Favorite gardening tip

Great, I have a Michaels nearby.

Okay went to the feed and seed store and got the 50 POUND BAG of alfalfa pellets for about $11- I know thats a good price, but gee 50 pounds? I'll share it. (or just grow more plants) I asked the guy about making a fish emulsion and he obviously isn't a gardener from the look on his face, so where do I get the fish stuff? He just had bone meal and blood meal. Darius are you there sweety?

Also, my Messenger came today and I'm very excited about this!! My husband wanted to go ahead and use it while I had to go out tonight and I denied him. My Christmas!!

Susan McCoy

Susan, look on this thread to my post on May 19, 2004 9:54 AM. My info is there. I recently got some more "Alaska Fish Fertilizer" by Lilly Miller Brands at Lowe's much cheaper than a nursery.

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/431281/

I shared my 50# of alfalfa meal. Not sure I could have kept it fully dry until next year and this year I just have a very small and temporary garden. Not enough plants to use it all. Now, if I still had my old garden, I'd use it all... well, maybe not starting in September, LOL.

Great info! Thanks Darius. Will get it and try it out too.. :) Hmmm maybe I will find a dry spot in the basement for the alfalfa?

Susan McCoy

I have mine in the basement room with the dehumidifier. Can't hurt.

I didn't think copper wire would work, so I will try that as well. I love the copper foil because it sticks to the pot and I don't have to think about it again. Just for the heck of it, there is a picture of the copper foil at www (put in the dot)delphiglass.com/index.cfm?page=itemList&altcat=1672&viewcat=1672 so you know what it looks like at Michael's.

I LOVED the snail hotel idea, too. Can't wait to try that when the next tub is empty. What am I talking about, I have hundreds I use for seeds. Gee.

Does anyone have any new ideas about whiteflies short of mowing the entire yard or dynamite? Trying yellow stickies next but we might have too large of a problem for these now.

Great idea about painting the handles of my garden tools - seems they are always green! I've been thinking that one day I am going to see one of my hand shovels go flying out of the lawnmower! I think I will see what colors of spray paint I have on hand this weekend and give them each a shot of color!

Wow! I just spent the past 1/2 hour just reading this ONE THREAD!!!
GREAT ideas here!!! Now if I can just remember them all!!!

Let's see.... several of the ideas I was planning to share are here already... newspaper as a weed barrier, diluted fish emulsion as a weekly or monthly fertilizer.... And I definitely agree with spending money for good soil and other amendments in the beginning. Well worth it! LOVE the idea of painting the tool handles! (Wonder how DH is going to feel about hot purple on his shovel?) I can't believe I haven't thought of the rabbit poop! My best friend's daughter cleans "Thumper's" cage every week! Ooh! and I LOVE the copper to deter snails and slugs! Bravo! And thanks for reminding me NOT to toss out my coffee grounds! Didn't know about the teas, or using olive/pickle juice! Cool!

Ok... now for mine... and like many of you, I don't just have ONE tip...
My mother-in-law is my mentor. She taught me some GREAT basics!

1) Never buy plants with lots of pretty blooms. Instead, look for the healthiest plant there with fewer blooms. Larger stems usually indicate a healthier plant.

2) Don't laugh, but I swear this works for me. She swears by planting just 3 seeds in each hole, or each variety. Not 2 and not 4... three. She doesn't remember where she learned that, but after doing my own experimenting... I can tell you it's true!

3) Egg shells around base of plants will temporarily hold off the snails and slugs. The problem is... they're also good for compost, so you'll have to reapply often to keep a perfect barrier. Good news is... it's excellent for your soil!

4) Actually have learned that the coffee grounds themselves are no longer acidic, but leftover coffee is! yea!

5) When your bananas get overripe and you don't feel like making bread, throw them under your tomato plants or other acid-loving plants.

6) I don't have an apron (and I'm one of those weirdos that wants NO restraints--not even shoes!). If I have a lot of work to do in the garden, I load up all I think I'm going to use into the little red wagon I'd gotten for my little girl and pull it to various central locations in the yard.

7) I haven't tried this yet, but I recently learned that catnip is a mosquito repellant! Whoohoo!!! That sure will help here in Texas! The summer heat makes early morning and after dusk the best times to garden... and risk being eaten alive! (I read that you can rub the leaves on your skin.)

8) Another Texas (or Southern) necessity is staying cool. I recently learned how to make cool ties and now I won't go out without one! You can wear a hat, and put the cool tie under it, but I prefer to wrap it around my neck.

I'll stop for now... maybe I'll post later with my shades on! ha!


p.s. anyone have any suggestions to rid my garden of those canna leaf roller pests?! grrrrr!

You guys are rapidly filling up my cardfile...let me tell ya. :-)

Thanks, everyone! Great tips!
~julie~

Cajun2,
That 3 seed trick is something my grandfather taught me too. He always said that one seed would grow, one seed would die, and the third one a bug would eat it. Works for me too.

Also, coffee grounds are toxic to snails and slugs if left on the surface. So is coffee but I hate to waste good coffee.

I hate snails & slugs, they are the death of many lovely plants, so I try to cause their demise when I see them, but I can't be around 24/7 so I've tried this and it has worked a dream this summer:

I got a rubbish bag full of hair clippings from my hairdresser, (I only see her twice a year), and stuffed some of the hair around snail/slug-endangered plants. The pointed ends of the hair jag them when they try to slide over them, and the snail scarpers out of it. This has saved many of my plants this summer, and I'll be going back soon to my haidresser soon to get some more, as I gave a lot away to my neighbours who have plots. They all swear by this method too now.


Wintermoor

Nada, that's cool to hear someone else knows about the 3-seed method. What I have found is that I have 99% germination with it, meaning I normally get all 3 seeds to germinate!

I'm going to start putting my 'daily grind' around my cannas for sure, but I've also lost several hostas this year ;-(

Winter, I'm loving that hair idea! I think I'll be going out tomorrow to grab some! (And them maybe stop by the hardware store for some copper for good measure!)

Do you think any of these methods will deter that vermen canna leaf roller?

I gave up trying to remember all the really great hints years ago and started posting them to my garden pages. Donna, can I post your snail tub trap idea there? Winter, would love to add the hair vs snail idea.

Cajun, I have always been worried about putting used coffee on plants because of their acid value. After your posting, I might try it!

I have always placed three seeds in one spot but was never quite sure why, now I know, lolol!

The full flowered plants are sure tempting, but they are almost spent. I always look for the ones with lots of buds and few actual open flowers.

When I am adding a new plant to my yard, I leave them in their pots for a few weeks before I plant them. The plant will let me know if it's happy there or not by then, and if it isn't, I can still move it easily.

Banana peels in the soil do something terrific for roses, a natural deterrant for something or another but I can't remember. A perfect example of why I now try and get these all posted!

We found a systemic solution for white flies at Home Depot yesterday, going to try it out today, and sprinkle Nutra Sweet on all the ant trails. Keeping my fingers crossed here.

ladyanne...can you please pass along the name of the systemic White Fly solution? I for one, of many I'm sure, *really* need the product. NutraSweet for ants? "Sugar" ants or any type?

~julie~

I Love this thread!

Here is a recipe for the BEST ant bait in the world. I only have to put it out for 1 day and the ants are gone...gone gone gone. They take it back to the next and the Boric Acid kills everyone.

1/2C powdered (IMP!!!) sugar, 1 C water, 1.5 teas. Boric Acid.

I put it in the lid from a yogurt or cottage cheese container...soon they are all lined up on the rim drinking away. You may have to play with the amt. of Boric Acid...

BANANA PEELS...great fert. for Staghorn Fern...just pop them in back of the shield...they love it!

I'm on my way to buy Boric Acid right now.

Aloha,
I have tried the boric acid and powdered sugar with absolutely no luck! And now I see why! I did not add the water. LOLOLOL
What a bonehead I am. Gonna go try again cuz I kid you not, the ants around here are as thick as hair on a dogs back.
Glad you posted this so I could finally understand why it didnt work for me. ;~)
Donna

I use empty cardboard egg cartons to dry out seeds and seed heads, wrapped first in cut up paper towels. I store them to dry out on top of the fridge, where the temp is 70 to 75 degrees.

This is also a good place to germinate some seeds too. Why waste the heat it's like a free incubator up there.

Empty cardboard egg cartons are also good as seed germinators; I put them in a plastic/styrofoam clean meat tray; and water from the bottom. If the cardboard is dry, then they need watering.

I write the plants'/seeds names on an address label in a fine indelible marker and stick it onto the pot. I'm forever loosing the 'name' tags; or maybe there's a fairie stealing name tags gang out there.

I found this site to be quite helpful to me:
Golden Harvest Organics - Site Map
http://www.ghorganics.com/Site_Map.html

Organic Insect Treatments
http://www.ghorganics.com/page14.html

Companion Planting
http://www.ghorganics.com/page2.html

HTH, Robin

Non-toxic "Wilt-Pruf" is an anti-transpirant that helps prevents plants from drying out. Dehydration (whether from drought or drying winds) is a major killer of plants during the winter as well as summer months.
I spray my roses and with Wilt-Pruf every Fall to help prevent dehydation during the winter (it must be applied before temps fall below 40º/follow direction on bottle). Some claim it even helps prevent fungal diseases like black spot and powdery mildew by spraying every 7-10 days during the growing season by coating the leaves with a protective seal.
A weaker solution is used when using WP as an antifungal (call or email Wilt-Pruf for details)
Make sure to use this product when transplanting too.
Buy the concentrate if you have alot of plants as its much more economical.
For more info go here:
http://www.wiltpruf.com/

WATER-WATER-WATER!
Another thing I do is soak dormant bareroot plants over night in water before planting. Just cover the roots with water. Potted plants that you plan to transplant can be set in water overnight too, pot and all.
Adding an anti-stress product like Super Thrive to the soak water is very helpful to reduce stress. http://www.superthrive.com/
Always put water IN your planting hole ~before~ putting the plant in.


CAJUN How do you make cool rings? Did I miss that info above??? :~o

Here's one from my Gran which I remember since I was a wee boy :-)

To kill off Mildew, mix 250 cl milk with 750 cl water, then spray it on the plants.
To kill off Mildew, mix 1/4 pint milk, with 3/4 pint water, then spray it on the plants.
There ye are, both in metric and UK/USA measures ;-)

Make sure to spray the BOTTOM of the leaves also, and soak the plant with your mixture. Repeat as necessary. I normally do it for a few days until the Mildew has completely disappeared.

You can use fresh milk, long-life milk and yes, even powdered milk.

Why does this work, Barry????, I hear you all asking, (after you have spent hundreds of $$$ on anti Mildew poison, which poisons normally everything BUT the Mildew).

Well the reason is folks, it works because my Gran said it did :-D, but the real reason is that,there are enzymes in the basic structure of milk which eat the spores of the Mildew, thus leaving your leaves green again, and not a deathly gray.

You can vary the amounts, but don't use any more than 30% milk, because it may start to smell bad on your plants. BTW, this works for ALL plants, whether Roses, Aquilegias, Phlox, or Oak Trees (you may need a bit more of the mixture for an Oak Tree though ;-)

One more point folks, this spray also keeps Black Fly from your plants, they don't like milk somehow, but I LOVE IT ... yum!!!!!

If you look at the link, you will see how I did it with a Phlox plant in my wee garden.

http://davesgarden.com/journal/j/viewentry/17290/


Wintermoor

p.s. If you have a really big garden .... buy a cow ;-)

Wintermoor,

Thanks for the tip. I was relunctant to try the milk water treatment. Like Black Fly, I don't like milk :-). I was afraid the milk solution would smell. I am glad you told me about the 30% rule. I think I would give that a try. Nice Phlox, by the way.

Rose (and everyone else ;-)
Here is a link to directions on making cool ties:
http://www.watersorb.com/polymer_cool_neck_bands.htm

They use them a lot in the military serving in hot conditions.
In fact, if you feel industrious, when making your own, make a
few extras for the troops. I know they'd appreciate it!
http://operationshoebox.com

God Bless!

Wow, this thread is a keeper! I'm learing soooo much :) Thanks everyone!

Susan McCoy

I love this thread, I love this thread, I love this thread.

Walker, I even cleared off the top of the fridge, what a grand idea! Thank you!!

We did try the boric acid and syrup, I think I just fed those little guys. The arsnic base poison showed some real promise yesterday.

I still have to try the Nutra sweet (which I assume would only work on sweet ants), but I did discover that if you run out of ant spray, orange 409 is a serious and immediate ant killer.

Aloha, I just bought another Staghorn even though I generally kill them. Thanks for the banana peel tip!

Julie, the drug of choice here is called imidicloprid. It supposedly will kill any plant sucker, and I can't think of a benefical plant sucker, so we are going to go ahead and use it. I am extremely concerned about repercussions (killing off something I don't want to) but have not heard of anything as of yet. The one thing that comes to mind is if a hummer were to eat a white fly poisoned with it because they will die from eating a bug that ate oliander.

It comes in many brand names, Merit, Marathon, Admire, Condifor, Gaucho, Premeir and Provado. We found it at Home Dept, made by Bayer, dark blue plastic bottles, both in a concentrated liquid ($24) to be mixed and fed to the plant and a spray ($8). The spray was wonderful. We pulled the water irises out of the pond (they are six feet hight, four feet wide [grunt, yank] and literally white from the white flies) and sprayed them down. No other spray has worked this well, period. We rinsed the liles very, very well before putting them back, and will repeat the treatment in two week to kill the eggs that might remain. I was also told that disyston is another good systemic, runs about ten bucks for three pounds of granules on the net.

If anyone has heard negative aspects of this chemical, please post asap. I am holding off using it for a bit.

Julie, forget the imidicloprid. I am returning the bottle. I read up on it and we can't take the chance of poisoing our beloved hummers, to say nothing of the other birds, bees or worms. We may stay with the spray as long as we can wash it off well and immediately.

ladyannne (3 N's??? :-) )
Thanks for the warning...my hummers are FAR more important to me. I'll use the Murphy's Oil soap and try to keep my plants clean with that.

wintermoor...THANKS for that little tidbit. Even tho it came a little late for some of my mildew infected dahlias, etc. I'll definitely be pinning that recipe on my board above the potting bench for next year. Not only will I use it...but knowing that I can use powdered milk makes it even better!

Don't have time right now to mention ALL the tips I've read here that are going to help, but I do have this thread bookmarked so I can get back here easily. :-)

THANK YOU EVERYONE!
~julie~

ANTS!!!!

You have problems with ants????

Grab a handful of washing powder, and throw it amongst the wee devils ... they love it ... they pick up the wee bits of the washing powder, take it back to their 'nest', munch on it then ... disappear.

The acid in the washing powder, (Persil, Daz, or whatever is there), burns them up.

By the way ladies & lads, you don't have to pile the washing powder up ... just throw it around in the area where the ants are.

What??????? You don't believe it???

OK, try it and call me a liar .... Hmmmmmmph!!!!!


Wintermoor

This message was edited Sep 8, 2004 3:10 AM

Wow, this is great!

So my husband said that the top of the fridge changes temperature too much (when it's running vs. when it's not), so is he wrong then? Good, now I have room to expand my indoor plant collection!

I like the idea of keeping outdoor plants in pots for awhile. I'm currently more of an indoor gardener, but sounds like a good way to transition-- I'd still have the flexibility to experiment for a bit and find what works.

I'm excited for the ghorganics website. We'd like to do organic gardening and don't know much about it yet (which is also part of the reason we haven't done much outside yet).

And I like the pop can ring idea for protecting plants from slugs. Makes perfect sense! I wonder why I never thought of that...

Thanks everyone for the great advice!

Ladyanne - and others afraid of Imidocloprid...

I use it on my hoyas. Imidocloprid does not migrate to the flowers or fruit of the plant: I have had major infestations of aphids/ants on the flowers...nothing on the leaves. It IS used in some orchards as it does not go to the flowers. Hummers are safe. Not to worry.

I kid you not. We don't have hummers here (they pollinate pineapples and would cause death to the industry) but too many wonderful critters live off the flowers....

SAFE.

Morning all! Aloha, I learned more about pestcides yestersay than I ever want to know. I know now that if its a primary poison, the birds have to directly eat the poison inorder to be hurt. It's it is a secondary, the bird that eats the bug that eats the plants that eats the poison is in for it. Now I have to discover if imi... is a primary or secondary and our ag dept isn't the best in the world despite being part of California's farming capital. I would love to take your word for it, Aloha, believe me. I have two trained hummers and would hate to lose them. Bayer states openly it kills bees and worms so....!? Sigh.....

Meanwhile, Winter, I am off to buy powdered soap. These little brown common ants bite and I have had it!!

Danak, I am not sure about the temp changes affecting seeds after planting, but I am going to try the frig. Keep us posted on how yours do?

Yup, three n's. Two n's were taken, but I remain, in your service, Lady Anne.

Wintermoor - I have never heard of using powdered laundry soap to kill ants - but I like the idea! In the last couple weeks I have gone through THREE BAGS of Spectricide (at $6.00 per bag) and I still have huge ant hills. I am trying to get rid of big red ants, little black ants, and some brown ants - all of which seem to take every opportunity to bite me. I recently found a giant anthill of tiny black ants in my garden in the middle of my carrots! I certainly don't want to put any Spectricide in my food! I also have ant hills in the pasture where my pet goats are living - and since they eat everything I can't put any poison back there either. What kind of laundry soap am I to use? Is there an ingredient that I should be looking for? I may stop by the Dollar store on my way home from work and pick up a couple boxes of no-name laundry soap powder and sprinkle it everywhere. At the very least I will have a very clean yard.

Cindy Lou

I use Persil myself, but any type should do.

I don't know which ingredient is in the soap powder, but they really love it.


Wintermoor

LadyAnne...

A thought.... perhaps the spray Imidocloprid will hit the flowers and poison the nectar...but I have been told that the drench is even safe for fruit as it doesn't go to the flowers. Have you called Bayer on this...I found them to be very helpful....

Aloha

Michelle's Sandwhich bag with dirt procedure (Thanks for the title NatureWalker)

This basically works for most seeds that need a chilling period. Note: Wilth smaller seed, it's best to sow in a container and place inside a bag instead of directly in a bag of dirt.

What I do is I fill a sandwhich bag (you know, the press and seal kind, not the feezer ones with a zipper but you can if you have a lot of seed) half way w/ half perlite half peat sterilized (I'm big on that) and moist but make sure it's not wet. Press your seed into the mixture, close the bag and leave in a fridge for 4 months at the least. You should start getting sprouts after it's been in warmth and light for a bit. Prick out and pot up. Pretty easy huh?

Ok, you're welcome, Michelle.

I found something in Wally's world thats good for removing seeds form Echinacea purpurea.

They're called 'Machine Quilting Finger Tips.' They're a bright irritating red; so when they fall on the floor, you can find them easily. They have little nipple grippers on them, for better gripping; (of course.) Find them in the sewing/quilting section. I have large hands for a woman, size 8. They're 8 to a pack, and the largest fit my thumbs. Do you really need ones for your pinky? ... nah!

Warning they are rubber; so they get your finger tips sweaty after an hour or so.
But the warmth feels good, LOL.

Robin

~ Pushing Hard on The Bump~

To provide that extra humidity for your orchids and other humidity loving plants, place the plant on a tray with pebbles that's filled with water. Make sure the pot isn't sitting in water, just on top of the pebbles that are emerged.

Also, grouping together plants will provide extra humidity.

The gloves I use the most and love are mud gloves. They have been dipped in rubber and are like not wearing gloves at all but with better protection than all the other gloves I have tried.
http://www.mudglove.com/ProductIndex.html

Those are great gloves. The same I use.

What a fantastic thread! What to add?

Rotate veggies each year to avoid soilbourne viruses from killing them.

Share with neighbors. I hate hosta and gave it all away (well, I'm still giving it away. Little buggers are difficult to truly get rid of). Got lots of mint, lily of the valley and other plants back.

Beware cigarette butts tossed in your garden. They can promote TMV in your garden. So can fingers that have been holding a cigarette.

Healthy in the first place is always better than pest-control later. Good soil, good organic nutrients, right amount of water and sunlight are all the best ways to avoid pests and diseases.

Be aware of toxicity of plants and their parts before planting in your garden. Might be pretty. Could be deadly.

Never put seeds in your worm factory unless you really do want to grow canteloupe in there.

Never done it? Try it! We always try to grow something new every year. Keeps the kids interested as they get to choose the new veggie/plant.