Indoor seeding
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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 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 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 Why not use pesticides? Timing of Seeding and Transplanting Indoor or Greenhouse common problems Organic Fertilizers Beds vs Rows Companion Planting Pest Control Disease Control Weed Control Products Discussion and Demonstrations Factors Affecting Plant Health, Insects and Diseases Light Length of Frost-free season Soil quality – Type (sand, clay,etc) – Soil test so you can correct deficiencies Wind Air Circulation Watering Proper pruning and thinning Not to much Nitrogen 10 Lines of Defense against Pests and Diseases Good Husbandry Hygiene Resistant Varieties Cunning Cultivation Methods Encouraging Predators and Parasites Mix and Match Companion Plants Barriers and Traps Direct Action Brought-in Predators and Parasites Organic Pesticides including enzyme cleaner Fertilizers Manure Green Manure Compost Supplements Used to build soil As soil amendment As foliar spray (Seaweed emulsion, well finished compost tea) Fertilizer Recipe 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) Some catalogs offering organic and natural fertilizers – – – – – – West Coast Seeds William Dam Seeds Territorial T&T Vesey Seeds NIC Ontario Alfalfa - best soil builder 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 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 My mix: 1/2 peat moss ½ vermiculite 1 handful bonemeal 1 handful rock phosphate 1 handful organic fertilizer 1 Water with Water Seaweed emulsion (and foliar feed) Aquarium water Manure Tea Physical Insect Control Use barriers Spray water Prune and destroy Hand-picking Sticky and other traps (including tree bands) Indoor Seeding 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 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 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) Low mammalian toxicity Works slowly Washed off by rain Reentry as soon as spray dries Does not persist in environment Ants Pour boiling water down the hole Citrus oils Diatomaceous Earth in hole Borax-based bait Repellent garlic spray 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 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 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 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! Imported Cabbage Worm 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 * Rotate crop * Control weedy Brassicas Row Cover Start inside 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 Row cover Crop rotation Alter Planting dates Clean cultivation Rock Phosphate or Diatomaceous Earth around plant base Nematodes in furrow Early mulch Cutworm 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 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 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 Yellow Bush Bean – Nugget Hit hard Grasshopper Damage in 2003 2 Green Bean Jade Less damage Grasshopper Damage in 2003 3 From left to right potatoes Ruby Gold Kennebec Eramosa Purple viking Grasshopper Damage in 2003 4 Potato Purple Caribe Home-made Grasshopper Solution 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 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 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 Slugs and Snails 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) 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 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 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. 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 • • 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 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. 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 Crows dig up seeds House Sparrows eat seedlings – Row cover – Netting – Mulch? Grackles squish all peas Robins eat Fruits -- timing -- row cover -- netting Ground Squirrel Protection – Seed early – Row cover – Fences Trap to kill (e.g. Lee’s trapworks) AC Greenfix (variety of Chickling Vetch - Lathyrus sativus) Gas Meadow Voles 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 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 Grubs 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 1 Lawn Insects 2 Chinch bugs 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 Lawn insects Webworms 3 Resistant grass cultivar Reduce thatch Correct hot and dry day conditions (water, compaction) Predators/parasites conservation Use soap drenches and raking for moderate populations Btk Trees and shrubs Pear Slugs Forceful spraying with water Home recipe 1 Insecticidal soap on larvae Try .01 % black pepper spray Lime sulfur 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 Home Tree Indian Meal Moth Clothes Moth Fleas Fruit Flies Cluster flies Flies Gypsy Moth Sm. Elm Bark Beetle Traps Lygus Bug and European Sawfly Ash/Lilac Borer Disease Control Keep things clean Discard diseased material, don’t compost Mulch Baking Soda Recipe Compost Teas Sprays Competing Organisms Diseases 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 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 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 Spray solution of 1 pt milk to 2 parts water on plants Make sure stems and underside of leaves sprayed too Repeat after rain (OG Aug 06) Blackspot on roses 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 Minimize Imports – Clean tools and shoes – Don’t throw flowering weeds in compost – Pick seeds with lowest % weed seeds 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 Timing is everything Hot water works A little salt will do the trick Sprout them out Crowd them out When in doubt, mulch Action must follow planning 2 Weed Control Methods Organically herbicide them Cook them out – Solarize – Propane weeder – Infrared weeder Mow them down – Before they go to seed 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 3 Graze or eat them Weed Control Tools Weed Barriers Sweep and Vac Cultivators Hoes Japanese Weeding Knife (Maria Rodale) Dandelion Digger Water-Powered Weeder Garden Fork U-Bar Digger String trimmers Lawn mowers Rototillers Herbicidal Soap Propane Weeders Eco-Weeder – Infrared Grazers Herbicidal green manures 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 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 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)
