dusting tomatoes

tessa · December 29, 2009

i have the bleeding mites again.
i've been spraying regularly with pyrethrum...but my two best plants are going down fast with the mites.
so i've decided to try tomato dust. it's a sulphur, copper, spinosad mixture. all of these things are, in my mind, organic substances....while not exactly being organic for gardening purposes.
i am, however, willing to venture outside my organic perameters rather than face loosing the bulk of yet another summer's crop of tomatoes.

but i have questions. when dusting tomato plants....
how thick should the dust be?
and how, exactly, do you dust the underside of the leaves?

i find that the dust simply sticks to the leaves...and doesn't seem to blow off. so i'm worried about it impeding photosynthesis, or become a cake.
am i supposed to rinse it off at some point?

dumb as it may sound....
i'm hoping for some helpful pointers.
there is much 'how to' out there about dusting principles.

thanks folks.

**Mischka** · December 29, 2009

Tessa, I hand dust most of my crops several times a season and have tried quite a few gadgets for doing this.

The one that I have found to work best is known as a Dustin Mizer. It applies all types of powders both efficiently and economically. Other types of dusters I've tried either clog up constantly, waste product or apply it unevenly.

Dustin Mizer comes with an attachment that allows you to effectively dust the underside of the leaves, too. You can find the Dustin Mizer in the back of some seed catalogs, as well as online. (Google "Dustin Mizer") The price won't break your budget either; expect to pay anywhere from 30-45 dollars U.S. for one.

The leaves of the plant should be lightly powdered; you should still be able to see some green. Don't worry about interfering with photosynthesis. You don't need to rinse it off, either. Mother Nature will remove it with either wind or rain. The key is to apply it evenly and consistently.

Hope this helps!

http://www.earthduster.com

Click here to watch a demo of a Dustin Mizer on YouTube

Click here to watch a second demo of it being used in a garden

tessa · December 29, 2009

thanks mischka.
that's very helpful.

December 29, 2009	#1
tessa Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: perth, western australia Posts: 1,031	dusting tomatoes i have the bleeding mites again. i've been spraying regularly with pyrethrum...but my two best plants are going down fast with the mites. so i've decided to try tomato dust. it's a sulphur, copper, spinosad mixture. all of these things are, in my mind, organic substances....while not exactly being organic for gardening purposes. i am, however, willing to venture outside my organic perameters rather than face loosing the bulk of yet another summer's crop of tomatoes. but i have questions. when dusting tomato plants.... how thick should the dust be? and how, exactly, do you dust the underside of the leaves? i find that the dust simply sticks to the leaves...and doesn't seem to blow off. so i'm worried about it impeding photosynthesis, or become a cake. am i supposed to rinse it off at some point? dumb as it may sound.... i'm hoping for some helpful pointers. there is much 'how to' out there about dusting principles. thanks folks.