Organics for mites

[jaykush]

no you boil the horsetail, like a tea. 10-15 minutes. no waiting just pour into cool water.

most plants that are near water or grow in water, are resistant to rot with water. unless the temps go up. mint for example will stay in a FPE for months and look exactly the same as when you put it in there. 5 minutes on the stove and you have a nice dark tea.

 

[Clackamas Coot]

Thanks! That certainly helps, i.e. just boiling vs. fermenting either naturally or with EM-1.

Sounds pretty stupid easy!

CC

 

[guest2012y]

I'll mess with some cedar eventually...but since I've a yard full of horsetail I'll definitely take your word for it and incorporate some in my trip.

 

[Clackamas Coot]

CC1

How bad is the mite problem in your part of the world?

Just curious.

CC

 

[jaykush]

Sounds pretty stupid easy!

the good things in life are

 

[Clackamas Coot]

the good things in life are

RE: Stupid Easy

Several years ago when Mrs. Coot and I were first 'a couple' we were invited to a pot-luck dinner deal. The host asked if she could bring a 'vegetable' and Mrs. Coot informed her that bringing me was along those lines.

What a hoot, eh?

CC

 

[guest2012y]

CC1

How bad is the mite problem in your part of the world?

Just curious.

CC

Spider mites are not an issue as an outside source for infestation in rain forests. I suspect the wet environment and multiple predator types prevent any from setting up camp anywhere. The only way I ever come in contact with mites is from "gifts" that fellow growers bestow upon me.
I don't have any problems getting rid of mites using neem oil. The trick is to use an emulsifier in the spray and hit the plant every couple days. As well as spraying the entire area around the infested plant. After a couple weeks I can confidently take them out of quarantine. I'm taking into account eggs that may hatch,etc.
In drier climates I used to infest my garden simply by walking through the grass and then going into the grow room.

I'm pretty jazzed about the lavender....but I don't have mites. I'm sure someone can help me out on that though...

 

[SilverSurfer_OG]

Well i have had no issues with mites for months then i find some on my new seedlings including some that arrived from Canada and cost me $!

Thanks JayK for the lavender recipe. Simple stupid to make but makes me feel like an organics wizard, especially when i see the beautiful mauve/purple water that it makes.

Diluted and sprayed yesterday after a weak dose of pyethrum/tea a few days before that slightly burned a few leaves.

Off to check now. There were a few still moving yesterday.

 

[Clackamas Coot]

SilverSurfer_OG

I'm probably in the minority on this one but I feel it's very important to continue weekly applications of either the lavender tea or neem oil to preclude another breakout of mites. They are a tenacious insect to be sure.

CC

 

[heady blunts]

i convinced a friend of mine to give me a cut of his korean damage i was really enjoying smoking on last month. unfortunately, the cut had mites.

my solution: i've isolated the thing in a gallon ziplock after i had watered it. every time i catch a spider in my house, it goes in the bag. hopefully the spiders will win out and i'll be left with a clean plant! otherwise i'll just chuck the whole thing.

totally worked.

 

[jaykush]

I'm probably in the minority on this one but I feel it's very important to continue weekly applications of either the lavender tea or neem oil to preclude another breakout of mites. They are a tenacious insect to be sure.

i only apply once a month if that and never a mite. i rotate the FPE sprays to achieve a diversity of nutrients, minerals and in the case of this thread specific plant chemicals. for example youll be surprised how good nettle is at repelling pests in general.

 

[Clackamas Coot]

i only apply once a month if that and never a mite. i rotate the FPE sprays to achieve a diversity of nutrients, minerals and in the case of this thread specific plant chemicals. for example youll be surprised how good nettle is at repelling pests in general.

jaykush

The problem in Oregon specifically with regard to spider mites is the horticulture industry which has had a strong presence here since 1890. The only state that produces more potted plants than Oregon is California with much of the production coming out of the 5 counties that make up 'Southern California'

The horticulture industry's processes (nee nursery stock industry) creates the perfect paradigm for producing spider mites - almost unrivaled in most of the world. It's quite an accolade.

With 120 years of concentrating huge populations of spider mites in a relatively small geographical area and with over 100 years of spraying ornamental plants with this or that 'latest cure' it has created some rather interesting branches in the world of breeding spider mites that are extremely resistant to even conventional insecticides and pesticides.

It's also a pretty hotly debated political issue with the nursery stock industry poised against the orchardists, vineyards, truck farm operations, etc. The general feeling among food producers is that the nursery stock industry has been given a free pass in their use of chemicals with the results in producing strains that are highly resistant to chemical agents.

The reason that natural agents like lavender, cilantro/culantro, rosemary, neem, spinosad are a preferred solution is that they do not function in the same way that chemical agents do, i.e. most/all of the natural agents are about stopping the mites from hatching, eating, digesting, etc. depending on which specific agent you might be considering.

Seaweed extract is also effective by preventing the mite eggs from hatching in the first place. This was discovered at Oxford University in 1918 and confirmed by both Dr. T.L. Senn and Dr. William Stephenson (Maxicrop) in the 1960's with both of the studies conducted independent of the other's work.

The lavender tea is quite remarkable in it's effectiveness. Nothing short of amazing actually.

CC

 

[jaykush]

i totally understand, im sure lots of people will love that post. If i were you though, i would rotate on species of lavender i use. here i use 5 different kinds of lavender. this gives the mites (i think) a disadvantage because they might slightly build up to one lavender, and then get blown away by another slight variation.

 

[Clackamas Coot]

The farm that I bought the fresh lavender at the end of last season (when you first posted about using lavender) seems to be a major player in the lavender business (LibertyNaturals.com). They grow and sell 10 or 11 varieties. I'll have to get the list and let you take a look at it. When I visited their farm they had over 300 acres planted in different varieties of lavender.

There's something like 3 or 4 lavender festivals up here in the socialist republic of Oregon - I had no idea. I've seen the little old ladies at the farmer's markets selling lavender for this or that reason (nothing to do with growing plants however) and quite frankly the smell of lavender is one that I find annoying much like neem oil so I never gave it much thought. After your original posting I did some digging and found some biodynamic organic sites in Australia and Europe that mentioned the use of lavender in passing, i.e. it was/is an accepted agent to be used on a regular basis.

CC

 

[jaykush]

The farm that I bought the fresh lavender at the end of last season (when you first posted about using lavender) seems to be a major player in the lavender business (LibertyNaturals.com). They grow and sell 10 or 11 varieties. I'll have to get the list and let you take a look at it. When I visited their farm they had over 300 acres planted in different varieties of lavender.

fuck... 300 acres of lavender.

There's something like 3 or 4 lavender festivals up here in the socialist republic of Oregon - I had no idea. I've seen the little old ladies at the farmer's markets selling lavender for this or that reason (nothing to do with growing plants however) and quite frankly the smell of lavender is one that I find annoying much like neem oil so I never gave it much thought. After your original posting I did some digging and found some biodynamic organic sites in Australia and Europe that mentioned the use of lavender in passing, i.e. it was/is an accepted agent to be used on a regular basis.

we dont have shit for festivals and stuff like that around here, we had a poison oak vesitval but it was lame.... lavender is a WELL known useful plant. im more than sure someone in some point of time knew lavender killed mites. and of course true biodynamic famrers are mostly ahead of the curve.

 

[SilverSurfer_OG]

I love French lavender. It has a really delectable smell (to me) but the English one, yeah old ladies! Still a beautiful flower.

Well the mites are certainly heavily reduced. Seedlings have picked up and no more burning of leaves which is great! Just gave em a nice gentle hosing and wash any off. No sign of any eggs.

What other insects will be killed by lavender?

 

[GDK]

Jay, i left a bottle of lavender and water in the closet for a good month and totally forgot about it..it smells pretty bad now, but do you think its still safe to use as a drench?

Stay Safe

 

[jaykush]

safe as a drench yes, foliar for mites. i dunno. dilute about 1:20 and apply lightly.

 

[Truthbesaid]

Hey jay thanks so much for the lavender tip. Had mites on my veggies an I used both types of lavender I'm growing in the tea spray an they're all gone in 3 weeks with weekly applications.

 

[3rdEye]

I've been using a relatively dilute lavender solution to great effect and it really seems to help additional smells come out of the plants very nicely. My next batch will be stronger, however i found that even 3g of dried flowers let soak for a few days made a decent solution, although next time i will be doubling that i think. I should point out that i only dilute the 3g/L solution to between 1:4-1:6 at most since it is dilute and that concentration has done well with my plants. Cannabis or others in the house.

Next up... get some lavender plants of my own. Not long now.

thank you to all the contributors to this thread. Spread the knowledge!