Saw some GREAT tips & wanted to share ~

[humble angel]

Hello all,
I'm new here. Been looking for a great Garden Message board. I saw a great show today on HGTV and they offered a few tips for gardeners, so I thought I would share them;

1. 1/2 water & 1/2 Ammonia to spray on those disgusting slugs -

2. Use a paper bag and put some Self Rising Flour in it, then poke a few holes in the bottom to sprinkle on your cabbage babies. Do it early so that the worms who love to eat the cabbage eat it and then as the temperature rises, the flour rises and kills the worms.

3. Using hot chili pepper to keep squirrels, ground hogs, other pests from going in your garden, or good for using with your bulbs. You can sprinkle the hot stuff right on the bulbs when you plant them, and then also some on top of it to keep pests from digging in after them.

I have a HUGE problem here with pests - between the squirrels and the ground hogs, they usually don't leave much behind. But I'm hoping this year to change that with some new tips I'm learning.

Hope this helps some - I look forward to seeing what actually works the best -

humble angel



[img]https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v621/Diane4747/pic14.gif[/img]

[opabinia51]

Thanks for the advice Angel

For the truists out there I will say that Ammonia is not an organic chemical but, it is not particularly harmful either. So, I give my thumbs up to this idea.

Ammonia: NH3

[The Helpful Gardener]

Not organic in the sense that there is no carbon in it? I suppose, but it is a natural part of the waste elimination process for nearly every living thing. It does a number on slugs (Wicked Witch of the West stylie ) and then breaks down into nitrites and then nitrates, which your plants can use. Not so bad...

[humble angel]

I hate the idea of having to kill them - I've seen it done with salt too; not sure which is worse. I haven't tried it yet... We have plenty round here. They also mentioned how the ammonia turns into nitrates once the sun gets on it.

Another one I forgot to share;

4. Half skim milk and water mixed in a spray bottle - Use to spray on your roses bushes - its supposed to keep the roses healthier, though I can't remember why...

humble angel

[img]https://photobucket.com/albums/v621/Diane4747/th_springangel3.gif[/img]

[opabinia51]

Thanks Angel,

I remember Scott making a post about spraying plants with milk about a year ago. I haven't been able to figure out why but, I would think that the milk would probably feed the myriad of beneficial organisms (including, fungi, bacteria and nematodes) that live on the leaves of plants.

Same sort of idea as spraying with compost tea. Though, compost tea also has all the good stuff in it as well as the food.

Oh and Scott, you betcha! Ammonia contains no carbon whatsoever just Nitrogen and Hydrogen.

To much of it could burn your plants though.

[grandpasrose]

Yes Opa and Humble Angel, spraying milk on your roses is used to help prevent and control blackspot and mildew by introducing the good bacterias etc. to fight them off. You can use any kind of milk, although I would use milk with lower fat content so that you don't have that sour smell. You mix one part milk with nine parts water and spray everh 5-7 days.
We had a whole discussion on this in the rose forum last fall, if you want more in depth info.

Val

[The Helpful Gardener]

Yup. Lactobacillus, the little bugger that sours your milk actually kills lesser fungii like mildew and does colonize the leaf surface as well. Good stuff from Mother!

Scott

[opabinia51]

Hi Val, you wouldn't really introduce bacteria by spraying with milk as milk in Canada and the U.S. is pasteurized, killing bacteria and fungi, etc. So, the milk would most likely just feed the beneficials.

Anyway, in addition to diluted milk I would recommend spraying plants with an aerobic compost tea to provide the foliage with all the good beneficials. On Southern Vancouver Island you can buy aerobic compost tea from Earth Elixir.

To make your own, place compost in a barrel and aerate using an aquarium pump or some sort of fancy compost tea aerator and let brew for at leat five days.

[grandpasrose]

I say, Whatever works, why ever it works!!

Val

[The Helpful Gardener]

Soil Soup is starting to appear in some garden centers; same sort of organic tea products, but I'm a cheap swamp Yankee and I have an air pump or two from my aquarium days...

Scott

[grandpasrose]

I've seen "barnyard teabags" too! I'm not spending my money on something I can easily do myself. And at least I really know what I put in it, instead of what someone says they did!

Val

[opabinia51]

Ah yes, and good for you Val but, in the fast paced urban environment people seldom make the time to do these things. So, the solution (at least in Victoria) is Earth Elixir. And I have met the ladies that brew the tea on several occasions and have even been given a couple of bottles of the "good stuff" and know that they only use really great compostables in their compost.

[grandpasrose]

I'm sure your ladies are nothing but true, but there are those others out there in the world who like to bend the truth a little that I worry about!

Val