Posted on 08/01/2020 6:05:50 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
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Hi All, I do pots on the Deck for tomatoes, once again I have had a white fly infestation, What is the best way to deal with that?
Ping! I spelled your name wrong on the other ping list. Corrected!
More Coffee, Please!
Here’s what I found, and it sounds like good advice:
“Spray infested tomato plants with insecticidal soap, concentrating the spray on the underside of the leaves where whiteflies congregate and breed. Repeat the application every three days until no more whiteflies are present. Spray in the evening to minimize contact with beneficial insects.”
If you don’t want to/can’t easily buy insecticidal soap, you can make your own:
Combine one cup of oil, any variety, such as vegetable, peanut, corn, soybean, etc. with one tablespoon of dish washing liquid or other “pure” soap. (Castile, Bronner’s, etc.)
Mix two teaspoons of this “soap” mixture to every cup of warm water and put into a spray bottle.
Maybe this week’s thread will be devoted to infestations. First was Shady’s white flies. I can add leafcutter ants. They can strip every single leaf from a plant overnight. They carry them down into their dank lairs where they’re used to grow a special sort of fungus. This fungus is the only thing they eat, so baits don’t even tempt them. I tried diatomaceous earth, but that takes time to work. In the meantime, they stripped the few plants I’ve been able to keep alive out here in the desert — Texas sages, tough little salvias, a young redbud tree, etc. The ants seem to love their small, portable leaves.
WE got hit with tomato worms this week.
Just dammit !
Did you get the email pics of my garden?
This last week I finally got some red regular sized tomatoes! My cherry tomato plants started getting ripe a couple weeks ago at least. Heavenly. I have to say my cherry tomatoes are sweeter than the large ones so far. I totally forgot what types I planted. I have a very small garden on my patio. And over planted it, laf. So it won’t be fall before I can find the ‘markers’ when I clear them out.
I have a little more property. But this was easiest and a gardening experiment. To see if I could actually get any return out of them not the raccoons and opossums have been removed. Before, nothing. Now, yippee!!!
Great, Diana, thanks!!
I did! Just checked my email. I can’t seem to figure out how to post them here, though!
Happy Saturday to You Too!
OK...this is somewhat plant-related.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAUhixq2i4Y
(”The Pedestrian” by Ray Bradbury) Worth 25 minutes of your time! :-)
Rabits, woodchucks and moles ate my cucumbers and one of my watermelon plants. My charleston grey watermelon plant wintered over under black platic mulch in my front yard garden (upstate NY)!!! So far counted one watermelon and five flowers.
Round 2 everbearing strawberries and raspberries. Four tiny blueberry plants were quite prolific. Getting quite a few pears; not as many plums. Been hot and dry followed by torrential rains.
San Marzanos starting to ripen. Raccoons ate all my gooseberries.
I have had white fly infestations in my hibiscus and mandevilla - there was a time when you couldn’t buy hibiscus plants in local nurseries b/c the white fly problem was so bad in my area.
I use “Worm Gold” which I find at Armstrongs in California - it comes in a bag and is worm castings that you put around the base of whatever plant and the enzymes it releases gets rid of the flies.
Has worked wonders for the one hibiscus I have left.
WE got hit with tomato worms this week.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I don’t know what kind you’ve got, but FIRST time EVER, I have worms in my tomatoes. THIS is what they are .... I actually saw one last night - before, it was just ‘holes’ in the tomatoes. I had to dispose of some beautiful tomatoes - gave them to my SIL for her chickens (they love tomatoes) so at least they’re not going to waste. I need to take a closer look at the plants today & see if I can spot any worms/eggs. I do have some Neem oil, so I could spray that, but we’ve had daily T-storms the last couple of days & the Neem oil has to be reapplied after a rain.
Holes in Tomatoes? How to Kill Tomato Fruitworms
https://www.hiddenspringshomestead.com/how-to-kill-tomato-fruitworms/
Captain Jack’s Dead Bug
“Cheap” insecticidal soap from the article I posted earlier in the thread (comment #17). I use Dr. Bronner’s ‘Baby Mild’ soap, will get some ‘regular’ and try this soap - cheaper than Neem oil!
Materials
5 TBSP Castile Soap
1 Gallon Water
Tools
Garden Sprayer
Instructions
Fill sprayer with 1 gallon of water
Add Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap
Shake to mix well
Spray directly on stems, leaves (top and bottom) and fruit
Notes
Spray every 5-7 days and after each rain.
Picked more peppers and finally.....8 Black Cherry tomatoes....my favorite.
Dehydrated some basil...on a plate on my car dash. Fantastic. Try the purple Basil...it's awesome and VERY strong. Can't wait until I make sauce.
Not sure how many more peas and beans I can eat. :-)
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