Organic pesticide for large market garden

9 years ago

We will be planting on about 3 acres this year - tomatoes, squash, eggplant, peppers (bell & hot), mesclun mix and varies others...

Last year we had problems with flea beetles, whiteflies, squash beetles, borers, and colorado potato beeltes and the occasional hornworm (most that we found were already "egged" by the bracchid wasp ;) We used spinosad and diatomaceous earth last year which were somewhat effective. Now that we know our enemies we are focusing on preventative measures (crop rotation, beneficial insect attractants, effective intercropping) but I know that won't be enough. The squash beetle & potato beetles are quite determined, as are the borers (but I know there is not much to do about them so I plan on a weekly sowing of squash & zucchini in different areas).

Diatomaceous earth was effective in controlling the squash beetles but it was very time consuming to apply and our garden is much bigger this year. I will definitely be using a pyrethrin concentrate (PyGanic EC 1.4) and spinosad as needed. There are some other products that seem to have merit - Monterey's 3-in-1, AzaMax, and several oil based products (neem, soybean, mineral, etc) and these claim to prevent disease as well - we had an issue with powdery mildew (though that was certainly due to use of an overhead sprinkler when our burried irrigation line crapped out) and bacterial wilt.

Anyone have experience with these products and care to make a recommendation one way or the other? I have no problem combining several methods, I just want the most effective but must be organic as we are in the process of becoming certified.

Thanks!

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Comments (3)

randy41_1
9 years ago
spinosad is great against colorado potato beetles but it is broad spectrum and kills whatever is out there including the beneficials. crop rotation is good for disease control but insects not so much. pyganic also kills anything it hits. healthy plants from rich soil fight insect attacks the best.
seedsoffaithfarm
Original Author
9 years ago
Exactly right about healthy plants & soil. This is our second year on this farm so we are developing our soil, but in the mean time will have to deal with what is thrown at us. I'm thinking of using one of the oil based products regularly and then spinosad or pyrethrins as needed - just not sure which one of the oil based would be best/most complete package
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With reference to Colorado beetles, in my experience the best approach is to scout the plants for beetles every two or three days and squish them. Start early because the adults emerge first and they're not too bad, but they produce lots of young which do the worst damage. I don't use a pesticide because the beetles are cleverer than I am; potatoes and their predecessor species have been developing pesticides for, say, 500,000 years. The beetles have overcome these pesticides one by one in a sort of arms race. Where potatoes are grown in bulk, including parts of Michigan, Colorado beetles have overcome every pesticide tried on them; the more they are challenged, the more they develop resistance. It's not surprising that the beetles can overcome artificial pesticides developed these last 50 years. So I don't bother with pesticides and I squish 'em. For more species of insect pests, the most useful are the umpteen species of minute wasps, ranging from 1/10 inch to 1/50 inch long. You never see them but they do great work parasitizing pest insect eggs and larvae. The best way to encourage them is to grow the small-flower plants they like most. #1 is boneset, #2 is sweet alyssum, and somewhere in the top ten is Riddell's goldenrod. This is a slow solution. Similarly, doing ones best not to harm those black ground beetles is the slow-but-sure answer to slugs. Flee beetles on eggplant and brassicas, however, can only be stopped by using row covers on immature plants, which doesn't get rid of the beetles of course. So my advice is to think long term and hold off on the pesticides which, after all, kill as many beneficial insects as they do pests. Regards, Peter.
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"Insecticidal Soap sprayed directly on a beneficial such as a bee, Lady Beetle and its larva, etc. can be as harmful to them as it is to any other insect. Insecticidal Soaps can be used to aid in control of Japanese Beetles, if sprayed in the morning before they become active." Sorry, but that is simply not true. Insecticidal soaps are not considered broad spectrum insecticides because they only target soft bodied insects. They have a well-established reputation for being virtually harmless to beneficial insects. They have no impact on anything with an exoskeleton. From CO State: "Insecticidal soaps are considered selective insecticides because of their minimal adverse effects on other organisms. Lady beetles, green lacewings, pollinating bees and most other beneficial insects are not very susceptible to soap sprays." From an organic gardening site: "The insects must come into direct contact with the spray droplets for the material to be effective. Good coverage is essential. It does not kill beneficial insects such as ladybugs, praying mantis and others. Note: Some entomologists have concerns about impact of soaps on soft-bodied immature predators, such as lady beetle and lacewing larvae. No real data has turned up that substantiates these fears, however, until such data surfaces, perhaps refraining from using soaps where there are numbers of these beneficial larvae (until they mature) would be advisable." From WSU extension service: "Many of the beneficial insects in gardens are not harmed by soaps. Bees, wasps and adult beetles are not affected. Sometimes, however, the larval stage of beneficial insects may be killed." And from Clemson University: " Insecticidal soaps have many advantages when compared to other insecticides. They are inexpensive to use, are among the safest pesticides, leave no harsh residue, are natural products that are virtually non-toxic to animals and birds, and can be used on vegetables up to harvest. Most beneficial insects are not harmed by soap sprays."
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Sheri, You're welcome. I hope the info helps. Ladybugs are often easier to find in the spring, at least around here. You might want to call around and save yourself frustration and gasoline. You can always order online too. They are shipped in a semi-dormant to dormant state. Once you release them, it will take a few days for the adult ones to reproduce. When the larvae hatch, they will look like little oblong alligator-type creatures. It is the larvae that really eat pests like crazy! Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: Example of Online Ladybug Supplier
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Firstly if you want to go organic, the best approach is to use nothing unless it's necessary. If you attract birds to your garden they will control a lot of the insect problems. The time to start thinking pesticides (organic or otherwise) is when a problem develops. small outbreaks can normally be controlled by hand (no pesticides at all). large caterpillar outbreaks can be easily treated with dipel or success, aphids with a squirt of water or larger outbreaks with a small spray of neem oil. Personally I dont like pyrethrum, it is broad spectrum and can upset the balance of an organic garden more than is usually necessary, it's better to target each pest problem individually. If you want to grow organically, then the "less is more" approach works very well. The more you use pesticides of any kind, the more you upset the natural balance and the more you need to rely on the pesticides.
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md_farmer
9 years ago
The only thing I've found to work with vine borers and cucumber beetles is row covers. Two summers ago I had basically no cucumber harvest and very little zucchini harvest, despite planting every 2 weeks. Last summer I covered winter squash, zucchini and cukes with row covers until the plants flowered - I even did a bit of hand pollinating to keep the plants covered longer, but that got old fast. I had a decent harvest of squash and cukes all summer long. I still had cucumber beetle issues, but no squash borers.

I use spinosad, insecticidal soap, and Pyganic as a last resort. I keep bees and am very careful about what I spray. In the last few years there's been a push to use spinosad over BT as it's supposed to be more environmentally friendly, but it will kill bees for a few hours after it's sprayed, so I try to spray early in the day or when it's cloudy. I never spray flowering plants. Insecticidal soap can be very effective if you spray often enough to kill larvae. It only kills soft bodied insects so is safe around bees and beneficials. I only use Pyganic when I have a major infestation, such as the Japanese beetles that decimated part of my orchard. Or when I've reached the limit of applications with other pesticides. I think the organic rules only allow me to spray insecticidal soap 6 times per crop (I'd have to double check that), so I have to switch to spinosad and Pyganic by the end of the growing season.

The other thing I use is Surround. It's pretty effective in my apple orchard, but I have to coat 3 times, and if there's a lot of rain I can't keep up with it. I've tried on cucumbers, but the plants grow too fast to keep them coated. Surround does work well on eggplant, providing that you don't get too much rain.

I only used Neem once, and it killed some bees so I never tried it again. I think if you use some basic precautions it would be ok, but I was under the impression it was nontoxic to bees, and I was wrong. It definitely kills bees.

The fungicides we use are Serenade and to a lesser extent, liquid copper. I couldn't grow apples here at all without Serenade, I also use it for blight and powdery mildew.

Organic pesticide for large market garden

Comments (3)

randy41_1

seedsoffaithfarm
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Organic pesticide for large market garden

Comments (3)

randy41_1

seedsoffaithfarmOriginal Author

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seedsoffaithfarm
Original Author