Any ideas?

[Frank Reynolds]

solarising the potting media, but that can kill a lot of good bennies honestly your best bet is to use new potting mix

[GreatSouthernMan]

I use a mix of Diatomaceous earth and water to completely spray my plants. (Once Only) , the residue stays on even after repeated sprays with just plain water .

It keeps the pillars and other leaf munching cnuts away as they can't stand the DE . Not harmful to beneficial insects either.

Only downside is everybody who sees em thinks I have powdery mildew

[itchybromusic]

first confirm you have corn borers 

 

after that i'm not sure , i've never had corn borers b4 but

 

i'd first look if there was some bio controls for them like other beneficial predator bugs 

 

after that what organic liquid or powder controls like neem meal &/or oil might work 

 

after that you might be at Franks suggestion of start again with a soil mix but even that 

doesn't mean they won't be back in the next batch you mix 

 

you'd also have to look at whether you weren't doing something like over watering for

instants that increased the likelihood of them paying you a visit each season , maybe an

amendment your using in your soil mix attracts them 

 

these are all choices you'll have to make , cos none of us have to live with those decision

but you do , good luck , many hear willing to offer advice to help get you the best outcome 

keep asking & someone might have been down the same road B4 you & will chime in 

[Try Blu]

Cheers Frank, new potting mix next time around for sure. I’m gunna have to live with it this season.

 

 

Thanks GSM. Looks like it works well for you. I was checking out your grow diary earlier. Nice plants.

 

 

 

 

Good stuff their itchy.

 

Who knows if they in there. I’m guessing not right now........but will more than likely be back.

 

Probably from overwatering like you say.

I need to learn how to grow better I guess.

 

Until then though, I need help.

I reckon that will be in the form of aza root drenches, Pillar spray and some type of soaps/fatty acids foliar regime.

 

Might even try some of that tanglefoot stem wrap to stop media borne fuckers climbing up the stem.

 

All suggestions appreciated.

Cheers.

[itchybromusic]

well , i like using dr bronners hemp castile liquid soap as a pest spray on it's own 

or as an emulsifier for other oils , keep in mind oils like rosemary or peppermint 

are mostly contact killers 

 

i would add plant health boost sprays in between the pest sprays or with pest sprays 

 

aloe vera 

kelp meal steeped tea , could use seasol but diy tea is better imo

potassium silicate

EM-1

 

handy to have a chelating agent to help get aloe & kelp absorbed by the plant 

NTS fulvic acid , ECO Aminogro , even molasses form memory will work as a

chelating agent as is present in EM-1

 

all those will help build a plants strength to fight off or at least help cope with an attack  

not foolproof but i'd rather have them in my growing system than not 

[Try Blu]

Currently I have the peppermint bronners. I use it with other high ph additives such as silica and or seasol. A sort of tank mix if you like. Left at a high ph for the foliar.

 

Up to about 3ml per litre of the bronners if I have too. A little scared to go more than that.

The yucca powder I have was brought off eBay. I think I was ripped. . Sinks to the bottom looking a little like sand. Oh well. Hahaha. Dunno.

 

Not sure on fulvic acids, cheating agents. Haven’t knowingly used them before.

I’m more of a salts sort of guy if that makes any difference.

 

Eco neem / Azamax I use at a lower ph as per there directions.

The US manufacturers recommend using this at double the strength we do here in Oz. Which I though interesting. Up to about 60ml per 4ltrs spray. Shit.....I use 3ml per litre.

 

Anyways. Here’s a bit of gossip if you didn’t already know.

Our bunnings Eco-Neem from OCP doesn’t contain any neem oil. Wtf?

Misleading info seems to be the new norm.

 

For those that foliar insecticides / nutrients etc. post up your mixing rates per litre, ph, ec.

 

 

 

Cheers.

[itchybromusic]

yeah i don't use that much dr bronner's they say you can use a tablespoon per liter ( tbs=15ml )

i use somewhere between 5 & 10mil per liter depending if it's on it's own or using it to emulsify water 

for something else https://www.lisabronner.com/spraying-for-garden-pests/

 

i've never been able to get yucca so can't help with ya sinking powder , although i have full aloe leaf powder

which takes a bit of effort to get it to mix into water , unlike the inner leaf powder i use mostly , been wanting

to try the Therm X70 yucca extract but not available here , well wasn't the last time i looked a while ago

 

the reason you want yucca is for the saponins , a soapy like substance that is a pest spray on it's own 

but that soapy type substance works well as a emulsifier  , saponins are in a few things you can use 

one being aloe vera , another would be Soap Nuts which have the highest saponin count out of the stuff

mentioned http://soapnuts.net.au/

 

fulvic acid just helps to get the goodness of lets say aloe vera into the plant more efficiently , you can even

buy a human consumption version called Wu Jin San , it's good stuff in the garden not sure bout the drink 

version , never tried it , eco aminogro will chelate as well as offering the plant fish amino acids  

 

as far as neem oil go's i tend to stick with using 100% neem oil so i control any emulsification , that way i 

can choose an emulsifier that is of benefit to the plant like potassium silicate or aloe vera or soap nuts or yucca

 

never used azamax but i think it's azadirachtin which is extracted from neem oil , i'd rather keep away from as

much processing as possible & stick to the entourage effect of using 100% neem oil 

 

i had heard that about econeem b4 & another reason to keep away from "processing" as much as poss 

also DNG tells me the company managed to lobby whom ever they needed to , so they can be the 

only company in oz officially aloud to use the name Neem on packaging  

 

as far as PH go's i never PH anything , soil drench or foliar sprays , PH up / down does what it does but 

its no benefit to the plant in any way so i avoid those type products 

[itchybromusic]

checkout aribco in regards to corn borers 

European Corn Borer , not sure if it's the same thing 

https://www.arbico-organics.com/category/european-corn-borer-control

[Frank Reynolds]

I mean it isn't misleading they don't state that is it neem oil, they are using the most active chemical constituents from Neem oil that act as insecticides, Azadirachtin A & B extracted from the neem tree it's right in the description. As itchy mentioned you may want to use the oil itself if you want other effects associated with it.

 

Bit off topic, has anyone found a neem product that is registered for use on edible plants in Australia? i'm not sure why eco neem still isn't probably the costs associated with the whole process maybe.

[itchybromusic]

I mean it isn't misleading they don't state that is it neem oil, they are using the most active chemical constituents from Neem oil that act as insecticides, Azadirachtin A & B extracted from the neem tree it's right in the description. As itchy mentioned you may want to use the oil itself if you want other effects associated with it.

 

Bit off topic, has anyone found a neem product that is registered for use on edible plants in Australia? i'm not sure why eco neem still isn't probably the costs associated with the whole process maybe.

this is emulsified neem oil , BFA registered , doesn't mention fruit & veg but does say not to spray during flowering 

http://www.violmet.it/files/nutri-neem_oil_ec_85.pdf but i'm not sure you can buy this now or if it's an old product 

 

this is also BFA registered for fruit & veg use , https://greenharvest.com.au/PestControlOrganic/NeemProducts.html scroll down the page 

same as nts , has emulsifiers added , there's a msds you can click on for a look , you might find something there , i didn't click it 

 

what's safe or not is a bit of a movable goal post , it seems to change a bit , what was ok & now is not & v a v 

some get de registered because of manufacturing changes , used to make it like this , now we do it like that

all sorts of things cause change , like new studies / info , hard to keep up sometimes