Sulphur and others

Hi!

Yes, another thread by Spider. :o(

I have been reading about sulpur and other chemicals used ofr AV. Where can I get them from? The garden center around here does not sell anything like that.

thank you!

I dont' know about sulphur because I don't use it.
I use in a gallon of water
1 capful of murphy's oil soap
1 capful of lysol
and 2 TBS of Eleanor's VF11
I also use neem oil :)

Wow Chris, you are fast!!!!!

What do you use the mixture for? What is neem oil and how can I get it?

I ordered some F11 from Eleanor.

Neem oil is a leaf polisher and also can be used for bugs.
You can buy it online at various places and many nurseries have it also.
I believe I bought mine at violetbarn :)

Lysol is to help with mildew and such
Murphy's is for soft bodied insects.

Oh I also forgot to mention that I use charcoal in my soil also

Lory
Do you use this mix each time you water? Does the oil soap and lysol help with pest control?

Well I have not had any problems with bugs *that I know of* yet..so I hope it is working :)

And yup..I use the lysol, murphys and VF11 every time I water.
The murphys is for soft bodies bugs. I believe it smothers them.
The lysol is more for algea and mold :)

I use neem about every other week or so..in the soil then I spray the leaves :)

Does the neem oil stain the blossoms?

Oh no ..not at all! it doesn't hurt the blooms :)
And it polishes the leaves until they shine like new :)

Please Chris, could you tell me exactly what you do every time you water? Bit by bit? I would love to learn so I can do the same. thank you!

I use a sprayer (one gallon)
I put one cap of murphys oil soap
one cap of lysol
2 Tablespoons of VF11

I then put the cover onthe hose end sprayer and pump it up.

I put some water under each of my babies..in the tray.

I spray my adults from the top...just under the leaves :)

So far it has worked for me


Once every 2 weeks..i also add 2 caps of neem oil to the mix.


Then I mix up just neem and water and spray the foliage once a week :)

Oh and I don't know what they say sulphur helps..but you can get charcoal online at many nurseries to put in the soil..it probably does the same thing :)


You may not wish to follow my routine exactly :) Find what works for you :)

Allison did teach me about the murphys and the lysol which work great! The neem She doesn't use so it is a matter of preference :)

Thank you very much Chris. It helps a lot. I am going to follow it. Just another question. Where do you get murphy's oil soap?

Lorry I'm using Neem Oil now too :))
I have Sprayed foliage top and underneath where bugs can hide. I also put it into the water.
I mostly just use Lysol in the Winter so I have no algea or midlew.
All my plants are wicked. They are on large trays and I try to keep like pots together, like 2 inch minis, 3 inch, 4 inchs . When they are on the light side/dry I pour water/food into trays. I use Hot/warm water. Plants are loowed to drink for 15 mintues-to half hour. Then left over is dumped. I never let my plants sit longer in water. African violets don't like their feet wet and cold.
I do like using Murphy's Oil Soap one capful in a gallon of water.
Many of my plants are in cute containers wicked where I can just pour a little bit of water in when they are thirsty. You must be very carful not to over water . Over watering is the number one way to kill your African violets.
I have been watering like this for three years and it has worked very well for me my plants are very healthy and happy :))

You can buy murphy's oil sopa in any grocery store hun :) In the cleaning supplies :) it is yellow with a red cap....

a neem oil convert huh :) Cool :)
Your Avs are stunning Allison :) So of course I would take tips from you L:)

Thanks Lorry I learned from lot of long time show growers, lots of ready and lots of experimenting :))

discuss differences between neem concentrate and REAL?..neem

...sulphur usually used to keep snakes away (along with mothballs()...sulphur should be able to be bought at a pharmacy...(believe sulphur in Snake A WAy)

I buy sulfur sublimed powder (flowers-of-sulfur) at the pharmacy. I've used it for dusting cut ends of cacti and succulents to prevent rot while they heal (scab over). Cost was less than $5.00 for a 12-ounce bottle.

I also dust begonia leaves with sulphur powder when I spot any signs of mildew.

Shirley

Sulfur
Very seldome does this nutrient recieve mention , yet a plant contains three times more sulfur than combined total of phosphorus, calcium, and magnesium. African violets use sulfur in a wide variety of ways. If joins up with nitrogen in the chlorophyll molecule, aids in production of cell sap, and helps speed up many plant-growing processes

hi Peeps, I need some help here.

Do you spray your plants even if they don't have bugs? How often?

What do you use for leaf cutting not to go mouldy? I found sulphur at the chemists. Is this good fo it?

Do you spray for all pest and diseases at the same time? I got Neem today but it si mixed with something else. The label says not to use it with cuttings, only rooted plants.

I got 4 more noids today at HD. I singe white, a semidouble light pink, a dark purple with a white blocth in the bottom petals and a bery beautiful mauve with white edging.

I don't know a lot about neem oil but I bought the pure neem on line . It's very concetrated and it said to add with water and drop of dish soap. I been spraying the leaves top and bottom under neath and into soil well.
I Spray and wash new leaves with it too and babies. Should keep mold, mildew, algea away . Helps control mealies and some othe bugs.
I wonder if it will kill gnats ?
I don't think I'd use sulphur ? I think plant feiliaers have enough.

Violet, do you use a heating pad for leaf cuttings? I got one to root my seeds but am using it for my leaf cuttings. I just read somewhere that they should be kept cool or they will rot. What shold I do???

Kept cool or they will rot ? Total opposite . They need to be kept warm .
No I'd have no heat pads i'd have to have about 50 of them.
We do run heat when cold and run lights all night to help keep warn. In summer we run lights all night so A/C does not have to work so hard,

Spidey, check your dmail. : )

Very interesting thread you guys. I have been using the stuff from Garden's Alive for gnats. Hope that it works because they are getting bad. Have used it twice and I believe I have to use it several times because of the life cycle of the gnats. Anyway will keep trying stuff until I get it right. Will start adding Murphy's because I have some on hand- love it when I don't have to run out and buy something. My addiction is getting more and more expensive! LOL

Thank you Violet, it is what I thought. Heating is good for rooting.

April, do you get this stuff from Garden centers?

No, there is a company called Garden's Alive. They send out catalogues like crazy and if you request one it almost always comes w/ a coupon good for $25.00 off of your $50.00 purchase- or is it 20 off 40.
They sell all kinds of stuff that is specific to plant: Roses Alive, Tomatoes Alive, Lawns Alive...I am not sure that any of their stuff is superior to anything else on the market from my own experience, but they do sell this Gnats.??? I don't know, gnats be dead or gnats be gone or whatever. I had always intended to try it and Allison has recommended it so I got some along w/ yellow stickies. It's supposed to be safer than out and out poison...but if this doesn't work I am going to turn my home into a toxic waste dump! I hate these fungus gnats. Also suggest that you pour some baking soda and white vinegar into your drains and let it sit for awhile before flushing the drain. If all else fails bleach in the drain will do the trick! Well that was long winded response to a simple question- sorry.
Here is the link: http://www.gardensalive.com/default.asp

I used the Knock out gnats before from Gardens Alive
and it worked Good Luck ! I hate gnats too. Their link is in our Sticky !
Would you think Neem Oil would kill gantas too ? I know Knock out gnat stuff kills all cyclys.
Yes April this hobby sure can get expensive.

April, I've found that adding Murphy's Oil Soap when I water really knocks back the gnats. If I used it every time, they might well be gone entirely. I've also started adding diatomaceous earth to my potting mix (some sprinkle it on top) in the hopes of making life difficult for the gnat larvae.

Spraying with Neem didn't seem to make much difference to the gnat population on my violet stand.

oh, wanted to add.... the Murphy's is OK, but I can't stand the smell of Lysol... Has anyone tried adding one of those orange cleaners?

hi peeps!

The misture you use with lysol, murphys etc...does it kill all the AVproblems/pests/diseases or should I have more chemicals to deal with different bugs???

thank you

I'd say adding murphy's &/or lysol when you water is a good first line of defense... on the order of using insecticidal soap out in your garden. If you have a major infestation of something, you may need a stronger & more specific remedy.

Do you mean just regular old lysol cleanser? Tracked down the murphy's (in the very back of the cabinet) and neem oil, but wanted clarification about the lysol.

Thanks

I think that's what they're talking about... but I haven't tried it myself (lysol stinks! LOL), so I'm not quite sure. I was wondering if one of the orange oil or other "green" cleaners would work in place of the lysol (and smell better to me).

??

This is such an interesting thread! I use the gnat yellow strips and they seem to have a whole community attached to them. Seems I need a few more ingredients to my watering mix

Anita, where do you get them from?

I'm off to buy some lysol. Very tired of the green algae. I'm sure the plants are as well.

Lysol in the water gets rid of that green algea and any kind of mold or fungus. It even saysso on the bottle lol
Most times I can use it a few times in the winter and that's it all is gone !
Hubby got me yellow stickys things at Lowes , or Kmart. They work good too ! Then the Murphy Oil soap should halpe kill any soft body insects, and Neem oil too. Only I think the fumes from Neem are bothering me ??

Violet, i read on my Neem label that it cannot be breathed or put into the skin.

take care when handling it.

spider - if you mean the sticky strips I got them here http://store.arbico-organics.com/1254001.html