Hi Everyone, Haven't been able to post in awhile or even log in due to the forum bugs but have finally managed to get back in, hopefully others will be able to get back in as well soon. Planting more and more every week and have a good little system with the seedlings going now. When I first started this project, my partner and another household member didn't really want to get too involved. Admittedly it was a lot of work for quite some time before seeing any benefit. Now however the space has really changed and is growing and producing more and more. Now everyone is getting involved and helping out with planting and harvesting. The neighbours are also getting involved and have given them access to the herbs etc which some are coming and getting for their cooking etc. Really great to see. (wish id get more help turning the damn compost though!) Have had to do a bit of research into organic sprays etc. Have been getting hit with insects such as white butterfly and fungus problems such as powdery mildew and Cercospora. Even though I haven't used spray until now, the loses have been small. Ive been planting things like lettuce in between herbs like wormwood, sage, coriander etc and I think this has helped a lot. The funguses however are taking off now with the weather, hopefully will find some more solutions to sort this out. Still had some Rio bar left over and used that to trellis the tomatoes, I could make some up and go all fancy but this way is just so quick and effective. Will be growing of whole heap of black russians this year There is talk of possibly moving from this property and buying another in the near future.......to another state in Australia *facepalm* So I may be doing this all over again soon! Will see how that goes but still not stopping me from going forward with this Hope everyone is well Cheers Chookie
G'day Chookie, for an inexpensive organic spray to combat mildew and other molds try this recipe: Ingredients: 1 gallon of water 1 tablespoon of baking soda 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil 1 tablespoon of dishwashing liquid Mix the ingredients together and add them to a spray bottle. Spray your plants weekly, preferably on overcast days to prevent it from burning the foliage.
Thanks Bryant, i'll have to try that. Has been awhile since I went out and bought something to spray but the problem was getting out of hand. I could not believe the stuff out there for sale FOR YOUR VEGETABLES. Seriously some of this stuff they are selling should be illegal. With the knowledge and evidence about these chemicals out there, I don't understand how the government can allow its use. I found products which contained known carcinogens as well as products known to kill Bee populations and a multitude of other issues like soil and water contamination etc. Made me so angry, so yeah, keen to get back into making my own sprays. Very scary stuff....
Here the idiots that run the government seem to be taking money from every special interest group that comes along and then allow these pirates to do what ever they want. We have noticed marked improvement in our health, our animals health and our land is doing nicely since we don't use any "cides" what so ever. Our ant problem is now taken care of by use of spent coffee grounds, soda water and boiling water. These work so well, there isn't any need to contemplate "standard methods" any longer. I bought a 50 k bag of food grade DE for the other pesties that we are battling and that is also working very well. Glad you're going to get back to making your own natural sprays. Cheers, Bryant
Im with you Bryant, I also feel much better since I stated eating my own produce. Feels good knowing exactly what your eating I will try that ant recipe you shared, thanks! Have but a couple quick questions though if thats ok, how to you apply it? Straight onto the nest? I recently found a huge jumper ant nest I need to sort out. Also I buy DE for some other things like cat litter, how do you use it for other pests? Pretty sure mines not 'food grade' though....
The spent coffee grounds are put directly on the ant nest and all around the outside edge at least 15 cm, that way you get most of the nest under the grounds. The way they work is by water leaching through and down into the nest area, the nitrogen and left over acids get into the soil and the ants do not like it and will either move on or in most of our cases they actually expire. The soda water takes the O2 away, replacing it with CO2, the ants expire. I use 2 - 2L bottles per ant hill, if it was a huge hill I would use three. The boiling water is for the really nasty ants (giant fire ants for us) I use 4-8L per ant hill, the hard part of this method is to not scald me as I pour it into the hill. We get food grade DE at the feed store, they sell it as a wormer for horses and cattle buying it there it is very cheap price wise. For most plantings I use it like it was a dust, just sprinkle it on the plants directly and then all around the stalk. Works like a charm, best part is that I've noticed it doesn't seem to hurt the soldier beetles or the praying mantis/ walking stick population. I love them being around to prey on the bad bugs.
