Adding Dia. Earth to Soil: Sprinkle or Mix in?
- Thread starter rrog
- Start date
DE only works on pests when dry...however I have incorporated a bit in my mix for the amending properties of DE. I'm sure that there are some positive benefits against pests if it is drying out between waterings.
You could try a neem drench. Me and Verdant have done this before....as in submerging the pot in a neem oil solution and letting it sit.
Stick it in black trash bags and stick it in the sun for a few days..like a week. It should get hot enough to kill living things in there. Pull it out and re-amend and hit it with an ACT to put the life back in.
Why dont you like the neem rrog?
I love it! Mixed me up a batch yesterday in the blender to finish off my gnat problem... 1 tsp or so in a litre of warm water plus a drop of aloe vera dishsoap and aloe vera juice.
I love it! Mixed me up a batch yesterday in the blender to finish off my gnat problem... 1 tsp or so in a litre of warm water plus a drop of aloe vera dishsoap and aloe vera juice.
At this point would be the time to add crab shell and neem seed meals to prevent future infestations...
SS, I guess I'm not a big fan of the smell. Some online feel it can hurt roots. Have no idea if that's at all accurate given the number of people using it.
Capt, forgot about the crab shell. Would adding the crab shell and Dia. Earth change the nute profile much? These seem like slow release sources.
Capt, forgot about the crab shell. Would adding the crab shell and Dia. Earth change the nute profile much? These seem like slow release sources.
Crab shell meal is slow release,I think DE is more mineralized. Crab shell meal has an npk. A nice slow release form of nitrogen and calcium.
GoneRooty
Member
DE is a great source of silica, I think it's roughly 84% SiO2, and I believe the remainder is Na, Mg, and Fe. So overall not a bad amendment. But I agree that mixed in the soil is going to give you more as an amendment than pest control. Crab shell meal, neem meal and karanja meal are probably your best amendments for pest control plus nutrient sources.
Yeah,I couldn't pass that silica content up,had to incorporate it...amendment junkie here. Probably pretty slow to break down,but it's already in powder form.
Silica improves plants ability to resist attack from pests as well. It helps build strong cell walls which are better at stopping the insects tiny plant sucking mouth parts from breaking through the stronger tissue to get to the nutritional plant juices..
Yeah it smells funny and bloody oath dont taste the stuff!!
From my readings neem is a root tonic. So is pine oil which i sometimes add to my neem mix.
I would guess any nutrient high in N could easily damage roots if over applied.
Crab meal is on top of my wish list! I can get stuff made in China but worried about pollution in the crabs there...
big_daddy
Member
I think you can also incorporate the larger DE/calcined silica that ML uses in place of your perlite/pumice/etc for an aeration component. There's evidence that when used in hydro as a medium or in soil that the silica is absorbed/used by the plants.
Check out the studies page here:
http://www.higromite.com/Home_Page.html
b_d
Check out the studies page here:
http://www.higromite.com/Home_Page.html
b_d
NSPB
Active member
Calcined diatomaceous earth does in fact work as an excellent medium for rooting and also as a direct replacement for perlite...There is a thread discussing its usage for these applications...
About the usage in soil, the assumption it is best used mixed in because of its properties as an amendment, is certainly correct. It is quite strong when a powder...don't use it to heavily. About a 1/4c per 1.5 cu ft is all ya need. (if you are incorporating other provisions for silica as well, such as zeolite, pyrophyllite clay, azomite, or greensand) Keeping in mind the immediate availability of some of these items is rather low or next to zero, making it that much more important to proper "cook" all organically amended mediums.
NSPB
About the usage in soil, the assumption it is best used mixed in because of its properties as an amendment, is certainly correct. It is quite strong when a powder...don't use it to heavily. About a 1/4c per 1.5 cu ft is all ya need. (if you are incorporating other provisions for silica as well, such as zeolite, pyrophyllite clay, azomite, or greensand) Keeping in mind the immediate availability of some of these items is rather low or next to zero, making it that much more important to proper "cook" all organically amended mediums.
NSPB
DE is not mineralized Si, it is fossilized bodies of diatoms, which you probably already have in your soil. When a chitin exoskeleton is rubbed by a diatom, it makes a scratch. If you cover a bug all over with these tiny scratches, the bug loses internal moisture and dies.
So mixing it with soil will not work. To kill it needs to be dry, and it needs to be dust that the bug will encounter. 1000 cuts is death, 1 cut is just a paper cut.
So mixing it with soil will not work. To kill it needs to be dry, and it needs to be dust that the bug will encounter. 1000 cuts is death, 1 cut is just a paper cut.
Yes they are fossilized diatoms,not a mineral deposit. Do you have any info. on breakdown rates..or how effective our favorite organisms are at making these elements available to the plant Mad?
Diatomaceous Earth is composed of a unique combination of 33% silicon, 19% calcium, 5% sodium, 3% magnesium and 2% iron, as well fifteen other trace minerals like boron, manganese, titanium, copper and zirconium.
I would think it gets mineralized/chelated at much the same rate as something like glacial rock dust,azomite,etc.
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IMO, the best approach is using a duster. When it is on too thick, bugs avoid it like a snowdrift. If you glance at a treated area from 5 feet away, you should not be able to see it.
you can make a duster from a mustard bottle, or get a professional grade plant duster, which you can use to treat large areas. One great option for bed bug prevention is drilling into your drywall, squirting DE into there, and closing it up again. While you are at it mix that with boric acid to roach proof the wall.
I have noticed that wigglers don't mind DE if moisture is ok. I wonder if they don't use it in their gullets, or break them down for calcium. Wigglers have high calcium needs and are good at getting it.
you can make a duster from a mustard bottle, or get a professional grade plant duster, which you can use to treat large areas. One great option for bed bug prevention is drilling into your drywall, squirting DE into there, and closing it up again. While you are at it mix that with boric acid to roach proof the wall.
I have noticed that wigglers don't mind DE if moisture is ok. I wonder if they don't use it in their gullets, or break them down for calcium. Wigglers have high calcium needs and are good at getting it.
