Has anyone tried Earth's ally 3 in 1 plant spray? It is getting harder to find some products and no one will send it to Hawaii. It contains botanical oils rosemary, thyme, clove, and peppermint oil I won't be able to use this in summer, but I have aphids now and not a lot of predators around. Does this have a strong odor?
https://legacy.picol.cahnrs.wsu.edu/~picol/pdf/WA/72432.pdf
https://woodstream.scene7.com/is/conten ... 462gal.pdf
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pepperhead212
- Super Green Thumb
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- Location: Woodbury NJ Zone 7a/7b
I wouldn't buy something like this, partly because you need to use 8 oz/gal of water, but also because I could sort of make something similar homemade - blend some of the herbs and spices with some water and oil, then strain it, and use about 4 tb of the oil/gal, then add either some potassium bicarbonate, or baking soda. Oil and baking soda, or potassium bicarbonate, have been found to be great fungicides, and the herbs and spices help with a lot of pests. The bad thing is, but you know this already, it's not good to be used in heat, or sunny conditions.
Thanks. The botanical oils seem to be all that is available. I don't use oil much because it is over 80 degrees here pretty much year round so oils are not useful when the pests are most active. I was concerned about the odor because neem is readily available but I cannot use it because it gives me a headache. I also get headaches from rosemary, clove, and thyme oils.
You are right, I could easily make my own homemade oil spray and I actually did make up some cinnamon spray fungicide. I prefer sulfur, it is just hard to get that now in concentrate or even in RTU products. Baking soda is an alternative and I have been using the hydrogen peroxide as a fungicide immediately after the rain stops. I remember I have a recipe using essential oils. I have to see if I can get those. I also use alcohol for controlling some pests.
At this time of the year, the garden shops don't have much but most of the pesticides and fertilizers won't even be shipped to Hawaii from anywhere. It makes gardening even harder. I really need beneficial nematodes to deal with the soil grubs and nematodes, but that has never been allowed to be imported and if it is not in my yard already there are no local sources for it either. What is available is Malathion and these botanical oils. I would only use malathion on hard body pests and I have to have a really good reason to resort to it. There is spinosad in Captain Jack's Dead Bug Brew. But most people probably don't know while spinosad is organic, it can only be used about 4 times a year because of resistance. The other problem with spinosad is that while it is organic, it is not targeted so it kills beneficial insects above and below ground.
I just got an orchid plant in bud from my Christmas party, but the next day the buds started dying. It was probably already infested and more buds are dying so I will probably have to give up on the bloom. But I do need to spray the other orchids so it won't bother them too. This orchid was sent from the Big Island so the bud blast could be because of the environmental change and not necessarily from thrips or blossom midges. In any case, I don't think the blooms can be saved.
You are right, I could easily make my own homemade oil spray and I actually did make up some cinnamon spray fungicide. I prefer sulfur, it is just hard to get that now in concentrate or even in RTU products. Baking soda is an alternative and I have been using the hydrogen peroxide as a fungicide immediately after the rain stops. I remember I have a recipe using essential oils. I have to see if I can get those. I also use alcohol for controlling some pests.
At this time of the year, the garden shops don't have much but most of the pesticides and fertilizers won't even be shipped to Hawaii from anywhere. It makes gardening even harder. I really need beneficial nematodes to deal with the soil grubs and nematodes, but that has never been allowed to be imported and if it is not in my yard already there are no local sources for it either. What is available is Malathion and these botanical oils. I would only use malathion on hard body pests and I have to have a really good reason to resort to it. There is spinosad in Captain Jack's Dead Bug Brew. But most people probably don't know while spinosad is organic, it can only be used about 4 times a year because of resistance. The other problem with spinosad is that while it is organic, it is not targeted so it kills beneficial insects above and below ground.
I just got an orchid plant in bud from my Christmas party, but the next day the buds started dying. It was probably already infested and more buds are dying so I will probably have to give up on the bloom. But I do need to spray the other orchids so it won't bother them too. This orchid was sent from the Big Island so the bud blast could be because of the environmental change and not necessarily from thrips or blossom midges. In any case, I don't think the blooms can be saved.
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applestar
- Mod
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- Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)
I agree! And I’m not sure why those particular herbs as well.
Hmmm. Thyme for thymol I understand. Rosemary is often used as preservative so maybe has fungicidal properties too? Peppermint is so prone to aphids and fungal issues themselves, it seems weird…. Clove oil is an ingredient I’ve used in tooth and gum tincture before, but for the pain/anesthetic properties… actually peppermint is used for anesthetic, too, and antibiotic. (If anything, I might use the myrrh oil from the same recipe). BTW, I’m still having trouble figuring out the cinnamon — so far, I keep ending up burning leaves.
For active fungal infection, I’m more apt to use
(1) peroxide or alcohol direct
(2) garlic and hot pepper combo (puréed in water and strained, combined with a bit of liquid soap …)
(3) Rice vinegar diluted by 200x to 300x is another, and I usually use the crushed eggshell vinegar extract.
(4) And the potassium bicarbonate solution with liquid soap and a bit of canola oil since I figure why not add a little foliar potassium.
…I admit I HAVE been using Neem oil in the recipes containing oil for the past year — 100% neem oil added to canola oil carrier in 1:10 ratio. (NOTE —Found out early on that some oils like sunflower and safflower oils can attract rodents that will devour the sprayed plant. Ha! Maybe that’s what the peppermint oil is for…?)
And I alternate with diluted compost tea, cultured home brew probiotics, or milk/whey for preventative and foliar health recovery.
Hmmm. Thyme for thymol I understand. Rosemary is often used as preservative so maybe has fungicidal properties too? Peppermint is so prone to aphids and fungal issues themselves, it seems weird…. Clove oil is an ingredient I’ve used in tooth and gum tincture before, but for the pain/anesthetic properties… actually peppermint is used for anesthetic, too, and antibiotic. (If anything, I might use the myrrh oil from the same recipe). BTW, I’m still having trouble figuring out the cinnamon — so far, I keep ending up burning leaves.
For active fungal infection, I’m more apt to use
(1) peroxide or alcohol direct
(2) garlic and hot pepper combo (puréed in water and strained, combined with a bit of liquid soap …)
(3) Rice vinegar diluted by 200x to 300x is another, and I usually use the crushed eggshell vinegar extract.
(4) And the potassium bicarbonate solution with liquid soap and a bit of canola oil since I figure why not add a little foliar potassium.
…I admit I HAVE been using Neem oil in the recipes containing oil for the past year — 100% neem oil added to canola oil carrier in 1:10 ratio. (NOTE —Found out early on that some oils like sunflower and safflower oils can attract rodents that will devour the sprayed plant. Ha! Maybe that’s what the peppermint oil is for…?)
And I alternate with diluted compost tea, cultured home brew probiotics, or milk/whey for preventative and foliar health recovery.
Cinnamon has been used for orchids as fungicide. It works as a dessicant and inhibits fungal and bacterial growth to help seal wounds when the orchids are being repotted or when leaves are being cut because of black rot. It is also why when you repot an orchid, it is watered well before to hydrate as well as soften the orchid roots so they are not so brittle. After repotting the orchid should not be watered for at least a week so the wounds can heal.
To use it as a general purpose fungicide. I had to mix it in water and strain out the particles. It can be phytotoxic so you would have to do a test spray. I diluted my mixture because of this and I use it for prevention not cure. I could only find out about its properties, but I could not find any specific recipes so I erred on making it a very dilute solution. The closest one said 1 tsp ground cinnamon in 4 cups of warm water steeped overnight and strained through a coffee filter.
Thymiol is found in thyme and members of the verbena family is similar to cinnamon in its antibacterial, antifungal, repellent, properties. We used a product that was essentially thymiol to treat our hives for varoa mites.
Rosemary can be used a disinfectant. I made some once because I have so much rosemary. I will not do that again because of the memorable headache. I can't even go far with rosemary in the trunk of my car, it still gives me a headache.
The garden used thyme oil and clove oil before for organic weed control and those gave me headaches too and I was over 30 ft away.
I did have 30% vinegar, but it is very strong and except for very greasy laundry and killing weeds in pavement, it is pretty nasty stuff. I usually do use 5% vinegar in the laundry, but it is not strong enough to kill weeds. My soil is already acidic.
I have lots of peppers and I have garlic, but I have not tried to make a spray with them. Mainly because until this fall, I never had these kinds of pests. I haven't had any serious aphid infestation in years. The last one was two years ago in the green onions, but they were old and unhappy because I moved them. I basically, threw them away and started over and that resolved the problem. I usually have enough predators to control most of the pests. But the predators are not active at this time of the year and it is already weird to have everything so warm and dry in November. It is throwing things off.
The rain helps and hurts. It helps controlling sucking pests because they like warm dry conditions, but it hurts plants that are prone to fungal disease with prolonged rainy periods. I do select for disease resistant cultivars, but even they show some disease when it rains every day and night for a week. I may have to grind up some peppers and try it. Actually, I have to pick the peppers anyway, without covers, the birds start eating the peppers, even the large ones once they turn red.
I use barriers now for the main protection against white flies and larger pests, like birds. They can't stop diseases or very small pests like mites. And the barriers need a good seal. The geckos still take care of most of the pests and they are around year round. But birds and cats will eat them.
I still have Bt for pickleworms as well as I bag the fruit. They are not so bad at this time of the year. Grubs, mealy bugs, beetles, snails and slugs are the bigger problems now. The aphids were really bad, but I got rid of most of the weak plants (cucumbers) and the rain has helped a lot. The alyssum has recovered from the drought and started blooming which will attract more beneficial insects. Ultimately, I usually depend on the flowers for the main protection. I probably should add a few flower pots in the back yard as well. I do have poppies but they don't bloom all the time and they did not get along with the okra. Cosmos got along with the tomato, but the tomato got TYLCV (and it was a resistant tomato at that).
I haven't used much compost tea since I gave up trying to do organic in containers, but I still have vermi compost and I can make tea with that and give it a try. I can't use the vermicast in the garden or in the reused soil because it is too high in phosphorus. I can still add it to new mixes.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8433798/
https://www.aos.org/orchids/orchid-pest ... k-rot.aspx
To use it as a general purpose fungicide. I had to mix it in water and strain out the particles. It can be phytotoxic so you would have to do a test spray. I diluted my mixture because of this and I use it for prevention not cure. I could only find out about its properties, but I could not find any specific recipes so I erred on making it a very dilute solution. The closest one said 1 tsp ground cinnamon in 4 cups of warm water steeped overnight and strained through a coffee filter.
Thymiol is found in thyme and members of the verbena family is similar to cinnamon in its antibacterial, antifungal, repellent, properties. We used a product that was essentially thymiol to treat our hives for varoa mites.
Rosemary can be used a disinfectant. I made some once because I have so much rosemary. I will not do that again because of the memorable headache. I can't even go far with rosemary in the trunk of my car, it still gives me a headache.
The garden used thyme oil and clove oil before for organic weed control and those gave me headaches too and I was over 30 ft away.
I did have 30% vinegar, but it is very strong and except for very greasy laundry and killing weeds in pavement, it is pretty nasty stuff. I usually do use 5% vinegar in the laundry, but it is not strong enough to kill weeds. My soil is already acidic.
I have lots of peppers and I have garlic, but I have not tried to make a spray with them. Mainly because until this fall, I never had these kinds of pests. I haven't had any serious aphid infestation in years. The last one was two years ago in the green onions, but they were old and unhappy because I moved them. I basically, threw them away and started over and that resolved the problem. I usually have enough predators to control most of the pests. But the predators are not active at this time of the year and it is already weird to have everything so warm and dry in November. It is throwing things off.
The rain helps and hurts. It helps controlling sucking pests because they like warm dry conditions, but it hurts plants that are prone to fungal disease with prolonged rainy periods. I do select for disease resistant cultivars, but even they show some disease when it rains every day and night for a week. I may have to grind up some peppers and try it. Actually, I have to pick the peppers anyway, without covers, the birds start eating the peppers, even the large ones once they turn red.
I use barriers now for the main protection against white flies and larger pests, like birds. They can't stop diseases or very small pests like mites. And the barriers need a good seal. The geckos still take care of most of the pests and they are around year round. But birds and cats will eat them.
I still have Bt for pickleworms as well as I bag the fruit. They are not so bad at this time of the year. Grubs, mealy bugs, beetles, snails and slugs are the bigger problems now. The aphids were really bad, but I got rid of most of the weak plants (cucumbers) and the rain has helped a lot. The alyssum has recovered from the drought and started blooming which will attract more beneficial insects. Ultimately, I usually depend on the flowers for the main protection. I probably should add a few flower pots in the back yard as well. I do have poppies but they don't bloom all the time and they did not get along with the okra. Cosmos got along with the tomato, but the tomato got TYLCV (and it was a resistant tomato at that).
I haven't used much compost tea since I gave up trying to do organic in containers, but I still have vermi compost and I can make tea with that and give it a try. I can't use the vermicast in the garden or in the reused soil because it is too high in phosphorus. I can still add it to new mixes.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8433798/
https://www.aos.org/orchids/orchid-pest ... k-rot.aspx