Mind sharing your bug-killing secrets for veggie gardens?

15 years ago

I can't tell you how much this forum is helping me. As a new gardener I'm reading it like a maniac and trying to soak up everything I can.

The one thing I still don't have down yet is how I should be treating my garden to prevent my veggie plants from getting eaten. I know something is eating my plants. I see holes in the leaves and my 2 broccoli plants are now just two brown stumps - they went from broccoli leaves to stumps in a week. I've been out at sunrise, midday and sunset and searched around the plants, under the leaves and around the garden for the culprits. I've only found tomato hornworm caterpillars and so far we've managed to keep them at bay. If I can't find whatever else is eating my plants and causing holey leaves, how do I know what to put on the plants?

I've heard to spray with soap monthly (never tried it) - I've heard to buy generic insect killer... ugh... I just don't know what to do.

I'm trying to figure out if "seasoned" veggie gardeners use something monthly or weekly just to keep beasties at bay as a preventative measure.

Right now we use nothing and we're fighting a losing battle.

Any advice on what to buy and when to use it would be great.

THANKS again for your help!!

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Comments (6)

gatormomx2
15 years ago
My favorite is two fingers- squish , squish .
Also try : Hose end sprayer containing 1.) the cheapest dish soap you have - do not use Dawn - too strong and can burn leaves
2.) BT - Bacillus Thuriengensis
3.) Ultra-fine horticultural oil
4.) the Farmer's Market !
Read as much as you can on the U of F web site link below . Use their search engine for more answers .

Here is a link that might be useful: Diseases in the Florida Vegetable Garden
tomncath
15 years ago
Not sure about the broccoli and you didn't state what else you're growing but if it maters, cukes or zukes then try some BT. This is a bacterium that will shut down the GI system of most worms/cats but is safe to us so much so that you can spray and pick fruit the same day. I use it on the maters any time a see either holes or worms...the worms can be so small and hidden on the undersides of the leaves that they're no bigger than the lead tip of a mechanical pencil, but the day after you spray you see them laying around either on the ground or dropped to the surface of a leaf from the leaf above, and they'll either be dead or dying. This has been very effective for me on both the cukes and zukes as well, although with them I spray once or twice a week as a maintenance program because by the time you're aware there is a problem it's considerably more significant than discovery of a problem with maters. If you decide to do this, two things to consider; First, you'll need to spray the undersides of leaves too, and make sure you spray the male flowers of squash and zukes well and the clustering new growth of cukes well, Second, spray late in the afternoon when the bees are done for the day since we don't want to take a chance on hurting them. You can get an 8oz bottle at HD under the brand name listed in the link above.

Tom
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fishead99
15 years ago
It might be snails.
SaintPFLA
15 years ago
....sounds like slugs to me.
junkyardgirl
15 years ago
I've posted this before, but I'll post it again. This is my favorite all purpose bug/fungus spray. Be careful to only spray it when it's cool, early morning or early evening, because it has oil in it.

1/3 cup Murphy's Oil Soap
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 gallon of water.

I actually got this recipe from Kathy Crowley at Crowley's nursery. This is what she used before Neem oil came out.
tclynx
15 years ago
For caterpillars, the BT which I've seen in Home depot or lowes as Thuricide is a good choice. The broccoli being eaten down to stumps, hum, wonder if something else got them. Luckily with broccoli, you can still start over since they will like the cooler weather better. I've had trouble with squirrels eating the leaves and vine tips off my sweet potatoes, could the culprit be a bigger critter than a bug?

Neem oil can be good against many things though it could also be bad for bees so don't spray flowers or while bees are present. Neem oil is not unpleasant to use.

Organoside is another oil product that I've used against the scale that attacks some of our palms. It works and is quite safe to handle though it smells pretty bad (is mostly edible fish oil.)

Soap spray is fairly good but make sure you test it on the plants before using it full scale some mixtures need to be washed off or the plant can't breath either. Most oil or soap mixtures are good for suffocating soft bodied bugs like scale and aphids.

If the problem is squirrels, there are methods using hot pepper sprays that might discourage them from eating your veggies. Another method I've heard of that might gross some people out is a dilute urine spray around the garden area being invaded by the critters. Either one of these probably needs to be re-applied after a rain or every week or more.

Here is a link that might be useful: TCLynx

Mind sharing your bug-killing secrets for veggie gardens?

Comments (6)

gatormomx2

tomncath

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fishead99

SaintPFLA

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