What's your favorite method for fighting insects and disease?

[ZachAttacksPHX]

First year gardener hear but have been reading a lot for the past year. Here is a link to my thread to see some pictures of my current problems.http://www.tomatoville.com/showthrea...911#post264911 What's your favorite and most effective method to fix a disease or infestation once it has already started?

-Spider Mites. The top half of one of my plants has a bunch of them. It seems they prefer the top. I read you can use 1/8 cup of buttermilk, 1 cup whole wheat flower, 1-1/4 gallon water? Weird combo

-Aphids. Hate these things! Been using the water and soap method, seems to be working ok.

-Diseases. How do you handle them. Chemicals, teas, drenching in water, clipping?

I know all of this dpends on so many things. Location, weather, and so much more. Just wonder what you seem to battle all of the time and what you do about it?

[Dewayne mater]

Man do you have a world of options at your disposal. Keep reading and searching on T-ville because virtually everything has been addressed at one time or another. Rotate your treatment options to avoid pests building tolerances to them.

It seems I add new things yearly. This year I was looking for Take Down spray, a pyrethrin based product, but had difficulty locating it locally. So, I grabbed a different new product to me called Spinosad. Seems to be doing ok so far.

Some folks use seaweed spray on spider mites.

Numerous beneficial insects are available.

Oils and soaps are helpful, but, often not powerful, especially if the issue is advanced.

Disease should be proactively addressed at planting with Actinovate and Mycos. In Arizona, I'm assuming you have very dry weather, so maybe you won't have huge disease issues. We do in Texas, so I try to get started early with various options from Daconil to various helpful bacteria based sprays.

For literally every issue, the sooner you can catch it and address it, the better your chances of defeating it. Good luck!

Dewayne mater

[Tracydr]

For aphids and mites, blasting with water daily is my first defense. In this weather, ( less than 90 degrees) I will use some castille soap mixed with a bit of veggie oil for mites, maybe pyrethrins if desperate.
when it gets hot, nothing but water, in the early morning hours or you'll burn up the plants.
For disease, I haven't needed much. I use a kelp/fish emulsion for fertilizer and I think it might help.

[decherdt]

Last year we manged mites with a rotation of pyrethrin, DE, azaditrachtin and malathion. Soap and oils were too strong in the heat. We got to put up a few jars. This year I hung a no pest strip in the hot house at first sign of mites. Lost the first plant out of spinach and melons to them under row cover. In the garden so far we have rotated one each kelp spray, neem oil (burned the leaves) pyrethrin and malathion. Now that we have fruit set, this week it has been daily sprays with (half strength) 0.5 % castille soapwater followed by 10% milkwater for rinse and fungii. We're seeing very few feeding mites, or eggs, and saw a lacewing larva helping us out (40x magnification) Liking soap and milk just right now.

[Tracydr]

My lettuce is nearly done and is starting to get some aphids. The good thing is that I've been seeing lacewings, ladybugs and now ladybug larvae on the lettuce. The part of the lettuce that's really had it, I'm leaving, as a trap, to attract all the good guys. There's still a few varieties of lettuce good for eating.
I think part of why I had the good guys show up so quickly this year is that I let some southern peas act as a trap crop last summer and fall. Had an enormous amount of good guys breeding on them. Was a great little science experiment!

[Tracydr]

Since you're just in Gilbert, I could give you a few of my ladybug larva. Not sure how much help a few would do you but sounds like you could use some good guys.

[kurt]

I have bought a bunch of ladybugs about ten years ago and they managed to stay around in yard since I have a lot of fruit trees and flowering plants that keep them breeding in the yard.Insect pests are one of the main vectors of disease and the lady bugs have kept them under control.Do not want to use chemical control since they kill beneficial insects and beneficial fungus.Chemicals also kill bees that needs all the help they can get.

[Tracydr]

Kurt, do you ever raise a trap crop? I found nastaturiums ( for cooler weather) and southern peas ( for hot weather) really keep a few aphids around to give the beneficials something to eat without doing harm to anybody in the garden. I started this last year and really saw a huge rise in beneficials, which seems to have carried through the winter into this spring. Grew the nastaturiums all winter and I now have a bumper crop of lady bug larvae.
I guess, if you have lots of flowers and fruit trees you're doing basically the same. I also have lean trees and a few other flowers/herbs.

[kurt]

My motto is if you can not eat it, drink it and at one time long ago smoke it do not grow it.The papayas,banana,mangoes,lychees,loganberrys,passion fruits,sunflowers strawberrys,gardenias, poncianas,bougenvillas,frangapanies,jasmines,orang es ,limes,grapefriut keep flowers at one time or another,plus the maters.My wife grows some odds and ends and they do not do nothing for me.The bougenvillas I use as burglar and critter control on fenceline and around the windows.The gardenias for the scent in the house as well as the jasmines and frangapanies.Poncianas as shade.Thanx to the ospreys that keep the squirrels and these new gambion jungle rats at bay.Thanx for the advice,hope the wife dos not read this post or Ill be putting in more than I can mantain as it is.I do keep a bunch of marigolds around caus I heard they are also helpful.