Help us stay organic, please.

[Redstone]

We're growing Brussels Sprouts for the first time this year (and yes, I know everybody hates them, but I like them), and the leaves are being eaten big time by some damn bug or critter or other.

I can't see the caterpillar or whatever is making the holes in the leaves, but it's leaving behind little black clumps of stuff (eggs, I dunno) about the size of one of what you'd get from one of those itty-bitty caviar spoons (kinda looks like caviar, at that).

Anything organic I can do to whack the perpretators without nuking them with the Malathion? (Yes, I do keep some of that around because I'll be damned if I'll let the critters eat me out of that $3500 weeping cherry tree in the front garden. And don't worry, I net the cherry tree for a week after spraying it so the birds don't hang around in the tree and get sick from the Malathion.)

Any suggestions apreciated.

Redstone

[Ptah]

1. Diatomaceous earth

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth

I buy it in about a two pound bag, you'll find it at a nursery of hardware store.

Dust the veggie plants, and I think you'll be pleased.

Ptah

[Redstone]

5. Well, dang, now I feel like a dummy. We already use that for the slugs, but hadn't

thought of dusting the plants themselves with it; we just put it on the ground to tear up the slugs.

(That thunking sound you hear is me whapping myself on the forehead.)

Thanks a bunch.

Redstone

[bicentennial_baby]

7. You don't even need that for slugs...

get some small tupperware containers, and bury them to rim level, fill with beer. Slugs will be attracted, drink, and drown. Works like a charm :D

[Redstone]

8. Yeah, but, yeah, but..then I don't get to DRINK the beer!

Redstone

[bicentennial_baby]

9. That's why you give the slugs

the reallly shitty beer :D

:hi:

[Redstone]

12. Like the Narragansett, if they still made that, right? Or Knickerbocker?

Redstone

[bicentennial_baby]

16. Natural Ice Light!

Olympia!

They really don't care. I used my little brother's Bud Light. :D

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

21. Can you get Rolling Rock out your way?

That stuff is absolute swill. But then, there's always Bud Light.

[Redstone]

24. Rolling Rock wasn't ALWAYS just slugbait, as noted here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=6563239&mesg_id=6563239

But now that it's just Bud Light in a green bottle, maybe that's the best use for it.

Redstone

[Critters2]

30. Red White and Blue

The only beer I could afford in grad school. Still, that and wine-in-a-box make a fine party. I'm sure the slugs would love it.

[NMDemDist2]

2. spray the leaves with a mild solution of dish soap and water n/t

[China_cat]

17. Add a couple shots of tabasco to that.

[Redstone]

22. That, and garlic juice, I've heard about. I'll try it.

Redstone

[mainegreen]

3. People dont hate sprouts, they just think they do.

I totally converted my wife over to the b sprouts way. Mmmmmmm, brussel sprouts. Great in the early fall when they're still little and on the stalk!

Tried either a) soap or b) lemon juice?

[Redstone]

11. The reason we planted them is that Mrs R tells me that they're not bitter at all

as long as they're really fresh. I like them even from the store, so if I can have some that are not bitter at all, so much the better.

Didn't realize how big the leaves are, though. Like having banana plants in the garden.

Redstone

[hippywife]

4. We're trying companion planting this year.

There are certain plants you can grow in the same beds with others to deter certain pests. Too early yet to tell if it will work but try planting some borage, dill, or chives around your sprouts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_companion_plants

On edit, it's probably too late for this now so I would try the soapy water solution. Get a natural dishsoap like Seventh Generation and dilute it in a spray bottle.

[Maddy McCall]

6. Go to Lowe's. Get some...

insecticidal soap. Spray the plant at sundown, and then repeat a couple of weeks later.

Should get rid of the problem. It might not be as "organic" as you'd prefer, but it works.

You've got aphids, sounds like to me. There's one other alternative...you can order a box of ladybugs online from a garden supply store. They are predators of aphids.

[Redstone]

10. Ladybugs, we got. And soap? I'll call that organic any day compared to Malathion.

I'll try it.

Redstone

[Maddy McCall]

27. We like it.

We use it in our garden on our veggies. It works well.

Here's the brand we use:

http://www.saferbrand.com/garden/gardenproducts.asp

It's marked "for organic gardening."

[Kali]

15. aphids wouldn't be making holes - they pierce and suck juices

I would go with the DE, but you need to reapply if it gets wet. And don't breathe the dust.

Also those ladybugs will almost always fly away - its really thier larvea that are the good predators.

[Maddy McCall]

26. problem with DE is that you can't get it to stick on the underside of the leaves...

unless you paint a solution on the underside of each individual leaf.

Aphids leave the clumps of black eggs that RS described...that's why I suggested the insecticidal soap, which will also take care of other pests, including flea beatles and mites. We use it on our tomatoes and eggplants...works like a charm for us.

[Redstone]

28. Well, I'll mix some DE in with the Safer Soap and see how that does.

Thanks for the advice.

Redstone

[Kali]

29. true getting the DE on the undersides is a problem

Soap is probably best. Black clumps sounded like catterpillar frass (shit) to me. OK Redstone time for pictures! :rofl:

I don't think DE works after it gets wet, at least it doesn't for me when I use it to deter harvester ants.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

13. Praying mantises.

You can buy mantis eggs at garden supply stores. I think mantises will eat pretty much anything.

[Redstone]

14. We had a couple of those last year, and Mr Toad in the garden, of course. Maybe I'll go buy

some more Mantis egg cases.

Now, how to lure some more toads. Think another Toad House would do it, or are they territorial?

Redstone

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

18. I don't know where you get toads. If you build a toad house,

will they come?

You know, I'm not sure why I'm aiding and abetting the cultivation of :puke: Brussels sprouts... ;)

[bicentennial_baby]

19. i'm with you!

:puke:

Anything for a friend... :P

[bluethruandthru]

31. Try preparing brussels sprouts this way and see if you like them...

Peel off the outer leaves of fresh brussels sprouts, wash and toss with olive oil. Spread on a baking sheet and put them in the oven at 450 for ten minutes...turn and bake for another 5 minutes or until brown and crispy. Season to taste... Yum!

[Redstone]

20. A toad house is just a broken clay flowerpot on its side to keep them

from drying up when it gets sunny and hot.

Aid and abet all you want to; if you don't want to eat any of the resulting sprouts, I'll have yours.

Redstone

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

23. Next time the cafeteria at work serves them

(which they do, with disturbing regularity), I'll FedEx a whole bunch of 'em to you!

[Redstone]

25. Thanks but no thanks. they have to be fresh and cooked by Mrs R to be good.

Redstone

[MistressOverdone]

32. Try one part skim milk to 9 parts water

and spray them daily, in the evening.

And the beer trick works for slugs pretty well.

[Redstone]

33. Milk? I'd never heard of that. But it's certainly worth a try, thank you.

Redstone

[liberaltrucker]

34. As pesticides go, malathion ain't so bad

But the organic recs from others should be considered.

Having said that: How the hell are ya?

:hi:

edit: I love Brussels Sprouts sauteed in butter to
just the right crispness......yum!

[Flaxbee]

35. not really on-topic here, but have you ever checked out this site?

http://www.localharvest.org

lists dozens, if not hundreds, of small farms throughout the US producing organic food. The site is searchable by location; you might find some suggestions there about controlling pests, or just find a local farm to buy from to supplement what you have planted.

:hi: Redstone!