxes to encourage bats to your garden. They eat the moths that lay the eggs that turn into cutworms.
While waiting for all that wildlife to arrive stop using any pesticides/herbicides and find friendly alternatives. There are slug pellets on the market now that are completely organic.
http://www.organiccatalog.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=61_179&products_id=1821
Aphids can be sprayed off with a hose set on high pressure but if you have stopped using nasty sprays in your garden then the ladybirds, lacewings and hoverflies should start turning up. They will soon devour all flies. Black, white and green. Learn to recognise egg, larval and adult stage of your predators so you do not kill the wrong thing by mistake.
http://www.turning-earth.co.uk/ladybirds.htm
http://bit.ly/pH718l
Buy your predators if you are too impatient for them to turn up.
http://www.organiccatalog.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=61_183&osCsid=37fad549f649878443b40b4bc6c716c9
Do not freak out at wasps in your garden. Try to live with them as long as their nest is not too nearby. They have a voracious appetite for flies,caterpillars and ants.
If you see a pest do not grab the nearest spray just squish it. If you are squeamish put a glove on.
There are many products on the market now that are organic and will reduce the numbers of most common pests but if you work WITH nature you should find that even these become redundant.
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