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Tomato pesticides, anything better than Malathion?
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#3
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Tomato pesticides, anything better than Malathion?
replying to Omelet, frugalmoving wrote:
I would try using diatomaceous earth (food grade) powder for the bugs. I use it on my tomato plants and it works wonders. It is completely harmless to the plant, but bugs hate it. It is like razor blades to them. They get cut up and dry out. Its also harmless and it can be ingested for cleaning your colon or used externally for skin exfoliation . I use it to keep ants out of certain areas as well. For the other problem with your water, I have a solution: colloidal silver. I use it personally for a million things. The latest one is when I had a really bad strawberry plant that litterally had mold growing all over the plant and was inches from death. As a last resort to save it and to test out the silver, I put some in a spray bottle and sprayed the entire outer leaves and stems of the plant. I also applied some to the water and roots. What happened next was better than I expected. The plant made a full and speedy recovery, all mold was gone, and since silver really doesn't go away, the plant will most likely be free from bacteria and disease for a long time to come. Try it out! Oh yeah another benefit: colloidal silver kills bug eggs and makes some bugs sterile. Check it out! Good luck. -- for full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/edible...ion-19949-.htm |
#4
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Tomato pesticides, anything better than Malathion?
On 7/22/2018 9:44 AM, frugalmoving wrote:
replying to Omelet, frugalmoving wrote: I would try using diatomaceous earth (food grade) powder for the bugs.Â* I use it on my tomato plants and it works wonders.Â* It is completely harmless to the plant, but bugs hate it.Â* It is like razor blades to them.Â* They get cut up and dry out.Â* Its also harmless and it can be ingested for cleaning your colon or used externally for skin exfoliation .Â* I use it to keep ants out of certain areas as well. For the other problem with your water, I have a solution: colloidal silver.Â* I use it personally for a million things.Â* The latest one is when I had a really bad strawberry plant that litterally had mold growing all over the plant and was inches from death.Â* As a last resort to save it and to test out the silver, I put some in a spray bottle and sprayed the entire outer leaves and stems of the plant. I also applied some to the water and roots. What happened next was better than I expected.Â* The plant madeÂ* a full and speedy recovery, all mold was gone, and since silver really doesn't go away, the plant will most likely be free from bacteria and disease for a long time to come.Â*Â* Try it out! Oh yeah another benefit: colloidal silver kills bug eggs and makes some bugs sterile.Â* Check it out! Good luck. Â* I've never used silver . DE works well for some bugs , esp. those with hard outer shells like beetlesÂ* but for hornworms the solution is Dipel , also known as Bacillus Thurigensis Kurstaki . I find it easier to get a uniform application using dust and a small hand pump duster . I use the same unit to apply DE - the thing is that if DE gets wet it loses effectiveness and must be re-applied . We get heavy dew here almost daily this time of year ... -- Snag Yes , I'm old and crochety . Get off my lawn ! |
#5
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Tomato pesticides, anything better than Malathion?
Terry Coombs wrote:
.... Â* I've never used silver . DE works well for some bugs , esp. those with hard outer shells like beetlesÂ* but for hornworms the solution is Dipel , also known as Bacillus Thurigensis Kurstaki . I find it easier to get a uniform application using dust and a small hand pump duster . I use the same unit to apply DE - the thing is that if DE gets wet it loses effectiveness and must be re-applied . We get heavy dew here almost daily this time of year ... i don't see many bugs on the tomatoes i want to discourage. i much prefer to not cause problems by spraying anything if i can help it. so far so good. songbird |
#6
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Tomato pesticides, anything better than Malathion?
On 7/22/2018 2:21 PM, songbird wrote:
Terry Coombs wrote: ... Â* I've never used silver . DE works well for some bugs , esp. those with hard outer shells like beetlesÂ* but for hornworms the solution is Dipel , also known as Bacillus Thurigensis Kurstaki . I find it easier to get a uniform application using dust and a small hand pump duster . I use the same unit to apply DE - the thing is that if DE gets wet it loses effectiveness and must be re-applied . We get heavy dew here almost daily this time of year ... i don't see many bugs on the tomatoes i want to discourage. i much prefer to not cause problems by spraying anything if i can help it. so far so good. songbird Â* I take exception to a caterpillar/worm that eats all the foliage - and green tomatoes - off my tomato plants . I've been plucking and stomping , but as much fun as that is it gets old after a while . BtK is harmful only to certain caterpillar-type pests . DE will also affect pollinators , which is one of the reasons I don't often use it . I'm VERY careful with what I use and when , I'd hate to poison my bees . -- Snag Yes , I'm old and crochety . Get off my lawn ! |
#7
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Tomato pesticides, anything better than Malathion?
Terry Coombs wrote:
.... Â* I take exception to a caterpillar/worm that eats all the foliage - and green tomatoes - off my tomato plants . I've been plucking and stomping , but as much fun as that is it gets old after a while . i've not seen any this year so far, they usually appear early to mid July. *knocks on wood* they are not impossible to control here with manual methods. we don't grow many plants compared to before so to go out in the early morning to check plants can be quick. just look for any damage and then look on the ground for where the droppings are at and see if i can find it. sometimes i can't for a day or two and yes the damage can be more than i'd like, but i'll get into why below... BtK is harmful only to certain caterpillar-type pests . DE will also affect pollinators , which is one of the reasons I don't often use it . I'm VERY careful with what I use and when , I'd hate to poison my bees . i'm not convinced that most of what is being done these days with bacteria and other controls is actually studied enough and i sure don't want any collateral damage to creatures not directly causing harm. so to me if i can't do it manually or close to that then i tend to avoid it. i've just seen too many examples of where people who develop such things say one thing but years later scientists who study such things find out the damage is different than what was originally thought. i am in big favor of studing as much as possible and learning, but there has to be a point where some- one stands up and says that we need to be a lot more careful with things than we have been up to this point. the big collapse in many insect populations is not a good thing. not if you understand ecosystems and how energy and plants and insects work together and how they are broken down by fungi and such. it's a very interconnected system and yes there are various pathways, but a lot of those pathways are now being disrupted and it's going to come back on us eventually. the older generations seem to say "so what, it's just a bug, it carries disease or eats my crops or whatever get rid of it" but that approach is laden with future problems. there are other ways of dealing with damage, plant more, increase diversity and accept some losses where you can. this planet now needs every break it can get. i took a drive the other day. in the middle of summer a drive in the car would often result in plenty of bugs on the front of the car or the windshield. not this time and not for a while. this is in a state and area with plenty of woodlands and some wild areas. we've lost a lot of the frogs and toads that used to be common too. songbird |
#8
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Tomato pesticides, anything better than Malathion?
On Sunday, July 22, 2018 at 12:57:27 PM UTC-4, Terry Coombs wrote:
On 7/22/2018 9:44 AM, frugalmoving wrote: replying to Omelet, frugalmoving wrote: I would try using diatomaceous earth (food grade) powder for the bugs.Â* I use it on my tomato plants and it works wonders.Â* It is completely harmless to the plant, but bugs hate it.Â* It is like razor blades to them.Â* They get cut up and dry out.Â* Its also harmless and it can be ingested for cleaning your colon or used externally for skin exfoliation .Â* I use it to keep ants out of certain areas as well. For the other problem with your water, I have a solution: colloidal silver.Â* I use it personally for a million things.Â* The latest one is when I had a really bad strawberry plant that litterally had mold growing all over the plant and was inches from death.Â* As a last resort to save it and to test out the silver, I put some in a spray bottle and sprayed the entire outer leaves and stems of the plant. I also applied some to the water and roots. What happened next was better than I expected.Â* The plant madeÂ* a full and speedy recovery, all mold was gone, and since silver really doesn't go away, the plant will most likely be free from bacteria and disease for a long time to come.Â*Â* Try it out! Oh yeah another benefit: colloidal silver kills bug eggs and makes some bugs sterile.Â* Check it out! Good luck. Â* I've never used silver . DE works well for some bugs , esp. those with hard outer shells like beetlesÂ* but for hornworms the solution is Dipel , also known as Bacillus Thurigensis Kurstaki . I find it easier to get a uniform application using dust and a small hand pump duster . I use the same unit to apply DE - the thing is that if DE gets wet it loses effectiveness and must be re-applied . We get heavy dew here almost daily this time of year ... -- Snag Yes , I'm old and crochety . Get off my lawn ! You guys do realize that the OP is more than 10 years old? |
#9
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Tomato pesticides, anything better than Malathion?
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#10
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Tomato pesticides, anything better than Malathion?
On 7/22/2018 10:18 PM, songbird wrote:
Terry Coombs wrote: ... Â* I take exception to a caterpillar/worm that eats all the foliage - and green tomatoes - off my tomato plants . I've been plucking and stomping , but as much fun as that is it gets old after a while . i've not seen any this year so far, they usually appear early to mid July. *knocks on wood* they are not impossible to control here with manual methods. we don't grow many plants compared to before so to go out in the early morning to check plants can be quick. just look for any damage and then look on the ground for where the droppings are at and see if i can find it. sometimes i can't for a day or two and yes the damage can be more than i'd like, but i'll get into why below... BtK is harmful only to certain caterpillar-type pests . DE will also affect pollinators , which is one of the reasons I don't often use it . I'm VERY careful with what I use and when , I'd hate to poison my bees . i'm not convinced that most of what is being done these days with bacteria and other controls is actually studied enough and i sure don't want any collateral damage to creatures not directly causing harm. so to me if i can't do it manually or close to that then i tend to avoid it. i've just seen too many examples of where people who develop such things say one thing but years later scientists who study such things find out the damage is different than what was originally thought. i am in big favor of studing as much as possible and learning, but there has to be a point where some- one stands up and says that we need to be a lot more careful with things than we have been up to this point. the big collapse in many insect populations is not a good thing. not if you understand ecosystems and how energy and plants and insects work together and how they are broken down by fungi and such. it's a very interconnected system and yes there are various pathways, but a lot of those pathways are now being disrupted and it's going to come back on us eventually. the older generations seem to say "so what, it's just a bug, it carries disease or eats my crops or whatever get rid of it" but that approach is laden with future problems. there are other ways of dealing with damage, plant more, increase diversity and accept some losses where you can. this planet now needs every break it can get. i took a drive the other day. in the middle of summer a drive in the car would often result in plenty of bugs on the front of the car or the windshield. not this time and not for a while. this is in a state and area with plenty of woodlands and some wild areas. we've lost a lot of the frogs and toads that used to be common too. songbird I've seen waxing and waning of insects and animals around here. We got invaded by gypsy moths years ago and now they are gone. Stink bugs too now gone. Japanese beetles are no longer a problem. I think it is the balance of nature. For example when stink bugs were taking over, birds and bats were not eating them but maybe discovered they liked that peppery taste. The bugs are around but are not a pestilence. I used to hunt central PA and during bow season at friends camp saw scads of wild turkeys so I came back in the spring to turkey hunt for a few days and did not see any or even hear anyone else shooting. Friend figured fall turkey hunt and foxes wiped out the turkeys. Someday this the balance of nature will occur with people. |
#11
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Tomato pesticides, anything better than Malathion?
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#12
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Tomato pesticides, anything better than Malathion?
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