The end goal is to learn to work with nature instead of against it.
My latest challenge here at the Sandpit is learning how to deal with the summer bug invasion organically. It is a challenge to not reach for the chemical poison to deal with them. But once you realize that you will be eating the same poison that you put on your vegetables and eventually drinking the poison runoff water it becomes clear that there has to be a better answer.These are what is left from my summer Squash plants that I stuck in a new small planting bed made several weeks back. They were ruthlessly attacked and eaten by a combination of Squash vine borers and unidentified Ninja bugs. I call them Ninja bugs because they feed at night and are extremely stealthy. I have concluded that they love Squash plants in particular mine.
The tops from these six squash plants are now in the compost bin. I cut them off at the ground and left the roots in the soil to decay and compost in the soil of the bed. Nothing goes to waste in an organic garden.
Here is the result from an heirloom Jubilee Tomato plant. It was attacked by Tomato Horn worms which ate all the vegetation off of the plant . Amazingly it still produced one fruit. This was an experiment with the Jubilee seed which I plan to plant in September. I knew when I planted this one plant that it would not do well now it being the wrong time of year to plant them in South Florida.My research on how to protect against the bugs naturally has led to my next experiment. I found this homemade recipe for a natural bug tonic on the Internet. I'm going to plant some more Squash[ the Ninja bugs favorite ] and apply this concoction to a couple and leave a couple of the plants with nothing to see if it has any positive effect. More observation to see what works here.
The concoction involves combining diluted Ivory soap with ground up Jalapeno peppers and the mix sprayed on the plant leaves.
Sense I don't have jalapeno peppers I am going to substitute some of the hot peppers that I have growing now. These are Thai hot peppers that were started from seed back in April.They should give me a steady supply of hot peppers for the next month or so.
We will see if this will effect the Ninja bugs or not. I am still spraying with Neem Oil every couple of weeks.
The Ninja's seem to attack my Zinnia leaves, Sunflower leaves and the Squash the worst. The Neem Oil has calmed them down some so I am hoping this new concoction will add a boost to the Neem Oil .
The Ninja's liked my Russian Comfrey also but I think they started leaving the Comfrey to attack and eat the Squash. So for now the Comfrey are growing fast and looking less insect damaged .
But with the Squash now gone I am watching to see if they return to the Comfrey leaves.
It's always something as they say but the information learned from plants that did not do so well is invaluable to learning how to reverse that trend in the future.
--Sanddune--
I would love to see if the concoction works for you. I also found some natural fungacide receipe from the internet. I made one using hot pepper, garlic, and for the fungus, seems did not make too big difference. I might just have not sprayed enough or frequent enough. It is not easy to go complete organic, but it helps if we all try more in our own garden. Good job!
ReplyDeleteSanddune, As of yet I am not having any problems with bugs (knocking on wood). How ever I am going to whip up a batch of your "Special Tonic" and see how well it does against deer and rabbit eating the ornamentals. Thanks for the an informative post. - G
ReplyDeleteBugs in Florida are a problem, no doubt about it. Hope your concoction works. I had a few grape tomato plants this spring but they are gone due to hornworms and whitefly. I'm looking forward to the fall garden now. Fortunately I live near a great fruit/veggie stand and so can still eat tomatoes this summer.
ReplyDeleteI feel your pain. My tomato plant is looking like swiss cheese. I'm hoping the plant hangs in there until the tomatoes finish ripening.
ReplyDeleteAmi,
ReplyDeleteThe Neem Oil works as a fungicide and miticide also.It is working ok but it appears that the bugs doing most of the damage here fly. As the Neem does not kill them outright when they eat it I figure I get a new batch of bugs every night.Im hoping the soapy spray will make the plants distasteful. We shall see.
Gary,
Glad to hear from you. My solution to deer and rabbits is quite simple . First get a good freezer ,then a shotgun. Bonn appetit!
NanaK,
I am going to have to look up the whitefly maybe that is my problem also. I think the Hornworms come from moths. They are easy to pluck off if you can catch them before they completely strip the plant.Some folks said that if you pour your used dishwater on the plants it will repel bugs from eating them.Going to try that also and see if any improvement.
Susan,
I did get the one yellow tomato. I really didn't expect any on this plant as it was a germination test for the heirloon seed that I had never planted previosly.The summer here is just too hot but I plan to start the Jubilee Yellow tomato seeds the first of September. Hope springs eternal!
Sanddune,
ReplyDeleteOh boy... I can really relate to this posting. Ahhh... the BUGS, the HEAT, the HUMIDITY, the high SOIL temps. You said it well in the two words "learning curve." It's a big one for each gardener and garden. Getting to know our own garden and microclimates within the garden is essential and takes time, patience, determination, and lots of dedication on the gardener's part.
Like you said it was easy back when we grabbed the pesticides to rid our problems. Now we've made better decisions for longer-lasting results all the way around. But 'getting there' is challenging.
Lots to say... I'm trying not to write a book here in my usual chatty way... but I'm curious are you planning to start squash presently or are you speaking of the fall? I did try a 'purchased' organic hot pepper spray last year that seemed to help a little bit with aphids on the tomato plants but no measured results.
This year my tomatoes were inundated with cutworms. Not many aphids but cutworms were eating the heck out of my leaves and fruit on mature plants. VERY frustrating. I've only picked them by hand and in the end it was a losing battle. I will try a more agressive approach next season if the same problem occurs.
Then there are the stink bugs which I have not been able to determine if they are good or bad. I thought they were eating any aphids but there are so many of them I do not know for sure.
I'm actually still getting summer squash which is an utter amazement at this time of year. Some things there is just no rhyme or reason that I can figure. So I resort back to trial and error methods. Taking the bad with the good and hoping for better next time.
You're doing a great job with your experiments and I always appreciate reading your findings. We'll get it figured out eventually and help from fellow-bloggers is always a plus! (BTW, I like your solution for the deer problems.) I wish it was that easy for ARMADILLOS.
Meems
Meems,
ReplyDeleteI think that I will start a few of the summer squash plants now just to test some of the recipes for the bug repellents that I have found.The bugs really went crazy eating the squash plants so I know they like them. I figure to use a different recipes on each test plant and see which gives the best results.
In the squash were squash vine borers in the stems and whatever bug eating the leaves. I'm leaning toward Japanese beetles as the culprit.
Any results will be what they are but maybe one of the home remedys will pan out.
This site might help with your Armadillo problems
http://www.cajuncookingrecipes.com/wildgamerecipes/wildgamerecipes_armadillorecipes.htm
Thanks for the kind words and I will post the results. In the mean time I will have to settle for pesticide Squash from the grocery store.Nah.
Offering that link is pretty ironic. Mr. Meems and I were just saying yesterday at least we know we won't starve if the financial system goes completely bust like so many are predicting. We might actually wish we hadn't released (the last 14 of them we trapped) so many into a wooded location nearby. :-) Let's pray it doesn't EVER get that bad. But I'll keep the link handy just in case.
ReplyDeleteAs far as squash now... you might be doomed from the beginning. Soil temperatures have lots do with vegetable performance. I think if you waited until the fall you might get better (and more true) results from your experiments. I'm one to talk though. I just planted a few green bean seeds 3 weeks ago. Way beyond the recommended planting date... just to see what would happen. Nothing to lose really. So far the plants are doing okay in the shadows of the pole beans keeping them from burning up in midday sun. It's always fun to stretch the limits.
Keep us posted.
Meems
Meems,
ReplyDeleteI have discovered that a lot of what is written concerning gardening is from a northern gardening perspective and Florida has its own rules. By trial and error they can be figured out.So it doesn't bother me much to do things backwards or against the "rules" because even if they don't work out I usually learn something. I hope your late green beans do well for you.