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The horticultural discussion thread.

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  • Whistler

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    Missed this thread somehow... I've had good luck with neem oil for gnats and many other insects.
     
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    Neem oil is the organic go-to for most insect problems. It makes insects not wanna Netflix and chill. Or eat. They die sexless and starving.
     
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    Brewing compost tea. It's on its second day.

    Plastic 9qt trash can. Rain water. Two cups compost. (I used a potting soil that was mixed about 6 months ago. Measured by two hand fulls.) Two tablespoons black strap molasses. Two teaspoon BTI kernels. Aquarium two outlet air pump, running two stones in the bucket. The bad stuff that doesn't like oxygen dies off. The good stuff that likes oxygen, multiples.

    Seems there's a lot of 'Twos' to this.


    On the third day, Ill water plants with the tea. Then they get sprayed with the same. The tea helps the plant fight off disease. Added to the soil it maintains the healthy universe of organisms.


    I did it wrong. The basic two ingredients to compost tea is worm casings and molasses.

    The potting soil I used has worm crap in it but not enough. The brew has to bubble for a period of 24 hours to 36 hours. No longer. It has to have a fresh earthy smell or its crap. You can't use it.

    The identifier if the tea has become active is if a heavy froth has formed on top of the tea. If there's no froth. There's not enough oxygen loving critters in the mix. If the tea is brewed more then 36 hours. There's a level of diminished returns. They over populate and eat up the oxygen. Opening the door for the non-oxygen critters to thrive.

    The tea is applied every two to three weeks.
     
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    I did it wrong. The basic two ingredients to compost tea is worm casings and molasses.

    The potting soil I used has worm crap in it but not enough. The brew has to bubble for a period of 24 hours to 36 hours. No longer. It has to have a fresh earthy smell or its crap. You can't use it.

    The identifier if the tea has become active is if a heavy froth has formed on top of the tea. If there's no froth. There's not enough oxygen loving critters in the mix. If the tea is brewed more then 36 hours. There's a level of diminished returns. They over populate and eat up the oxygen. Opening the door for the non-oxygen critters to thrive.

    The tea is applied every two to three weeks.

    Reading deeper in compost tea. There's zero scientific data that supports any claim of compost tea. There's no before or after pictures of it curing a plant disease. The claim is it prevents it, if sprayed on the plant. The healthy microbes over populate the bad.

    Zero proof. I haven't seen lab results on what and how many microbes are on the leaves.

    Regular, healthy potting soil should already have an ample amount of microbes.

    However....Thought is that chemical fertilizer cuts the microbe population down or outright kills them. Salt issues. Compost Tea, unscientific, should replenish the microbe population. Until the next chem fert application is applied. After that, another round of compost tea to replenish what you may have killed.
     
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    I thought compost tea was just fertilizer...

    You correct. It's a liquid based, microbial organic fertilizer.

    Worm crap has an NPK of 1.5-0-0. The black strap molasses is high in magnesium and potassium. The basic tea is the foundation to the mix. Compost Tea have dozens of recipes. Things like fish emulsion, kelp meal, and bat crap are added to the tea.

    The microbes help break down the raw fertilizer into forms the plant can absorb.
     

    shortround

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    After all this rain, I had a bunch of fire ant mounds spring up where they must not be.

    Normally, I like to keep fire ant mounds intact in the yard at large, since they voraciously eat fleas and ticks.

    But in the vegetable garden, they are a no-go.

    To kill nuisance fire ants, mix two ounces of citrus oil with one gallon of water and a "squirt" of liquid dish soap.

    Shake vigorously and pour over the fire ant mound.

    The results are instantaneous!

    The mound collapses, and any surviving ants won't live long after the destruction of their mound/nest/colony.

    Be well.
     
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    I'm gonna recycle a 'Donk' tire that showed up. The size of this turd is 275/25Z/28. The sidewall is a whole 1" tall. Tread about 10-12"(?) wide. I'm gonna paint it white. Screw some rusted horse shoes in the tread for decoration.

    Fill it with potting soil and Jalapeno plants. Ill be the first in the county with Donk' out peppers.
     
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    Fire ants to include black ants are killing my potatoes. None will make it through and I'm not eating ant poison flavored potatoes.

    Little @$$holes. Fine. Next season Ill plant potatoes in a couple 30 gallon trash cans.

    Sorry fire ants. This is why we can't grow nice things.
     

    F350-6

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    They seem to be there for the water and any sugar in the plant stem. All this happens under ground. It'll Jack a plant up.

    How many potatoes? Can you just plant more then they can eat (strategically of course) What's the distance to the closest visible and mound(s)? Have you tried bait like Amdro on the mounds in the vicinity of the potatoes to kill off the colony? That won't affect the taste of the taters.
     
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    How many potatoes? Can you just plant more then they can eat (strategically of course) What's the distance to the closest visible and mound(s)? Have you tried bait like Amdro on the mounds in the vicinity of the potatoes to kill off the colony? That won't affect the taste of the taters.


    The entire front and back yard have fireants. Little basturds have gotten smart. They don't build as many visible mounds. They've also went tactical. Building their homes under concrete. That includes the house's foundation. No telling how far underneath they've gone. They just know, I can't reach them.

    I've used three types of poison. They make a dent in the population but doesn't slow them down. Besides, the entire rest of the neighborhood being saturated with fire ants, isn't helping.

    On the potatoes. There isn't a visible mound. You can stir the top soil around and the ants will pour out like the plant is growing in a mound.

    So far they've destroyed butter nut squash plants and cantaloupe. Attacking the roots and ground level stems.

    My only option is growing in containers.
     

    STXdevilsquid

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    e6b544b48a8a243b889c385d8dbda3fa.jpg


    This stuff is good, actually took out leaf cutters after they decimated my apple trees


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
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    My deal. Is that I don't want any pesticide on food.

    The plant will test out as having traces. Especially if that stuff does some kind of chemical reaction with the chemical salt fertilizer I use.

    At least I have childhood memories of before fire ants. You could lay outside in the yard without being tormented by sorry, no good, African imported in coffee, a$sholes.

    For the cost and negatives involved in pesticide and ants. The cost of an above ground, plastic lined planter is worth it.

    I can mix soil in a trash can that will out perform Killeen suburban dirt. No poison involved.
     

    F350-6

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    You'll still have to use pesticides around the perimeter since they can crawl up and over the sides. You'll also have to deal with grasshoppers since they have easy access and no competition.

    If you want no bugs and no pesticides, I'd consider a greenhouse, yet some will still find their way in.
     
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