Dear Andrew, Aphids tend to overwinter on milk thistle (sow thistle) and by
removing weeds around your nursery this can help to reduce your work in
controlling aphids.

Grab a copy of Organic Gardener (Gardening Australia) at your newsagency
which has heaps of contacts in the back for organic control of pests. Did
you know lady beetles will control aphids?

Biological Services in SA provide wasps for pests. Ph 08 8584 6977

Beneficial Bug company 02 4570 1331
Bio Protection P/L 03 5781 0033
Bugs for Bugs 07 4165 4626
Organic Crop protectants 02 98104566

Hope that helps you go organic. Heather.
"Andrew G" wrote in message
...
Hi everyone.

It's hard for us to go fully organic at work, epsecially in the way of
fungicides on the greens, and in selective herbicides, but the boss has
tried in one way.

Last Friday we got some garlic spray, pine oil, and some others.
The main thing, the garlic spray being for the aphids on the roses around
the restaurant/pro shop. Also, the pine oil, as a weed killer around the
pro
shop. Both being better chemicals to be used around a place that has
people
walking around, eating and so on.

Excited about this, with a possibility of the pine oil being used for all
herbicide uses all around the course. How good we thought, walking around
the garden beds, no mask or suit needed, so much more comfortable and
safer
feeling.

So the garlic spray smells very strong, but fresh. Smelt like pureed
garlic.
Mixed at the rate of 20ml for 4litres (i think). So pretty concentrate,
and
we pump it on to the standard roses that were riddled in aphids. Check
today, and none dead. Same amount on there. We think maybe we should have
used the wetting agent (DC Tron Spray oil). But then, once before we used
that at a rate of 1litre of oil, mixed with 10litres of water. Harmless to
spray, but very effective on the aphids. So in theory, the garlic did
nothing.

So any ideas there? Any ideas on a good organic Aphid spray. We could
blast
them off with water, but wouldn't mind a spray.

Ok, now my kinda rant. The garlic spray wasn't effective. It seems widely
accepted that organic is good, right? Well I wonder where the incentive
is,
costwise for such chemicals. I Forget the cost of the garlic spray, but
when
worked out, rogor is much cheaper. Ok, it's nasty stuff, but works, and is
cheap.
Now get this. The pine oil, which we haven't used, but it's a glphosate
(roundup) substitute. Smells nice, just like pine o clean.
I was shocked to find out 4litres of the stuff cost $79. Ok, if that isn't
bad enough, the mix rate is 490ml per 1litre. Insane I think. In a day of
spraying gardens on the course, 3 of us may do around 8 backpacks of
roundup
mix each. 10litres a backpack, thats a lot of chemical. It would take us
anywhere from 5 to 10 days of spraying that to do the whole courses
gardens.

Needless to say, a combination of the cost, effectiveness, and mix rates
needed, there will be no more of those bought.
Sorry for the rant, but it was something that suprised me. I just find it
a
little crazy, that in the day and age of "save our planey" "go organic"
and
so on is pushed so hard, yet these organic chemicals that are coming out,
are doing so at a crazy cost.

Thanks for listening, sorry for the rant :-).

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