Gardening,organics,sustainable gardening,food crops,etc

[phillipbbg]

Posted by Gustav (here)
Hi,

I have lice on my sunflowers. How can I best remove them without damaging the plant? Or should I not remove them?

Gustav

A very simple way to reduce the infestation is to mix up a soapy solution and spray the plants (fine mist) over a hundred years ago they used horticultural soap (pure soap) as the main way to keep problems like this under control. We don't do it these days because it is not a magic bullet, you need to do it daily until you get them under control....

You can make up a solution using dish washing liquid but NEVER use green coloured soaps because they have disinfectants in them, just use a citrus smelling one... a cap full of liquid to 500ml is fine. There is another source you can try and that is your grey washing water sent down the drain when you wash your clothes ....

The main point of this form of treatment is not to kill the bugs but to make the plant into a terrible place to live without hurting the plant.....lol your neighbours will hate you when the bugs move house...

Have fun

[Cjay]

Posted by phillipbbg (here)

Posted by Gustav (here)
Hi,

I have lice on my sunflowers. How can I best remove them without damaging the plant? Or should I not remove them?

Gustav

A very simple way to reduce the infestation is to mix up a soapy solution and spray the plants (fine mist) over a hundred years ago they used horticultural soap (pure soap) as the main way to keep problems like this under control. We don't do it these days because it is not a magic bullet, you need to do it daily until you get them under control....

You can make up a solution using dish washing liquid but NEVER use green coloured soaps because they have disinfectants in them, just use a citrus smelling one... a cap full of liquid to 500ml is fine. There is another source you can try and that is your grey washing water sent down the drain when you wash your clothes ....

The main point of this form of treatment is not to kill the bugs but to make the plant into a terrible place to live without hurting the plant.....lol your neighbours will hate you when the bugs move house...

Have fun

Yes but the soap will most likely kill the bugs... and if I was a plant, I would want you to rinse the soap off my skin - ick!! - because plants need to breathe too and the soap residue can reduce block some sunlight from reaching the leaves. You can knock most of the aphids off with high pressure water (from a garden hose, not from a pressure cleaner because that will damage the plant). One of the sticky problems with aphids (pun intended) is that ants farm aphids and protect the aphids from predators such as ladybugs. Speaking of ladybugs, you can buy ladybugs and other predatory insects from some garden nurseries. My advice is ALWAYS look to nature for a solution before resorting to any non-natural substance.

[phillipbbg]

Posted by Cjay (here)

Posted by phillipbbg (here)

Posted by Gustav (here)
Hi,

I have lice on my sunflowers. How can I best remove them without damaging the plant? Or should I not remove them?

Gustav

A very simple way to reduce the infestation is to mix up a soapy solution and spray the plants (fine mist) over a hundred years ago they used horticultural soap (pure soap) as the main way to keep problems like this under control. We don't do it these days because it is not a magic bullet, you need to do it daily until you get them under control....

You can make up a solution using dish washing liquid but NEVER use green coloured soaps because they have disinfectants in them, just use a citrus smelling one... a cap full of liquid to 500ml is fine. There is another source you can try and that is your grey washing water sent down the drain when you wash your clothes ....

The main point of this form of treatment is not to kill the bugs but to make the plant into a terrible place to live without hurting the plant.....lol your neighbours will hate you when the bugs move house...

Have fun

Yes but the soap will most likely kill the bugs... and if I was a plant, I would want you to rinse the soap off my skin - ick!! - because plants need to breathe too and the soap residue can reduce block some sunlight from reaching the leaves. You can knock most of the aphids off with high pressure water (from a garden hose, not from a pressure cleaner because that will damage the plant). One of the sticky problems with aphids (pun intended) is that ants farm aphids and protect the aphids from predators such as ladybugs. Speaking of ladybugs, you can buy ladybugs and other predatory insects from some garden nurseries. My advice is ALWAYS look to nature for a solution before resorting to any non-natural substance.

First off you make up a very light soapy solution... not a bubble bath and secondly you are mimicking nature, plants create a coating on their leaves to defend themselves from the insects and fungal attacks, the problem is they can't do it in time when conditions favour the insects and there breeding cycle. In essence you are helping the plant defend itself by giving it more of its OWN ammunition.

I hope this clarifies my statement more clearly for you. By the way this is nothing new and pre-dates drug company infiltration into the horticultural industry. It has been adopted by many civilisations from past to present.

Grey water is often good because the body fats have diluted the soap solutions to such an extent that the plant can still photosynthesise at peak levels when coated with the solution... the science has been done, mainly so the drug companies can use the least amount of product to achieve the best result for the highest profit whilst still achieving there goals in reducing infestation, sterilisation, genetic manipulation etc.

[Gustav]

The two sunflowers and the sequoia. The sunflowers have to be put in the garden in the back, because they have clearly outgrown their current habitat . Esepecially the small one is littered with aphids. Up till now I have not seen any ants btw.

[Arrowwind]

Thanks cjay... I will look into it.

I thought I would mention at this time a product I am using called Nature Guard. Its a soil ammendment added to the soil around the time of planting. You can throw it on top or lightly rake it in or plow it in if you plow.

This product is amazing. I first came aware of it from a neighbor who reported to me that he plants corn on the same plot repeatedly year after year. I asked him what fertilizer he used for his nitrogen source and he said that he adds nothing chemical but just this nature guard. In his whole garden its the ONLY thing he uses, for garden veggies, lawn and trees. He has the most amazing garden

Well I was impressed that he could grow corn on the same patch year after year with no further ammendments. He does NOT compost or do anything else.

So I went and got a bag of this product... turns out this stuff is pure microbial innoculant. Microbes break down dirt to become available in a particularte size that roots can absorb. My first bag cost $23 and I thought a bit expensive for 20 # but since have found it for $15.

I tested its some on our corn patch that was fertilized with only composted cow maneur.. those areas that I applied this innoculant to grew much taller... I cant report on corn quality because rabbits came and munched them all down. I will try again this year if we get a fence up.

[phillipbbg]

Posted by Gustav (here)
Attachment 7822Attachment 7823

The two sunflowers and the sequoia. The sunflowers have to be put in the garden in the back, because they have clearly outgrown their current habitat . Esepecially the small one is littered with aphids. Up till now I have not seen any ants btw.

The smaller sunflower is struggling with the soil as is evident by the yellowing of the leaves (the plant is trying to get rid of toxins which it has stored in the leaves before restricting its own nutrients ) they definitely need to be in the ground or in new soil with larger pot. Could I suggest you put a thick layer of newspaper over the soil when you move them, then a layer of mulch on top of the paper. It will keep the moisture higher in the top soil also will break down feeding the plants over time. The soil looks to be draining so well that the roots are being exposed. Just an observation.

I would also tend to feed them with a seaweed based food or a tomato plant food. The sequoia being a cypress family will respond well to leaf mulch and broken down animal based food (rose food, blood and bone, chicken manure etc but only small amounts so as not to burn the plant)

Good luck and they do really need to be in the ground if possible.....

[Cjay]

Arrowwind, the Natureguard soil innoculant sounds great. If you had biochar in your soil, the fungi and microbes in the innoculant (and those previously in the soil) could all move in together and set up home in the biochar.

With soil innoculant, some added organic material and legumes, it would be possible to build viable soil using beach or desert sand. I would not rely solely on soil innoculants because many soils are deficient in important minerals and trace elements. This is where seaweed+fish solution can help. Afterall, the sea contains a bit of everything.

I have never had my soil tested but I am very interested to do this. Getting a soil test done by professionals is a good idea because then you will know exactly what is in the soil and what is missing, so you know what you need to add.

Good compost can't be recommended too highly. It is a good idea to mix as many different plant varieties as possible in the compost heap. There are some very good commercially produced compost products and some of them have been made with the addition of soil innoculants.

As I write this, it occurs to me that the composted mulch I added to my garden, on top of the soil, immediately after planting the perennials (mostly ornamentals and some fruit trees) is made from recycled garden waste, collected from tens of thousands of gardens with a wide range of soil types - a bit of everything. I added a lot of it - 10 to 15 cm deep (4 to 6 inches) - and the garden went from zero to WOW in a few months. As the compost breaks down, the worms, insects and birds mix it into the soil.

I don't claim to be an expert - I am not. I have just had some good advice, read some good information and watched some good videos. Above all, I have had some good luck. Most of my gardening experiences have been successful experiments. I have also had some spectacular failures... but making mistakes can be good learning experiences.

Notwithstanding your neighbour's luck - so far - with growing corn in the same plot, year after year; I offer these comments. Generally, our best defenses against pests and diseases are crop rotation because growing the same species of plant in the same soil for many years is inviting an accumulation of pests and diseases in the soil (he might have ten or even more good years but eventually things will go badly); and maximising the number of plant species in the garden because this confuses pests due to all the different colours and scents in the garden and because it minimises your losses if you suffer a major attack on one or a few plant species. Again, look to nature as our best teacher. Single species systems are virtually non-existent in nature.


Gustav, even if you grow plants under carefully-controlled laboratory conditions, some plants grow well and some plants will be stunted. This can happen even with clones, which have identical DNA. Generally, weak plants are more susceptible to pests and diseases. It is great to know simple NATURAL ways to deal with pests and diseases but even armed with a lot of knowledge and experience, sometimes it's better to remove stunted plants and replace them.

[Arrowwind]

I communicated with the biochar company in Colorado today and they failed to give me the prices I requested but this they did say:

Hi Arrow,


Biochar rates are not always the same ---- Biochar is a solid porous carbon that will hold moisture and nutrients while providing a physical space for bacteria and fungi to propagate from.


I usually recommend blending biochar with a compost or other nutrient product. Personally I add about 15% biochar by volume to composting manure (horse and chicken) ---- I let that row compost for one season and then I put that blended product to work.


You can also simply add char to raised beds and till it in.


I do not recommend simply tossing biochar on top because it will blow away. I do recommend adding biochar to a compost product and then putting both the char and the compost onto pasture with a manure spreader or even just a wheelbarrow and a pitchfork.


1 cubic yard (27ft^3) of biochar (about 200lbs) can cover 20ft x 20ft of area in char 1 inch deep - I do not apply biochar in this fashion I would blend that char and use it for about 4 times that stated area. A standard wheelbarrow is 6ft^3 (1/4.5 of a yard) and is about the right volume to amend a typical 50ft by 2 ft vegetable row.


Regards
Jonah Levine

Yes, I agree with you Cjay.... my friends garden looks very good but over time I would have to assume that his veggies we be depeted in some nutrients... although they do look good so far, so do the veggies in the supermarket. I wonder what their brix levels would be in comparison to a well mulched garden.

I use another soil ammendment that I have been very impressed with called paramagnetic minerals which comes from a mine located near Yellowstone. A number of tests have been done with this product that are very impressive, including one where the minerals were put into a plastic film cannester and plased in the soil next to the seeds. The ones with the paramagnet minerials close by but not in contact with the plant did significantly better that the controls.. interesting eh?
http://www.aethericenergy.org/paramagnetic.htm This is where I purchased it. Seems they might be open again as the links for purchase are up again..... we did our own little experiment with this rock dust... last year my neighbor had an abundance of suffering houseplants. We revivied them all to full brilliance in just a week and a half by adding this stuff to the top of the soil and watering it in. It was amazing... plants got better that had been long suffering regardless of other intervention.

Unfortunately that mine is shut down for the time being...its product holds the highest goss on the market, at least that I could find. When I could get no more I purchased the next best called....... The goss is about half of Paramagetic... but it also contains trace minerals.

note: seems Paradise valley is open again. I don't need any right now so dont know for sure if an order will go through

I am trying to get away from the concept and process of the huge compost pile. I certainly don't like turning them. So I am working with the concept of the Lasagna garden or also called Layered garden. My garden was excellent last year and I found only one measley cabbage worm in the whole lot as far as pests go. I am now building a much larger lasagna garden, not in a raised bed, simply layered on the ground.

I also have a very unique system of composting that I think I will start another thread about on this forum.

Yes, I am going to be looking at fish emulsion products today in fact. We have a small pasture to fertilize. Since we irrigate it with 4 inch pipe and pump off a small pond I was thinking that the fish emulsion could be added directly to the pond water and let our irrigation system do all the work...got to call those guys today.

Did I tell you about Acres magazine? they had a nice article about biochar in it a month or two ago. I highly recommend this magazine. They also had an intersting article about fertilizing pasture with Raw Milk. About 1 gallon of milk per acre. They specify that it must be raw. So if raw milk can innoculate a field I would only assume that it could a garden also.

[Cjay]

Dear Arrowwind,

The reply from the biochar company sounds fairly sensible.

I have not heard of paramagnetic minerals. It sounds interesting, though. However, I would prefer to keep it simple and use methods that can be replicated in almost any location, without relying on unusual or expensive soil additives.

Posted by Arrowwind (here)
I am trying to get away from the concept and process of the huge compost pile. I certainly don't like turning them. So I am working with the concept of the Lasagna garden or also called Layered garden. My garden was excellent last year and I found only one measley cabbage worm in the whole lot as far as pests go. I am now building a much larger lasagna garden, not in a raised bed, simply layered on the ground.

There's a lot to be said for low-effort gardening, as is recommended by the permaculture experts.

I highly recommend all of the videos on YouTube by or about each of the following people:

Bill Mollison (co-originator of the Permaculture concept)
David Holmgren (co-originator of the Permaculture concept)
Geoff Lawton (Greening The Desert and many other videos)
Peter Andrews
Willie Smits

...just to name a few.


I have a small chipping machine that I use to chop up all of my garden waste, including branches up to about 35mm (1.5 inches) in diameter, before I add it to my compost heap. I add dried lawn clippings as well as food scraps and have just started adding shredded newspaper - afterall, most of that has high BS content.

Personally, I am not a fan of spreading sheets of cardboard or layers of newspaper becuase soil needs to breathe. If you use around 10 cm (4 inches) of mulch, you will suppress the weeds just as effectively. Generally, the more coarse the mulch, the thicker you can apply it and the air and rain can still get to the soil.

I rarely turn my compost heap because the birds worms and insects help do that for me. Also, if you use a broom or rake handle to poke holes in the compost heap, air can get in - therefore, you don't need to turn the heap as often. I usually only turn my heaps two or three times per year - usually when I chop up a new batch of garden waste. It only takes me about 10 minutes to turn each heap.

Each time I turn the compost heap, I move it a very short distance (1 to 2 metres or yards). This way, I can use the super-rich worm castings from the bottom of the compost heap to spread where I need them, then plant some seeds in the super-fertile soil where the compost heap used to be. I get maximum benefits for minimum effort. By the way, my compost heaps never smell bad - in fact, they smell very pleasant.

Posted by Arrowwind (here)
Yes, I am going to be looking at fish emulsion products today in fact. We have a small pasture to fertilize. Since we irrigate it with 4 inch pipe and pump off a small pond I was thinking that the fish emulsion could be added directly to the pond water and let our irrigation system do all the work...got to call those guys today.

Eeeeeek! Adding fertilizer directly to your pond sounds like a VERY BAD idea. You will end up with a toxic pond, possibly with severe algal blooms.

It is not a big deal or big expense to buy or hire a spraying rig - of a size that is appropriate for your land size - to spread any liquid fertilizer. In India, they mix it in buckets and splash it over the land by hand, using a motion somewhat like broadcasting seed by hand. I suggest you water-in any fertilizer or apply it shortly before a reasonable amount of rain is expected.

Posted by Arrowwind (here)
Did I tell you about Acres magazine? they had a nice article about biochar in it a month or two ago. I highly recommend this magazine. They also had an intersting article about fertilizing pasture with Raw Milk. About 1 gallon of milk per acre. They specify that it must be raw. So if raw milk can innoculate a field I would only assume that it could a garden also.

No, I have not heard of that magazine. I no longer buy magazines. The Internet has more than enough information for me.

[Arrowwind]

Posted by Cjay (here)
Eeeeeek! Adding fertilizer directly to your pond sounds like a VERY BAD idea. You will end up with a toxic pond, possibly with severe algal blooms.

It is not a big deal or big expense to buy or hire a spraying rig - of a size that is appropriate for your land size - to spread any liquid fertilizer. In India, they mix it in buckets and splash it over the land by hand, using a motion somewhat like broadcasting seed by hand. I suggest you water-in any fertilizer or apply it shortly before a reasonable amount of rain is expected.

We have looked at spraying rigs $550 for a small one.... and another tool that requires care and repair...plus a battery.
the thing with our pond is that we have full water exchange in it at least twice a week and when the new pasture comes into play at least 4 times a week. Ill see what the sellers of these products recommend... you could be right, it might be a bad idea. It is not a pond for water lilies.. but to service the pastures. It receives via ditch, water from the mountain snow pack that feeds a resevoir about 5 miles away.

I have also herd of an injector system that you place on your mainline.. it will inject the fertilizer into the mainline to be distributed during routine watering.. this at least will save time and work... but I have not found a unit yet.

We have started out with very damaged soil on our property... I also felt compelled to make a usable soil as quickly as possible considering the economic issues that may (or may not) be coming our way in the US, at least for the garden. As time goes by sustainability is certainly what I am looking for. This will likely not be fully activated until we bring animals onto the land, possibly next year. There is very little natural stuff around to compost... I really have to scavenge diligently across the town and mountains. We are in a very arid desert like environment on an old piece of farm land that has been significantly been damaged. I feel that with time things will even out... animals will help quite a bit.

[Arrowwind]

Posted by Cjay (here)
Personally, I am not a fan of spreading sheets of cardboard or layers of newspaper becuase soil needs to breathe. If you use around 10 cm (4 inches) of mulch, you will suppress the weeds just as effectively. Generally, the more coarse the mulch, the thicker you can apply it and the air and rain can still get to the soil.

I used the carboard under my lasagna beds... we have had some wicked Johnson grass issues and little stops that stuff.. It did seem to get rid of it. I will not repeat it this year but only on my new bed. Cardboard will drain water.. by the end of the season last year I went looking to see what happened to the cardboard I had placed. It was by then mostly composted and in tiny shreds.

[Lifebringer]

Flat living can be a bummer, but hydroponic might help, still you have to have the pollination, but butterflies or captured water during the spring and summer allegy seasons, can aid in the pollination for winter crops. At least that is what I'm told. I've tried it this year and so far, so good. all that green stuff on your car, works wonders when mixed with water and kept warm during the winter months.

Now this electric bill stuff gets to you, then like me, you want to certify yourself with all the green technology and ideas you can saturate your mind in. It will all come in handy and I've already figured out my 1st million dollar "needed" business, that will save lives in storm torn rural areas. Soon as the certification is done, have a millionaire, interested in funding the business.

That and a few other eggs in the baskets, should open a world of opportunity for green clean living. Try the solar bookbags or two or three, they work great on pc, phones. Might do well with electric blankets.

[Cjay]

Posted by Arrowwind (here)

Posted by Cjay (here)
Eeeeeek! Adding fertilizer directly to your pond sounds like a VERY BAD idea. You will end up with a toxic pond, possibly with severe algal blooms.

It is not a big deal or big expense to buy or hire a spraying rig - of a size that is appropriate for your land size - to spread any liquid fertilizer. In India, they mix it in buckets and splash it over the land by hand, using a motion somewhat like broadcasting seed by hand. I suggest you water-in any fertilizer or apply it shortly before a reasonable amount of rain is expected.

I have also herd of an injector system that you place on your mainline.. it will inject the fertilizer into the mainline to be distributed during routine watering.. this at least will save time and work... but I have not found a unit yet.

That sounds like a much better idea! Another option is to use plastic containers (containing liquid fertilizer) with a standard garden hose connection on top. They use the venturi effect to suck the liquid fertilizer out of the plastic container and it mixes with water only as you use it. One example (and a great product) can be seen here: http://www.seasol.com.au/index.php?o...d=40&Itemid=63
You can fertilize a medium sized area fairly quickly but I acknowledge this method is not practical for large acreage.

[nomadguy]

I updated the Food Foresting post I started recently - https://projectavalon.net/forum4/show...604#post234604

[Vividity]

If your base soil is clay, like mine (I live near Seattle), then you probably have raised beds, pots and planters galore. I built 4' wide x 14' long x 2' high planters using recycled wood for the blueberries. To maximize space I grow strawberries there too... they seem to love the blueberry soil mixture, plus, with the 2' high wall slugs are no longer a problem ~ sweet.

What I've grown so far that truly thrive in the Pacific Northwest climate (without use of a greenhouse): apples (Spartan & Braeburn), cherries (Rainier & Bing), blueberries (I have a mix of early-mid-late), strawberries, raspberries, lettuces, spinach, bok choy, cabbage, zucchini, onions, beets, tomatoes, snow peas, green beans, carrots, potatoes, broccoli, asparagus, cilantro, and garlic.

[Cjay]

Posted by Vividity (here)
If your base soil is clay, like mine (I live near Seattle), then you probably have raised beds, pots and planters galore.

No, absolutely not. My base soil is very sticky red clay and I do not have any raised garden beds. Everything is at ground level, except for a few ornamental plants in pots.

I sprinkled some gypsum directly on the clay - to break up the clay. I cheated a little bit - I added about one inch of sandy soil - and I added literally tons of organic matter. Less than four years later, now that it has all broken down and been mixed by the worms, insects and birds, my soil is the stuff every gardener wishes for. I can dig it effortlessly with my bare hands. The growth is astonishing. Did you see the sample pictures here?
https://projectavalon.net/forum4/show...l=1#post205790

Permaculture is all about creating exceptionally fertile soil with minimal effort.

If you read my first biochar post https://projectavalon.net/forum4/show...l=1#post187057
(which, incidentally, was updated yesterday), you would know that the hyper-fertile "terra preta" (black soils) that make up about 10% of all soil in the Amazon Basin, was man-made thousands of years ago by mixing clay+biochar+compost.

[DianeKJ]

Can anyone suggest a gentle way to keep snails and earwigs from eating all my basil? They tend to make short work of it. I don't mind sharing some of it with them, but I would also like to enjoy some myself
Thanks,
Di

[slvrfx]

Beer, I've heard. Place a bowl of beer close by. Of course, the slugs will fall in and drown, but at least it's a happy parting.

[Wings]

Posted by DianeKJ (here)
Can anyone suggest a gentle way to keep snails and earwigs from eating all my basil? They tend to make short work of it. I don't mind sharing some of it with them, but I would also like to enjoy some myself
Thanks,
Di

Copper strips around the plants should help. Garlic spray is another alternative. You could try something like cayenne pepper or chilli powder as a barrier around your plants (I have never used this technique but I'd imagine it would work). .... and beer (as suggested above) does work.

[nomadguy]

there is this organic stuff I use called "sluggo", seems to help,
also if you can find where they are hiding treat the area with soap and water, they typically hide in the shade. IE decks and the edge of a house wall etc. Had a problem with these once as they were coming in from a neighbors yard, so figure out some barrier plants. inbetween their access is also a good tactic. Or another way to go is to use raised beds for things like basil.