This is my first year trying to deal with the garden pests and diseases by using organic products, however I am very confused on what to use and when. I've been doing research and have found that there's pyrethrins, Neem Oil, Dormant Oil, Insecticidal soap for bugs, then there's sulfur, fungicidal soap, biofungicides and whatever else for fungal diseases. I am been doing research to find the most cost effective solutions to pest and disease management.
I have a newly established veggie garden this year among the flower beds, an apple and fig tree. The apple tree is my biggest challenge. Every year it gets Cedar apple rust, which I understand I can't do anything about until the neighbor's get rid of their infested Cedar trees. However it also gets worms in the apples, black spots on the apples, maybe even fly speck. Sometimes I think if you name it, I've got it in my yard between the bugs and the fungus problems. Our lawn always seems to yellow while the neighbors lawns don't and we take better care of ours! They have a lawn service, we cut our own.
Can anyone give me some good and basic information or point me in the right direction. Sometimes I want to just bag it since I know the chemical controls work well, but I am really trying to make it healthier for the environment and myself.
Thanks!
Newbie very confused
All I can say to you is that it takes time to turn things around, and there will allways be some problems and imperfections.
But if you keep using organic methods, adding compost and mulch to your garden, I garantee you that things will improve and will continue to get better with time.
Please don't give up, here is how I changed my soil and built my garden from the bottom up.
http://www.texasstar.org/
Organic gardening is the only way to go that makes sense, if you want to work with nature, and keep your plants and yourself healthy.
Josephine.
Organic gardening is not just about replacing the chemical fertilizers and pesticides with organic ones -- it requires a more holistic approach.
1. Build the soil. Compost, compost, compost. Mulch, mulch, mulch. Building good soil is the cornerstone of organic gardening. Good soil makes for healthy plants without the regular addition of supplemental fertilizers. Healthy plants resist pests and diseases better.
2. Select appropriate plant varieties. Some plants are better adapted to the growing conditions available (temperature, soil type, moisture, ph etc.). Pick those plants. Some plants are more resistent to pest and disease problems -- like cedar apple rust -- pick those plants.
3. Stop nuking and nuture habitat. Broad spectrum pesticides are bad IMO whether they are organic or not (and there are many organic broad spectrum pesticides). They kill the good bugs as well as the bad and you need the good bugs to help keep the bad bugs at bay. Plant things and otherwise structure your landscape to attract bugs, birds, amphibians, reptiles. It can take a few years to achieve a workable balance, but it will happen.
4. Practice integrated pest management. Evaluate the damage being done by pests or diseases to determine whether its really necessary for you to do anything at all. A few holes or a bit of mildew isn't something you generally need to do anything about, but it freaks out many people and sends them running for the spray bottle. If the damage is or is likely to be such that you must take action, then first identify the pest and the least extreme means of controlling it. There are aphids all over my garden. Do I get upset about it? No. I leave them alone because I know there are also aphid predators all over my garden and chances are they'll be on the problem in no time. If a particular plant seems overwhelmed, I might spray the aphids off with a good blast of water from the hose. Rarely, if ever, would I need to resort to the next step up which would probably be a soapy spray, much less something with a broader-spectrum pesticide in it (like a neem or pyrethrin).
The first years are hardest. I always used to say I was growing pests and diseases, not flowers and veggies!
I think the bugs come twice as bad when you are creating an organic environment for the first time. I think of the bad bugs as an indicator now. If your garden is a safe haven for living creatures, then of course you will get bad stuff too. But for all the bad bugs coming in, there are a hundred times more good things coming in. You just have to be really creative and find out how to deal with it without reaching for the spray.
Go and get a copy of these three books (generally on sale at flea markets and library book sales, or ebay. You can find them for cheap)
Carrots Love Tomatoes (for veggie gardens)
Roses Love Garlic (for flowers)
Gardening for the Future of the Earth ( for everything)
These are good for the basic information you are looking for.
For your Apple tree problems, try onions and garlic. Garlic is supposed to be better.You can plant them at the base of the tree, or make a spray from these and their skins. This works for roses as well, since apples and roses are in the same family.
I believe I read that a spray of tomato leaves on roses helps deal with blackspot, you might try a little test on your apple tree, but do research first. I have not tried it, so can't say for sure.
For the lawn, we always have a big patch of brown which I suspect is a fungal problem, but could be grubs. I have been planning a milky spore application, but have not got to it yet.
Dave's is a great resource! I now use such things as Elmer's Glue, Hydrogen Peroxide, milk, lemon soap,and Irish Spring soap to keep my garden healthy.
In all these situations, identifying the problem is key. Research is necessary with any treatment. You are on the right track! Your pest and disease problems can be solved with simple answers- it just takes a while to find them!
It is just so frustrating when you see your once beautiful roses without a spec of blackspot covered with blackspot and aphids. I seek garden perfection and beauty and I can't help but think "yuk" when I look at my gardens this year.
I will stick with it though and hope that things get better!
Thanks for all the advice and keep it coming!
I don't know how you kept roses without a speck of blackspot, I know many people who use chemicals and still have black spot and other problems on roses.
I agree that seeking perfection will keep you frustrated, relax a little, and let nature take its course.
Josephine.
Mvespa, organic is the way to go. There's a product called Milorganite that is an organic fertilizer. I use it on my lawn and ornamental grasses. It doesn't burn and it breaks down slowly. My St. Augustine is so thick that I rarely have a weed.
Mvespa, you could also look into GreenCure. I have not seen any black spot since I started using it. Take frostweed's advice and relax a little, take it slowly and do not expect perfection in the first year. On DG you will find a lot of friendly people that will help you overcome most any problem that you come across. Let us know how things work out for you.
~*Cindy*~