Diatomaceous earth

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Olefogey Holly Hill, FL(Zone 9a) Nov 12, 2015

Can one use "Diatomaceous earth" as a spray on my edibles in my vegetable garden? I have been told, both yes and no, now I would like to hear what the gardeners with "Dave's" site have to say.

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nutsaboutnature Algonquin, IL(Zone 5a) Nov 12, 2015

Diatomaceous Earth is safe to use on vegetable gardens. I prefer to buy "Food Grade" or "Food Safe" D.E. because I just feel better about using it. I also use it in the house.

Food Grade D.E. is actually used in some food products on occasion.

Here are a couple of links that might help you out.

The first, from SF Gate Home Guides, describes two different ways of applying D.E. on vegetable plants, one dry and the other wet. It also has other helpful D.E. links on the page.

The second is a general discussion of D.E. from The National Pesticide Information Center.

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/apply-diatomaceous-earth-vegetable-gardens-45493.html

http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/degen.html

Hope this is of some help.

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Olefogey Holly Hill, FL(Zone 9a) Nov 13, 2015

Thank you very much. Will be trying soon.

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altagardener Calgary, AB(Zone 3b) Nov 13, 2015

Diatomaceous earth is simply very fine-grained silica... sand, in other words. As long as one is not doing anything foolish with it (e.g. inhaling it?), there's no reason why it should be harmful.

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tapla Bay City, MI(Zone 6a) Nov 17, 2015

DE is mostly silicon dioxide, the siliceous fossilized skeletons of a photosynthesizing algae called diatoms. There is more than 1 type of DE, and the product that has been treated to promote crystallization (used mostly in filtering applications) is the one that requires you to be extremely cautious while using it. Food grade DE is so safe you can eat it, and many people regularly do, but you should still be careful to avoid breathing the dust.

It's not soluble, and I'm thinking it would clog sprayers, so I don't think spraying would be the best choice, especially since it's known to work best when dry, though they do make 'puffers' for use in applying the dry product. Many think it CUTS insects, but it actually absorbs the cuticular fats & oils from the insects epicuticle (outer layer of the exoskeleton or 'skin' that protects an insect from dehydration).

The food grade stuff is used in MANY foods, especially cereal grain foods, and other products (tooth paste, soaps, cosmetics, ........), so you've already eaten a good amount of it.

Al

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