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Fungal disease remedyUse regular powdered cinnamon to combat bacterial or fungal diseases such as powdery mildew on house plants. Lightly dust the powder onto the affected area. The area must be damp so that the cinnamon will stick. Too much will be damaging so be careful to sprinkle lightly and do not pour it on in clumps.Tip provided by Norma |
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Slugs and snails.Spread crushed eggshells round the base of plants to protect them from slugs and snails.Tip provided by Norma |
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Weeds in crevices or cracks on paths.Vinegar and salt is great for places where you wont be growing anything in the near future. Make into a liquid. Spray directly onto weeds. Be careful not to spray onto plants you don't want to kill!Tip provided by Norma |
Bulb StorageFlowers of Sulphur sprinkled over bulbs helps prevent the spread of penicllium (like a mouldy citrus) rot. It is available from farm supply stores and Veg Grow and possibly garden centres. It is very cheap - I buy it by the kilo for sprinkling in my sandersonia tuber storage bins. Some of these tubers spend eight months in storage with up to 6000 tubers together in a bin. It definitely stops the tubers that rot infecting their neighbours.Tip provided by Therese |
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More on Slugs and snailsThere is a spray for slugs and snails called "Slug Out" available in garden centres in a trigger bottle (about $13 think). The active ingredient is copper. It works really well. However you can achieve the same yourself much more cheaply using the same copper oxychloride spray used on fruit trees. Just mix the copper oxychloride with water in the same formulation as if spraying your orchard. Don't spray directly on young seedlings. You can spray it as a ring around plants, along fence-lines, edges of raised beds etc. It creates a barrier toxic to the critters and they won't cross it. Its effect lasts for several weeks. The 'Slug Out' bottle claims 6 weeks.Tip provided by Therese |
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Another Organic FungicideBaking Solution helps control diseases like powdery mildew by changing the ph on the surface of the plant.Tip provided by Therese |
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InsecticidesA small amount of sugar added to insecticides makes them more effective against chewing insects. This tip was provided by a chemical company when I was having a terrible time trying to control aphids in a greenhouse full of two metre high sunflowers. We were using orthene to which we added sugar.Tip provided by Therese |
Combatting Powdery MildewMelon growers in NZ are saving thousands of dollars every year by spraying their crops with milk instead of synthetic fungicides. This has been so successful that the wine industry is starting to use it on their grapes too.Use a weekly spray, 1 part milk to 9 parts water, on leaves. You can use skim milk if this is cheaper. Tip provided by Norma |