While most of you are pouring over new seed catalogs and
sketching this year’s vegetable garden plan, those of us in Zones 8, 9, and 10
are harvesting the last of the fall garden and preparing to plant the spring
garden.
When we first started growing vegetables here in Florida, I
was convinced that it wasn’t possible to grow organically in such an aggressive
environment. Although we get a frost now and then, we never get a killing frost
that helps control pests and diseases. Throw in the high humidity that creates
the perfect moist breeding ground throughout the summer, and you have an
environment that I thought could only be controlled with chemicals.
Boy, am I glad I was wrong!
Let me introduce you to the 5 things I arm myself with every
growing season.
Bacillus thuringiensis
Bacillus thuringiensis
(Bt) is a naturally occurring soil bacteria, a good bacteria. A very good
bacteria! Spray Bt on plants that are
being attacked by caterpillars.
How do you know it’s being attacked by
caterpillars? Have you ever heard of The
Very Hungry Caterpillar? A caterpillar has an appetite that rivals a
teenage boy’s! If you don’t see the caterpillar, you will see the damage it
leaves behind.
The next time it nibbles on your leaves, the Bt will give the caterpillar a serious
tummy ache that makes dysentery look like a simple stomach flu. It takes a day
or two for the caterpillar to die, but a single application can end your
caterpillar problem if caught early enough.
Also, Bt knows the
difference between harmful pests and beneficial bugs, and because it’s
naturally occurring, Bt won’t upset
the ecological balance of your garden.
Bt is effective
against cabbage loopers that attack cabbage and its relatives, hornworms that
like tomatoes, squash vine borers and pickleworms that attack cucumbers and
family, corn earworms, bean leafrollers, armyworms, and diamondback moth
caterpillars.
Insecticidal Soap
Insecticidal soap is surprisingly effective against those
annoying pests that swarm around your garden, sucking the life out of your
plants like aphids, whiteflies and thrips.
How do you know you have these insects? The damage isn’t as
obvious as with caterpillars. Your plants are alive but not flourishing in spite of
excellent soil and water management. The leaves may be yellowed even though the
pants receive plenty of nitrogen. The plants will be small, and if they
produce, the fruit or vegetable is small, misshapen, or oddly colored. If you
move the leaves and a swarm of tiny white insect fly up, you have white flies.
If they’re brown with fringed wings, they’re thrips. If you see clumps of tiny
pale green dots the size of pinheads clustered on leaves and stems, you have
aphids.
Aphids, whiteflies, and thrips are tiny insects that live on
the sap of your vegetable plants. You plants might not die from an infestation
of these critters, but they will struggle every day of their lives.
I was really surprised at how effective insecticidal soap
was against the whiteflies that attacked our container garden last year. We
tried a synthesized pesticide specifically labeled for whiteflies when we had
the problem once before, and it didn’t even make a dent in the population. I’ll
stick to insecticidal soap from now on!
Insecticidal soap is strong stuff so use with caution! It
can burn leaves so always test first and never use during hot weather!
Neem
Neem oil is one of the most interesting natural gardening
products I’ve ever come across. It is distilled from parts of the Neem tree that
grows in many parts of India and Africa. My favorite story about this tree
tells of a swarm of locusts hitting an area, eating everything in sight. When
the swarm moved on, the only plants still showing signs of life were the Neem
trees! Talk about some serious natural pest control!
Although neem oil is effective against pests, I’ve found it
works best to control fungus and diseases like powdery mildew on cucumbers,
rust on beans, and black leaf spot on blackberries. However, neem oil is quite
safe around beneficial insects like honey bees, ladybugs, and butterflies.
By the way, check out your local health food store, you’ll
find neem oil in a variety of products like toothpaste and soap. Yeah, it’s
that good.
Horticultural Oil
Horticultural oil is a mixture of plant-based oils that,
when sprayed on the plant, smother and kill a variety of damaging pests. I keep
a bottle on hand only because I was going to try it against the whiteflies if
the insecticidal soap didn’t work. It is also the only natural product that is
effective against spider mites!
Spider mites are another of those nasty critters that suck
the life out of your plants but stop short of killing it so they can keep
feeding off your precious plants. If your plants are looking weak and stunted,
and you don’t see any evidence of whiteflies, thrips, or aphids, place a white
piece of paper under a few leaves and shake the leaves. See all those little
dots? Look closer. They’re moving. They’re spider mites. A good spraying with
horticultural oil will take care of that mess!
As with insecticidal soap, watch spraying in hot weather,
especially at midday when the sun is beating down. This is oil, after all. Do
you really want to fry your plants?
Diatomaceous Earth
Last but not least, we have diatomaceous earth (DE). DE is
the fossilized remains of hard-shelled algae crumbled into a fine powder. It
might look like a pile of harmless all-purpose flour, but, boy, is this stuff
useful and effective.
That innocuous fine powder absorbs the lipids from the waxy
out layer of many insects’ exoskeletons. Without that protection, the insect
dehydrates and dies.
DE is great in the garden to fight against slugs, aphids,
thrips, and flea beetles. We also us it in the hen house and rabbit hutches to
safely keep pests and parasites off and out of our animals. In the house, DE
fights the fleas the dog loves to bring in and the cockroaches that thrive in
Florida weather. Oh, I’m sorry. They’re Palmetto bugs (cockroaches).
If you use boric acid to fight pests inside your home,
you’ll love the much safer diatomaceous earth! If you’re dog or cat accidently
finds the DE you’ve spread in the attic or under the couch, the most that will
happen is that you won’t have to worry about worms in your pet. Yep, it’s a
de-wormer, too.
The only drawback is that it is a powder and can be a
challenging to apply without breathing. Eating DE is fine, but breathing it is
bad. Go figure.
Make sure you purchase food-grade diatomaceous earth only! A
similar product is on the market for pool filters and is not for use in the
garden or around you and your animals. Read your labels!
Over the years, I’ve found if one of these natural products
doesn’t stop the disease, fungus, or pest killing my plants, nothing will. This
past season we lost all of our cucurbits. Our squash, cucumbers, and zucchini
looked like they got hit by everything and anything that loves a cucurbit. At
some point, I just had to give up, pull the plants, and toss them in the trash.
Never, ever put diseased plants in the composter. You’ll never get rid of the
disease!
By the way, my gardening friends who use chemical pesticides
lost all of their cucurbits, too.
Have you noticed that many items on my list control the same
pests? Unfortunately, these products are not always effective, and I have to
switch to another one from time to time. Sometimes, the pests just become
resistant, but for the most part it’s because a new variety has moved into the
area.
Thanks for stopping by! I hope this list helps you prepare
for a productive organic garden this year! As always, check with your local
extension office for what pests are prevalent in your area this year. You’d be
surprised at what those mater gardeners know!
Grace and peace be yours in abundance,
