Outdoor pest management plan

[Old fox]

I have 6 week old plants (currently in pots) that I'll start moving outside directly into prepared plots on a private property, into the ground in early Nov. I have chicken wire cages to deter larger predators, however I'm after advice on an ongoing plan to deter smaller pests ( mites, aphids, gnats, caterpillar etc). What ( and when and how often) should I start using deterrents to avoid/deter small pests??? I've researched ( but never used) things like silica( to strengthen plants), diatemaceous earth for avoidance, and foliar sprays( detergent, garlic etc), and eco neem, however am interested in a comprehensive plan of if/when, and how to use any( or all? ) of this stuff, as unsure what really works vs marketing rubbish. I don't currently have any pests, and I'd like a plan to try and keep it that way. Thanks.

[Porky 1982]

I use been useing neem as a foliage spray as well as a soil drench for years and I find it very effective. Itichys got heaps of natural pest management info hopefully he will see this and give ya some advice.

 

 

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[itchybromusic]

hey fox 

 

plants have been growing for thousands of years without any help from us dudes at the top of the food chain 

 

first think of increasing plant health not so much deterring pests , cos a healthy plant can deter pests on it's own

considering the plant will know when pests are around way b4 we do ( most pests we can't see or under soil )

 

starts with a well balanced soil & apart from the need of NPK , minerals are just as important if not more so 

rock dusts , gypsum , dolomite all provide minerals , to give you an idea , my soil mix consists of a few things 

most added at a 1/4 cup per half cubic foot of soil , but i add rock dust ( basalt ) at 2.5 cups per half cubic foot

of soil mix , the term nutrient dense produce comes from the plant having access to all those minerals 

 

look into SAR . Systemic Acquired Resistant's , i use crab shell to achieve this , crustaceans have a substance 

called chitin , now there's a process in the soil that is a bit long winded & mentions chitosan & chitinase but in short

having chitin in your soil will cause a SAR response from the plant , the plant thinks it's going to be attacked by pest

or pathogen , the plant then bolsters itself by pulling what ever it needs to from the soil in readiness for a fight that

never comes but your plant has increased it's vigor & health 

 

anyway i can talk tish for hours so check this link https://forum.grasscity.com/threads/all-organic-recipes-and-notes-compilation.1421024/ scroll down to the heading Integrated Pest Management ( agsil = silica ) 

 

you can look into buying :

 

kelp meal ( plant health + )

aloe vera powder ( plant health +)

potassium silicate ( plant health )

malted barley seed ( plant health )

EM-1 ( beneficial organisms , plant health )

neem meal ( crushed neem seed from making oil , nutrients & protection )

neem oil ( pesticide / fungicide )

rosemary oil ( pesticide )

thyme oil ( fungicide )

worm castings or compost ( full of beneficial organisms ) 

cover crops ( plant health )

 

have a read of that IPM link & see what you think after reading that

but my main advise would be concentrate on plant health rather than plant protection

keeping in mind that doesn't mean don't use any plant protection just minimize anything

like an oil that really doesn't give the plant anything beneficial apart from killing bugs 

 

things like aloe vera have saponins which will repel / deter pests & has lots of other compounds 

that will increase plant health at the same time , these are the things to look at using , something that is mostly 

beneficial to the plant & a deterrent to pests 

[Porky 1982]

There ya go Old fox. [emoji6]

 

 

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[pedro de pacas]

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Edited October 10, 2019 by pedro de pacas

[Old fox]

Thanks Itchy. Starting with solid plant health makes sense in my current situation. My plots are currently filled with a cover crop of nearly 5 months old broad beans Plan was to bury the bean crop( into the plot) 2 weeks before planting the main crop, and supplement the soil at planting time with compost ( I have 500 litres of my own compost). When can I add the plant health additives into the plot (I.e. kelp meal, aloe vera powder, potassium silicate, malted barley seeds, and neem meal) ?? I'd like to plant main crop within next 3 to 4 weeks. Can the additives be applied to the soil now?? - I'm not particularly interested in the fava bean crop harvest, and happy to bury that at any stage to maximise benefits of combining with the other additives you have suggested. Thanks also to Porky for your comments.

[itchybromusic]

no worries fox

 

the aloe & potassium silicate are to be added to liquid feeding & foliar spraying not a soil amendment as such 

there are 2 kinds of aloe powder , one is to make aloe juice to drink which is the inner leaf gel freeze dried into a water soluble powder

the other is a whole leaf aloe powder used in agriculture , freeze dried as well but not for human consumption 

 

i have both , i don't really notice one doing anymore than the other , things i do notice , the inner leaf requires 10 grams of powder to make 

one liter of drinking juice that you can use at 15ml per liter on ya plants , the whole leaf powder requires 20 grams to make one liter of solution that 

you can use at the same rate above , 15ml per liter of water 

i also find the whole leaf aloe powder takes a little bit more effort to combined with the water 

 

i use aloe in foliar sprays & soil drenches , i use peat in my soil mix which comes mostly dry & slightly hydrophobic , i use aloe to re hydrate 

the peat , the saponins in aloe ( soapy type substance ) which is also found in soap nuts ( cheaper but not all the benefits ) will sort of coat the

peat moss to help it keep it's moisture a little longer than just water on it's own , it's not an issue if your pot or bed stays moist but peat is hard

to re hydrate in a pot if it drys out , & for the record peat is easy to over water 

 

the rest you could add now no probs kelp , neem , malted barley , just follow directions on the packs for the neem & kelp 

with the malted barley top dress that fortnightly , you'll need a coffee grinder to turn the seed into a powder & i usually 

water it in with & aloe & fulvic acid solution , fulvic works as a catalyst to get whats in aloe & other things you feed 

into the plant a little easier / quicker 

 

cool you have a cover crop , i like a mix of seed for my cover crop rather than just nitrogen fixers 

i reckon it gives you much more balance in the soil , but much better to have a cover crop than not 

 

don't use all your compost at once , save some for top dressing through the grow , like the start on flower 

also keep some of you green manure for mulching 

 

 

.

not like you to go all shy  

[Old fox]

Gold standard advice thanks Itchy. Really appreciate your time ( and experience) to provide such detailed information to help my grow. I've taken notes of your info, to help manage my current crop, but also for future preparation for subsequent plots/ harvests.

[itchybromusic]

no worries fox 

there's lots of other info on that link i provided you can go through 

 

plenty of good people on here that can help when / if needed  

good luck with it