Organic Pest Control

Please share your experience with different products that assist in organic disease/pest control in our area for the following vegetable plants and pests:

Vegetables
Tomatoes
Sweet Peppers
Cabbage (cabbage worms)
Lettuce
Cucumbers
Okra (powdery mildew)
Bush beans
Summer Squash (yellow crookneck and zucchini)

Pests
japanese beetles (for my neighbors blueberry bushes and grapevine)
snails and slugs
fruit flies
caterpillars
thrips
mites
aphids

And anything else you can think of? I want to be prepared...

Hey BF, sometimes it's hard to notice but there is a sub forum titled PESTS here is the link. ~~~> Pests

camprn wrote:Hey BF, sometimes it's hard to notice but there is a sub forum titled PESTS here is the link. ~~~> Pests

That's great, but I am really looking for organic pest/disease control for my area (NC). And honestly, I have and and and some more through those postings, but many times they dont say whether or not the stuff they are using is organic or will kill my kids because its so strong . Because I don't know the difference and Dizzy is so into organic gardening, I was hoping she would enlighten me. In retrospect, maybe I should have sent her a PM. I really wasn't trying to offend anyone or get into trouble by starting a new thread. And I deeply apologize if I'm not supposed to start a new thread on a subject that has already been discussed.

Hopefully someone ( i.e. ) will move this thread to its appropriate location - Pests. I'm do apologize. I'm still learning how to use this forum. I'm sorry. I'm not trying to create additional work for anyone.

BF,

The kind of organic control you need depends on the problems you have.

Your first line if defense in organic gardening is row cover/insect barrier. Second line is hand picking the pests off.

For everything else, I try to keep insecticidal soap, neem oil, BT and DE on hand. Those products will take care of 70% of the pests you'll encounter in the garden. Insect soap is especially effective on any soft bodied insects or insect larvae, Neem oil works well on lots of adult insects, BT is good for caterpillars and worms, and DE is good for anything that crawls.

Here is an example of what I do: My radishes are currently attracting flea beetles (this is their purpose so the beetles stay off my broccoli, cabbage and broccoli raab). Right now they are covered, so this evening I plan to spray them with insect soap and neem oil. If that doesn't work I'll either pull them or go get some rotenone (this is the most effective organic pesticide for flea beetles).

BTW, I think it's great that you posted this here. Sometimes folks forget about the pest forums. This gives them a reminder.

Dizzy, (I really appreciate your reassurance )

Do you have any pics of your row cover/insect barrier and what is DE? Is it diatomaceous earth? If so what is it and where can I get it? (I already asked about Bt ).

BF, no worries, it's no hassle, seriously; the structure of the Forum does take a bit of getting used to.
I would echo DG in her information and I would add that if you've picked some good sources of compost and your soil is healthy and nutritious, you will have healthy plants. Healthy plants are stronger in their fight against diseases and insect infestation!!!

Thanks Camprn ,
I used the Ladybug SFG blend. To date SFG Foundation does not have any feedback on the product, but I plan to change that.

Last year I had issues with powdery mildew on my squash, but I expect that came from incorrectly watering leaves. This year I just want to be prepared in advance for as much as possible and the more I know the less time I will spend at the store with my twins reading and talking to strangers who look at me like I have no business gardening.

buttaflie143 wrote: Dizzy, (I really appreciate your reassurance )

Do you have any pics of your row cover/insect barrier and what is DE? Is it diatomaceous earth? If so what is it and where can I get it? (I already asked about Bt ).

Yes, DE is Diatomaceous Earth. You can get it at most garden centers, nurseries or feed and seed stores. It is basically ground up Diatomes. They have sharp edges and as the insects crawl over it the sharp edges cut their exoskeleton and they dehydrate/bleed to death. Kinda gruesome, but it works. I've had great success using DE to get a handle on a major millipede problem I was having.

Here is a picture of my winter row cover:


It's the white cloth. For the warmer weather you can use tulle like the kind you use for wedding veils. You can get it at any fabric store.

Dizzie, you really have been a huge help broadening my organic bug zapping knowledge. I'd done the standard neem oil and pyrethum but you have really convinced me that true and full organic gardening is really quite a realistic option for me.

THANK YOU THANK YOU.

At your advice, I found some Dipel Dust at our local farmers exchange but also saw some in a powdered form that you dilute in water. A $3 12 oz box makes 16 gallons. AMAZING. It seemed a cheaper option to the dust that you apply quite liberally and it seemed that supply would be exhausted faster.

Have you ever heard / seen / used Dipel Dust in a diluted form?

Cheers !

Thank you,
Are there different types of Bt to target specific pests or is it a "one size fits all" pest control?

Also, how long do you keep the cover on?

staf74 wrote:At your advice, I found some Dipel Dust at our local farmers exchange but also saw some in a powdered form that you dilute in water. A $3 12 oz box makes 16 gallons. AMAZING. It seemed a cheaper option to the dust that you apply quite liberally and it seemed that supply would be exhausted faster.

Have you ever heard / seen / used Dipel Dust in a diluted form?

Cheers !

What is Dipel Dust, what did you replace with it, and what is it used for?

DiPel Info <~~~ Click
Poison, insecticide.

Camprn, your link is broken. Can you relink?

Here is another link http://www.planetnatural.com/site/dipel-dust.html you can download the MSDS here.

The BT in Dipel Dust is fine it's the inactive ingredients that can be a problem, but for those that can't find BT it is a good alternative.

dizzygardener wrote:Camprn, your link is broken. Can you relink?

Here is another link http://www.planetnatural.com/site/dipel-dust.html you can download the MSDS here.

The BT in Dipel Dust is fine it's the inactive ingredients that can be a problem, but for those that can't find BT it is a good alternative though not OMRI listed.

Thanks DG! The link should be working now.

I've done a bit or research on this. It turns out that DiPel is certified organic and is OMRI listed. There are still some concerns about its inactive ingredients.

Here is a link: http://www.omri.org/simple-opl-search/results/dipel

Staf, the Dipel dust that you can dilute in water is listed on the site as well. I haven't used it, but some folks in my class had and they seemed to like it.

I've recently started using Thuricide. It is a liquid BT. It is not OMRI listed so far as I can tell. I try to be as organic as possible, but I'm realistic about what I can find locally and what fits in best with my routine. The liquid is just easier for me. It only takes a few caps per gallon, so the bottle goes a long way.

I like to use the barrier aproach to protect my boxes of vegies that do not need insects to pollenate them like toms., peppers, root crops ect.
I read somewhere that slugs and snails don't like the mild electric shock they get when "walking" over copper and you can get a flat copper tape at home improvement stores to staple to the sides of your boxes. You just need to make sure it is tight enough that they can't sneek under it.
Powdery mildew can be prevented and controled by a spray of 9 parts water to 1 part skim milk. Spray both side of the leaves once a week. People have used baking soada this way for a long time but a gardeniner somewhere in Africa ( the name of the country escapes me) that milk works even better. It was a terrible problem where he was and it is here in the land of humidity also known as Florida. I've been useing it and not a sign of any on my squash or cucs. I spray early in the morning when they are covered in dew anyway.
Healthy plants are key to preventing all kinds of troubles. Not useing synthedic fertilizers helps alot too since they promote rapid succlent growth that pests just love. Pests are a majoir problem here and since I am very strickly organic inspecting my babies (plants) each moring looking for damage and bugs is a big part of the container garden where I do not use a floating row cover. I have gotten to the point I am no longer squeemish about smooshing the tiny devels.
BT is a god send when it comes to controling worms and catapillers.

Funny you mentioned this today. I just picked up a 20 qt box of powdered skim milk at the grocery store yesterday. It was on the markdown cart due sell by date is coming up soon. But I thought it will still be good for gardening purposes. Good to have a mix level as I just heard diluted, but not how much. Now I can make the mix in small batches as needed. Thanks for posting


Kay

shannon1 wrote:
I read somewhere that slugs and snails don't like the mild electric shock they get when "walking" over copper and you can get a flat copper tape at home improvement stores to staple to the sides of your boxes. You just need to make sure it is tight enough that they can't sneek under it.

Sad to say this is a myth.

shannon1 wrote:
Powdery mildew can be prevented and controled by a spray of 9 parts water to 1 part skim milk. Spray both side of the leaves once a week. People have used baking soada this way for a long time but a gardeniner somewhere in Africa ( the name of the country escapes me) that milk works even better. It was a terrible problem where he was and it is here in the land of humidity also known as Florida. I've been useing it and not a sign of any on my squash or cucs. I spray early in the morning when they are covered in dew anyway.

From my experience, this works best as preventative, if you start applications before PM takes hold on the plant.

Organic pest control and eco-friendly ....






Low carb too !!

Acara, is that you in that last Pic?

Nah .... I prefer caterpillars and mealybugs

Good source of protein too.

Gwynn

Great thread. Is there preventative stuff one can use? I will buy the tulle when I get a chance, but for now, I just have a few baby plants with no major problems that I can see... and I'd love to keep it that way.

Thanks,

Tracy

So sad to hear the copper thing is a myth I was going to try it on the snails. Any sugestions on what will work?