Gardening question:PLEASE HELP

[schmoo]

It's nothing relating to chickens, but alot of you seem to have gardens on here so please help if you can.

I am not a gardener at all. I do grow tomatoes though and I have been really successful in the last few years. Never any trouble with bugs etc. I really want them to do good so I can feed my chickens some.

Well I just planted some and they were fine for a few days and now there are these weird bugs (tiny and black) that are making white spots on the leaves. There are ALOT of them.

They aren't aphids I know what those look like because I've had them on my roses.

Is there anything NON chemical I can spray on them to keep bugs off? Thanks in adavance.

 

[BeckyLa]

I'm not much of a gardener and I don't know about the non-chemical stuff, but I'm sure that some Seven Dust (5%) would take care of the problem and it won't hurt your birds.

 

[Queen of the Lilliputians]

Well, until someone who knows more than me gets back to you.. Here's what I would do in the meantime. First thing in the morning hook the hose up and spray the leaves. Really spray to wash those buggers off. This is the same approach that the Victory Garden guy advises for house plants with mites.

Not guaranteeing it will work, and I have heard that the plants do better if the leaves are kept dry (although mine get rained on every year, and it doesn't seem to hurt them). At least this way, though, maybe a few of the yucky critters will drown!

Yuck! I had aphids (and the ants that went with them) a few years ago on my sunflowers. I refused to go near them I was so disgusted!

Meghan

 

[Sugar Sand Farm]

At least you still have your tomatoes. I woke up this mornign and found all of my strippy tomatoes gone. I can't believe it I had twenty plants and they were doing great. Now I have to start over again. Darn pesky rabbits.

 

[Zenbirder]

If you don't want to use chemicals and have any diatomacious earth around (used for chickens also) try dusting the leaves. It won't hurt the tomatoes, chickens or you. To know more about it use the search function on this site, there are links and a lot of info.

 

[akyramoto]

I've heard that a solution of dish soap & water takes care of alot of common garden bugs. I'm not sure of the ratio though.

i found this.......
'you can make your own by mixing 3 to 6 tablespoons of dishwashing liquid with 1 gallon of water' from http://www.ext.colostate.edu/PUBS/garden/02945.html


then you just spray the solution onto the plants with a squirt bottle or sprayer. ( be sure to use a new sprayer or bottle though!!)


here is some info from the same site on DE
'Diatomaceous earth (DE) is a nontoxic insecticide mined from the fossilized silica shell remains of diatoms. Diatoms are single-celled or colonial algae in the class Bacillarophyceae.

DE absorbs the waxy layer on the surface of insect skins, causing the insect to dry out. It also can work as an abrasive, rupturing cuticle cells. The product is labeled to control slugs, grasshoppers, millipedes and sow bugs, as well as soft-bodied Insects such as aphids.

DE is formulated as a dust, either alone or in combination with pyrethrin. With a low mammalian toxicity, the LD50 ranges from 3,160 to 8,000 mg/kg, depending on the formulation.

Another grade of DE is used as a filtering agent in swimming pools. Both swimming-pool grade and natural types of DE come from the same source but are processed differently. It is imperative that only the "natural" grades be used for insect control.'

 

[jkm]

started by just using the hose,

I had bad bugs for a few days , then the local bugs ate those and all was well,
since I stopped using chemicals a few years ago all the local bugs show up a few days after, "bad bugs" move in and take them out.
to make this happen I have an area with wild carrots and parsley plants, also a lavender.
when those plants get a sticky white substance on them I do not wash it off, those are the good bugs on the way.
good bugs can't arrive until there is food to eat.....bad bugs....
if you keep good bug plants, it just takes a few, then they are ready for action
in the NW I found that parsely , and queens anne lace or wild carrot do the trick.....
my neighbors all use tons of posion, I am the only one with a fifty birds in the yard, 4 known nests, last night i had bugs in the clover, sooo cool,,,,,

personally i don't think i wnat to eat fruit of a plant dusted with sevin...
25 years of nursing and i stay away from chemicals.....
cheers

 

[akyramoto]

i agree, I dont use any chemicals. Bad for my birds, bad for me & most likely bad for the earth. My neighbor uses roundup to kill on the grass on his property, I make it very clear to him that he is not to spray ANY of my property whatsoever.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

My first choice would probably be an insecticidal soap solution. A plain dish soap works in a pinch. You could also try DE, garlic water, cayenne pepper water, even just the hose to wash off things like aphids and mites.

 

[keljonma]

Be careful with the DE around your veggies. Even Food Grade DE will kill the good insects like ladybugs and honeybees.