Transcript Indoor seeding

Tips to Garden
Organically
Down to Earth Ideas for Good Health
and a Safe Environment
By Paule Hjertaas, B.Sc.
Copyrighted Paule Hjertaas. Permission granted for personal use. Other uses please contact the
author at dp.hjertaas(at)sasktel.net.
Photos credits: Paule Hjertaas and the Insect Images, a joint project of the University of Georgia and the
USDA Forest Service. http://www.insectimages.org/
Organic Gardening
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Is an approach based on
observation and
prevention
Deals with the causes of
problems
Pays attention to
garden design and
garden and plant siting
Builds up soil, stability
and bio-diversity
Starts by using the
safest methods
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Is not simply
replacing one
chemical by a less
toxic product
Treated wood of
any type has no
place in an organic
garden (CCA creosote,
penta)
Topics Covered
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Why not use
pesticides?
Timing of Seeding
and Transplanting
Indoor or
Greenhouse
common problems
Organic Fertilizers
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Beds vs Rows
Companion
Planting
Pest Control
Disease Control
Weed Control
Products
Discussion and
Demonstrations
Factors Affecting Plant
Health, Insects and
Diseases
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Light
Length of Frost-free
season
Soil quality
– Type (sand, clay,etc)
– Soil test so you can
correct deficiencies
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Wind
Air Circulation
Watering
Proper pruning and
thinning
Not to much
Nitrogen
10 Lines of Defense
against Pests and
Diseases
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Good Husbandry
Hygiene
Resistant Varieties
Cunning Cultivation
Methods
Encouraging
Predators and
Parasites
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Mix and Match
Companion Plants
Barriers and Traps
Direct Action
Brought-in Predators
and Parasites
Organic Pesticides
including enzyme
cleaner
Fertilizers
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Manure
Green Manure
Compost
Supplements
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Used to build soil
As soil amendment
As foliar spray
(Seaweed
emulsion, well
finished compost
tea)
Fertilizer Recipe
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Complete Organic
fertilizer Blend (West
Coast Seed)
– 4 parts seed meal (I.e.
flax)
– 1 part rock phosphate or
½ part bone meal
– 1 part lime
– ½ part kelp meal
Prepackaged equivalent is AllPurpose Blend (Gaia) or
Power Bloom (Gaia)
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Some catalogs
offering organic and
natural fertilizers
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West Coast Seeds
William Dam Seeds
Territorial
T&T
Vesey Seeds
NIC Ontario
Alfalfa - best soil
builder
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Seed in August
pH 6.6 to 7.5
Needs lots of K and P
(bonemeal and greensand)
Good drainage
Inoculate seeds and only
loosen soil a little
Cover with ½” compost
Next year, each time 10 %
flowers, mow to 1 “ tall
Spread clippings around
garden
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At end of summer cut to 3-4
“ tall
Ass greensand and
bonemeal 1-2 times /yr 5
lb/2 lb respectively for 10 ft
bed
Stand lasts 5 years
Choose disease-resistant
varieties
Can be used to break up
compacted subsoil in
problem areas
Or buy good-quality pellets
(OG Aug 06)
Indoor Seeding
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My mix:
1/2 peat moss
½ vermiculite
1 handful bonemeal
1 handful rock
phosphate
1 handful organic
fertilizer
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1
Water with
Water
Seaweed emulsion
(and foliar feed)
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Aquarium water
Manure Tea
Physical Insect Control
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Use barriers
Spray water
Prune and
destroy
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Hand-picking
Sticky and other
traps (including
tree bands)
Indoor Seeding
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2
Damping off solution
Cinnamon on surface
Fungus gnat
solutions
Yellow sticky trap
Insecticidal Soap
Hypoaspis miles
Predatory mite
Steimernema feltiae
Parasite
Sand on top of soil
Neem Oil
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In Cda, registered as
leaf shine
Acts as anti-feedant
and pseudo-steroidal
IGR
Can prevent
swallowing and affects
digestion
Chitin synthesis
inhibitor
Generally must be
eaten
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Effectiveness may
depend on
concentration of
azadirachtin
Most effective on larval
forms on insects with
total metamorphosis
(caterpillars, including
sod webworms, gypsy
moth and cutworms,
larval beetles. whitefly
nymphs), leafminers
and mites
Neem Oil (2)
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Low mammalian
toxicity
Works slowly
Washed off by rain
Reentry as soon as
spray dries
Does not persist in
environment
Ants
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Pour boiling water
down the hole
Citrus oils
Diatomaceous
Earth in hole
Borax-based bait
Repellent garlic
spray
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The tunnels vary
tremendously in length
and shape between
species
Most published
controls for indoors or
for fire ants which we
don’t have
Some species are
useful
Aphids
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Row cover
Spray with water or
insecticidal soap
Yellow sticky traps or
yellow pail with soapy
water (flying)
Reflective mulch
Predators
Parasites
New horticultural oils
Asparagus Beetle
Control
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Plant in full sun, in area
where neither asparagus or
onions grew recently
Best in sandy loam
Enrich with compost
Neutral pH (low pH
increases Fusarium rot)
Well-weeded site
Choose crowns over seeds
Prepare soil properly
Remove asparagus ferns in
fall to prevent beetle
overwintering
Plant oregano nearby as a
living mulch to attract beetle
predators
Blister Beetles
Hand Pick with gloves
 Row Cover
 Lime or lime spray
or soap and lime
spray
 Not all bad:
Larvae eat
grasshoppers
Colorado Potato Beetle
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Row Cover
Clean cultivation
Heavy mulching
Plant near green
beans, coriander,
nasturtium
Vacuuming
Handpick and remove
eggs
Diatomaceous earth
.5 % solution of black
pepper for adults
Black Pepper
.01% extract for tent
caterpillars,European Sawfly and
some Ermine Moths
 .01-.02 % for adult striped cucumber
beetle, larval lily leaf beetles,
Viburnum leaf beetles
 Also a repellent at .1 % solution
 Caution: Watch your eyes!
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Imported Cabbage
Worm
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Row cover
Garlic spray
Btk
Diatomaceous
Earth
Plant near mint,
sage, rosemary,
hyssop
Cabbage(Root) Maggot
1st generation emerges
mid-May-June
2nd generation possible 48 weeks later
* Destroy all diseased
material
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* Rotate crop
* Control weedy Brassicas
 Row Cover
 Start inside
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Transplant into
protective screen
cones or use collars
Dust plants with wood
ashes, rock phosphate
or diatomaceous earth
Encourage predators:
Rove beetles, parasitic
nematodes,centipedes
Had success digging
the root some and
scraping off
Carrot Fly, Onion
Maggot
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Row cover
Crop rotation
Alter Planting dates
Clean cultivation
Rock Phosphate or
Diatomaceous Earth
around plant base
Nematodes in furrow
Early mulch
Cutworm
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Row Cover
Collar or 2 toothpicks
Reduce weeds,
especially grasses
10 day weed free
period before
emergence of crop
Tack Trap sticky barrier
Mix Btk 12% by weight
with wheat bran and
grape or apple
pomace. Place on soil
surface or on boards
Flea Beetles
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Row Cover
Insecticidal soap or
surfactant
If late in season,
harvest plant
Brush onto sticky trap
Lime
Diatomaceous earth
Would black pepper
work?
Grasshoppers
Natural Control
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Eggs eaten by bee flies,
blister beetles, ground
beetles, crickets and others.
Parasites, predators and
Diseases
Control
 Early Seeding
 Trap Strips
 Row cover
 Safer’s Insecticidal Soap
 Bug Juice
 Chickens, ducks, etc
 Nosema locustrae
Grasshopper Damage
in 2003
1
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Yellow Bush
Bean – Nugget
Hit hard
Grasshopper Damage
in 2003
2
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Green Bean Jade
Less damage
Grasshopper Damage
in 2003
3
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From left to right
potatoes
Ruby Gold
Kennebec
Eramosa
Purple viking
Grasshopper Damage
in 2003
4
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Potato Purple
Caribe
Home-made
Grasshopper Solution
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Bags of leaves
covered with
Tanglefoot around the
garden (left)
The 1930’s drought
saw a lot of homemade grasshopper
harvesters. They were
then dried and used for
livestock feed.
Mosquitoes
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Clean standing
water around home
Cover yourself.
Avoid mosquito
times. Use a good
herbal repellent.
Bti (bacterial
larvicide)
Mosquito larvae
zapper
larvasonic.com
Scale insects and
mealybugs
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Dormant oil before bud
break (trees and shrubs)
Gently Scrape off the Plant
or touch with cotton swab
soaked with alcohol
Insecticidal soap
Enzyme Cleaner (recipe 2)
Parasites
Predators
Top: scale; bottom: mealybug
destroyers eating mealybug
Slugs and Snails
Cultural control:
 No objects or refuse on
soil
 Dry surface between watering
 Plant unattractive varieties
 Biological: encourage toads
 Mechanical: Copper bands
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Slugs and Snails
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Handpick at night and drop
into soapy water
Agricultural Lime
Pick under boards or other
traps (grapefruit rind) during
the day
Destroy eggs
Boiling water or salt
Best bait: Crushed slugs
Spray plants w ½-1/2
vinegar-water early am.
When #s down, every 2
weeks (untested)
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Traps
Safer’s bait
Diatomaceous earth
5 % garlic solution
provides best barrier and
kills 95 %
As the clay hardpan
improves, the numbers
decrease
Wasps and Hornets
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Eliminate food sources
(empty garbage cans
frequently, proper
fitting lids, no pet food
outside)
Add lids and straw to
sugary drinks
Traps
Wet Vac at nest
Diatomaceous earth
squirted into nest
Thrips
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Sticky traps - usually blue;
to some degree can trap
out population.
Biological controls
Application of compost to
soil may help.
Deadheading and removing
infested foliage is an option.
Do not shear or stimulate
new growth. Prune by
cutting plants just above
branch crotches and nodes.
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Insecticidal soap,
Horticultural oils and neem
oil containing azadirachtin
are effective
Spinosad
Spray a test area first to see
if not phytotoxic.
All degrade very quickly.
Due to overlapping
generations, may have to
apply several times
Avoid Ticks
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wear clothes that fit
tightly around your
wrists, ankles and waist.
Tuck your shirt into your
pants and tuck your
pants into your socks.
Discourage animals such
as mice, chipmunks and
deer that "host" ticks.
* Perform tick checks.
Trap Ticks
Tick Flag (for med.height
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brush)
Staple 1 sq yard piece of
white flannel cloth with
heavy knap to a stick ( hem
one end if used often)
Sweep flag ahead.
Captured ticks show well.
Turn over, pick ticks and
drop in plastic container
with cap. Will die in 24
hours. Or drop in soapy
water.
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Tick Drag (grass or
low brush)
4 ft wide x 6 ft long.Velcro
strip one end
Add lead weights to lower
end
Make a clothesline handle
through plastic pipe.
Drag besides and behind.
Birds
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Crows dig up seeds
House Sparrows
eat seedlings
– Row cover
– Netting
– Mulch?
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Grackles squish all
peas
Robins eat Fruits
-- timing
-- row cover
-- netting
Ground Squirrel
Protection
– Seed early
– Row cover
– Fences
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Trap to kill (e.g. Lee’s
trapworks)
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AC Greenfix (variety of
Chickling Vetch - Lathyrus
sativus)
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Gas
Meadow Voles
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Modify habitat
Mow lawn closely in fall
Remove mulch from
perennial beds
Intensive fall trapping
program
Traps in vole’s runway
system
Bait with apple
Check and rebait daily
for at least 5 days or
until no more voles
captured
Pocket gophers
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Build raided beds
with 1/2” hardware
cloth at bottom
Use wire baskets to
pretect tree and
shrub roots and
bulbs
Dogs and cats
deter gophers
Lawn insects
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Grubs
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Walk on lawn with long
spike sandals in late
spring or late summer
Basin of soapy water
under a light at night
Nematodes
Milky spore disease for
Japanese beetle
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1
Lawn Insects
2
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Chinch bugs
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Wet vac removes 100% all
age classes
Water area with water or
soapy water frequently
Id but cover areas with
flannel sheet. Bugs will
collect on it. Scrape and
destroy.
Nematodes
Permanently deepen your
soil with good garden loam
or compost
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Lawn insects
Webworms
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3
Resistant grass cultivar
Reduce thatch
Correct hot and dry
day conditions (water,
compaction)
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Predators/parasites
conservation
Use soap drenches
and raking for
moderate populations
Btk
Trees and shrubs
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Pear Slugs
Forceful spraying
with water
Home recipe 1
Insecticidal soap on
larvae
Try .01 % black
pepper spray
Lime sulfur
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Cankerworms
Banding, but may
blow in
Insecticidal soap
sickens
Btk
Lures and Traps
Garden
 Armyworm
 Beet Armyworm
 Cabbage Looper
 Corn Earworm
 Diamondback Worm
 European Corn borer
 Fall Armyworm
1
Orchard
 Apple maggot
 Codling Moth
 Oblique banded
Leafroller
 Omnivorous Leafroller
 Oriental Fruit Moth
 Peachtree Borer
 Grape Berry Borer
 Available from Natural
Insect Control
Lures and Traps 2
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Home
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Tree
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Indian Meal Moth
Clothes Moth
Fleas
Fruit Flies
Cluster flies
Flies
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Gypsy Moth
Sm. Elm Bark
Beetle
Traps
Lygus Bug and
European Sawfly
Ash/Lilac Borer
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Disease Control
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Keep things clean
Discard diseased
material, don’t
compost
Mulch
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Baking Soda
Recipe
Compost Teas
Sprays
Competing
Organisms
Diseases
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Identify and find the
source
Fungi spread by
spores
Viruses when sap from
infected plant
transferred to healthy
plant
Bacterial D transmitted
by insects like
leafhoppers, aphids
and thrips
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Prevent stress from
over- or underwatering,
overfertilization,
extreme weather or
other.
Beware of family
connections (i.e
petunias, tomatoes,
delphiniums are in
different families but all
host the tobacco
mosaic virus)
Get rid of infected plant
Anthracnose on
tomatoes
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This disease
splashes from soil
Spread several
layers of
newspaper around
the plants; moisten;
top with 2-3 “ grass
clippings
This traps the
disease into soil
(OG Aug 06)
Powdery Mildew
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Spray solution of 1
pt milk to 2 parts
water on plants
Make sure stems
and underside of
leaves sprayed too
Repeat after rain
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(OG Aug 06)
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Blackspot on roses
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2 tbsp baking soda
+ 2 tsp liquid hand
soap + 2 quarts
water
Put in spray bottle
and coat the leaves
The change in pH
maes leaves
inhospitable to the
fungus
(OG Aug 06)
Weed Control
Invaders:
 Don’t plant any in your garden
 If you do, keep them dead-headed, and
the perennials in one spot
 Know Your Weeds and choose the
proper control method
 Looser soil means easier weeding
Weed Control Methods
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Minimize Imports
– Clean tools and
shoes
– Don’t throw
flowering weeds in
compost
– Pick seeds with
lowest % weed
seeds
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1
Don’t disturb soil
unnecessarily
Don’t till areas
infested with
perennial weeds,
dig them up
Encourage healthy
competition
Anti-weed Watering
Weed Control Methods
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Timing is everything
Hot water works
A little salt will do
the trick
Sprout them out
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Crowd them out
When in doubt,
mulch
Action must follow
planning
2
Weed Control Methods
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Organically
herbicide them
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Cook them out
– Solarize
– Propane weeder
– Infrared weeder
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Mow them down
– Before they go to seed
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Pull them out
Dig them out
– Follow the roots to
China if you have to!
Choke them
– Green manure
Cut of their heads
– Before they go to seed
with mower or string
trimmer
– Corn gluten
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3
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Graze or eat them
Weed Control Tools
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Weed Barriers
Sweep and Vac
Cultivators
Hoes
Japanese Weeding
Knife (Maria Rodale)
Dandelion Digger
Water-Powered
Weeder
Garden Fork
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U-Bar Digger
String trimmers
Lawn mowers
Rototillers
Herbicidal Soap
Propane Weeders
Eco-Weeder –
Infrared
Grazers
Herbicidal green
manures
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A solid stand of
Buckwheat (photo)
suppresses all annual
weeds and deters
some troublesome
perennials such as
quackgrass, nutsedge
(here?) and Canada
Thistle
Mow after 5 weeks, no
more, to prevent
volunteers.
(OG Feb 07)
Fir and pine mulch
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Needles are
compostable but
better as mulch
Slow decomposers
and don’t blow
away as much
Do not really acidify
the soil
(OG Feb 07)
Creeping Charlie
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Use de-thatching rake to
remove
Most critical time to weed is
spring before flowers set,
and fall
After thorough weeding,
plant dense ground covers
in ornamental beds and
keep lawn thick and healthy
Renovate thin lawns in fall
and reseed with shadetolerant grass such as fine
fescue
(OG Feb 07)