Comments on: The Organic Arsenal on Bonnie Hunt

By: chicken coop kid

chicken coop kid — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 03:30:59 +0000

The blog was absolutely fantastic! Lots of great information and inspiration, both of which we all need!

By: rochelle

rochelle — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 11:09:42 +0000

I recently put cocoa shells all around my garden plants…and cocoa shells are notorious for getting a bit moldy…something that everyone always mentions as a negative….but here is what I am noticing…the slugs are hanging out on the moldy cocoa shells rather than my plants…I think they like cocoa shell mold better than my plants…has anyone else had the same experience?

By: Dj

Dj — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:17:34 +0000

Hi I was wondering if you have any tricks up your sleeves to get rid of grasshoppers? I live in Montana and we’re getting killed. I used some green spray twice, but the dam little things are just laughing at me.

Thanks Dj

By: Yonkers Sidecar

Yonkers Sidecar — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 14:53:51 +0000

Thanks for publishing this helpful information on KILLING aphids! I have quite an aphid colony starting on my rose of Sharon…I want to try your garlic cayenne spray, but this morning I noticed quite a few ladybug larvae (or tiny aliens) on the shrub. Now, I’m conflicted…I don’t want to kill the ladybugs when I apply the spray. Do you have any suggestions?

By: germinatrix

germinatrix — Fri, 01 May 2009 06:15:49 +0000

Hi Heather! Yes, you would probably need enough vinegar to pickle all the bamboo shoots you are trying to eradicate! From what I’ve read – which isn’t much – you need a very concentrated form of vinegar, much stronger than regular household vinegar, to do any damage to regular annual weeds – perennial weeds always suvive from the roots even if the top growth is killed. So I’d imagine that bamboo, if damaged by the vinegar, would re-sprout from the rhizome it came from.
BUT – there are formulations of vinegar and other acid-based herbicides on the market that are really good – like Burn-Out.
I’m just not sure if they will help a running bamboo… that stuff is just out of CONTROL!
Thanks for the heads up!

By: Heather

Heather — Fri, 01 May 2009 02:38:44 +0000

In reference to invasive bamboo: I have heard you can use white vinegar to kill weeds. Could’t hurt to try on bamboo. I think you need to use quite a bit.

By: germinatrix

germinatrix — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 19:29:59 +0000

Hi Sue! Wouldn’t it be great if it WAS a lacewing larvae – I would’ve had a bug on bug massacre! But no, that green thing is a cabbage worm – the horrible creatures. they used to plague me much more than they do now – what with my Integrated Pest Management. The Pepper Spray works really well on them, as does releasing ladybugs – they eat the eggs of these buggers right along with the aphids they love!

Mary – hello! Ants … I had a HUGE ant problem in my house a few years ago, and NOTHING helped. I usually use ant chalk, but I had so many that I was overrun, so I turned to Orange Guard, which solved my problem. Like MAGIC! It is food grade, so I didn’t have to worry about my little dogs getting poisoned, which is always good. It is said that you can use it on your plants, but I haven’t gone that far yet, since I use other things to combat ants on my plants.
If you are overrun by ants on your plants, you are probably dealing with an enterprising ant colony farming aphids. Yes, they herd aphids and then they collect the sweet liquid the aphids secrete. I use a three-pronged method. First, I use pepper spray to get rid of the worst of it. Then, if I see the ants and aphids returning, I’ll blast them off the plant with water from the hose. And I ALWAYS release ladybugs. Every year. They love aphids, and if you don’t have aphids on your plants, you usually won’t have ants, either.
I hope this was helpful!

By: Mary McKovich

Mary McKovich — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 16:04:38 +0000

anything for ants??

By: sue

sue — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 15:02:14 +0000

isn’t that long light green thingin the above photo a larva of green lacewing–voracious aphid eaters??

Sometimes it is best to let nature’s ways do the trick. We are soooo impatient, we humans. Especially when it’s our turn to host Garden Club…

By: germinatrix

germinatrix — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 23:44:55 +0000

Stacy, could your snails have gone to AA?

It’s the yeast in the beer that they are attracted to, so I’d use one that is really dark and heavy – maybe that’ll do the trick. You could probably boost the attracting power with some powdered yeast thrown in for good measure. Be sure to do the beer pool overnight, because they like to do their misdeeds in the dark – you should get them then.
Also, another thing to do if slugs and snails are devouring your luscious greens is to spread broken eggshells or sharp gravel around them as a ground cover. They have soft underbellies, and the sharpness of the shells and gravel cuts them.
I’ll be crossing my fingers for you! Keep me posted, okay?