A Bug's Life

A Bug's Life

Maybe some people think they are cute. The holes in the plant leaves are not cute. The diseases they spread are not cute. Even organic sprays have some downsides. If pepper and garlic sprays repel the bad bugs, do they repel the pollinators also? Even using a very dilute solution of pepper spray the solution that had settled to the bottom of the sprayer was strong enough to burn the leaves on the grapevines, which were the last thing to get sprayed.

Because the cucurbits are doing really well a sulfur spray is being used now. This is mostly to combat powdery mildew. It is simple and pretty harmless to the plants and it is actually beneficial in reducing the alkalinity of the soil. Put 1 tablespoon of wettable sulfur for each quart of water. Shake it and spray it. It doesn’t even clog the nozzle of the sprayer. It will eventually reduce the alkalinity of the soil so be sure to test the soil occasionally. I use sulfur in the soil where I plant blueberries and potatoes to increase the acidity.

Last year the pickleworms were my greatest nightmare. I’m not sure if the sulfur will help for them. I will be researching. There is no way they get to ruin so much produce again this year. The major catastrophe last year was the lonely spaghetti squash that matured. I have heard that BT (Bacillus Thuringienses) is effective against these. I will research that and let you know.

This article was accidentally posted to another blog. I deleted it from there. If you read it there, please forgive the summer rerun.

David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/.