Crawling Killer

Pest Killer Powder...

Yesterday when I was trying to get the weeds out of what is supposed to be our melon bed, about a million baby earwigs popped out of the compost I was digging into. I was so startled I almost fell back onto the onion, herb, tomato bed. I, obviously, stopped working on the weeds right after that and went inside. I was completely freaked out. I'd already been thinking about earwigs since that one grown up one popped out of the trellis but I never thought we'd have such an infestation. After reading about how much damage a few could do I frantically emailed Mr. S. about trying to pick up some Diatomaceous Earth. It's not usually used outside but it is 100% organic, food grade, and effective crawling bug killer, so I went with it. I emailed saying that "we can kiss our gardens goodbye" if we didn't take care of this problem before the earwigs spread. Luckily, he is as invested in his garden as I am in mine and his, so he got the email and went straight out at 7am to get the powder. Turns out the hardware store didn't open until 8am but he went back out to get it then and lined all the beds and poured a generous amount on the dormant beds. THANK GOD! When I got up it was all done. He didn't spread any in Patch, I think because he knows I like to deal with Patch alone, but I did. I sat and watched, after outlining the bed, containers and Topsy hook, I watched a potato bug crawl into the powder start climbing up the brick wall of my bed, fall, crawl a little more, try again, and die. IT WORKED! I actually kind of felt bad for the little guy because the powder was meant for earwigs but I think potato bugs are bad for veggies too so I got over it. Considering that Diatom-Earth isn't really for outside use we'll have to re-do everything after the rain but I'm hoping that by then it'll have taken care of the major infestation and just left a few crawling pests and the flying ones behind. Mr. S. picked up something else that we can use to protect our plants against our 6-8 legged pests but I forgot what it was called. I do know it's 100% organic, supposedly effective, and it can be sprayed directly on veggies, fruits, berries, and herbs. I'll spot test it tomorrow and let you know the name and what happens. 

Other than that I didn't do much in the garden today. I just checked on everything and made sure the soil was moist. Like I've said before I am trying to suppress my urge to over water so I didn't because it was beautiful but mildly chilly and all of the plants seemed perky and well watered. I think the Sea Magic has helped them out too. The radishes looked bushier and didn't have anymore holes in them. Now, as long as the earwig invasion has been controlled we'll be fine until the "Predalure" kicks in. As of this afternoon I hadn't seen one lacewing or ladybug. If those things don't end up working I'll be pissed. They seemed like such a nice and organic way to deal with pests. I hate having to use powders and sprays even if they are organic. Now, don't get me wrong, I would have used straight poison on the far bed to kill all of those earwigs but those were extenuating circumstances. 

This is the brand and exact bag we bought. It's 4lb for about $8. Worth it in a pinch.

What diatom earth looks like. 

One a Penny

Baking soda...

I went out today and made sure that everything was still moist and didn't water. I've been trying to control myself when it comes to watering. Part of the reason my strawberry plant died last year was that I over watered it, burned it with garlic water "insecticide", and lacked drainage. So I am trying to control my impulse to water more and more. 

I went into Patch after checking on everything in Potagar and noticing that a bundle of weeds have grown in the empty bed. I checked on everything in Patch and then noticed that there were little holes in the radish leaves. Not all of them but some of them. Something tiny, like an insect, is eating my radish leaves. I don't know that, that means that my radishes are unhealthy but that will definitely make them unhealthy if they aren't already. All of the references have said that healthy plants mean less bugs but I don't see any unhealthy signs except for the holes caused by the bugs. So I went inside and made one of the sprays I read about. I mixed half a tsp of detergent and 3/4 a tablespoon of baking soda with a gallon of water. I mixed it up and then put it into a spray bottle. Since the radishes were getting eaten before I could test I diluted the spray with a little extra water and sprayed all over the radishes. I'm hoping that a diluted version will rid the radishes of the few bugs there are now and won't burn my plants. 

Pennies and Vinegar...

After I finished doing that I went inside and mixed up a batch of 1 tablespoon of vinegar and 1 tablespoon of detergent with a gallon of water. I grabbed the bag of pennies and mosaic glue. I put the mixture into another spray bottle and took all of the things I'd grabbed outside. I sprayed the weeds in the empty bed with the vinegar spray. I spray them liberally, hoping, that would take care of them for awhile. Then I went into Patch sat down opened the bag of pennies and glue and started gluing pennies to the side of the 8G container. I was putting glue on the back of each penny, at first, but that was taking too long so I spread the glue out in a straight line around the entire bucket and started sticking the pennies on. Before I did any of that I sanded the bucket a bit so they would stick on better. When I was done it looked festive and it'll keep the slugs/snails off my strawberries. I've read, in several places, that copper and snail/slug slime cause an electric shock for the bug, so they avoid it. I initially looked for copper tape but the hardware store and Home Depot didn't carry it, in stores or online. I looked online to buy some but I couldn't find it. I'll have to look again and more thoroughly for the Potagar beds but for my buckets pennies were just fine, better than fine, they go with my low cost theme. I moved on and completed the 5G bucket. I was going to glue a couple around the base of the Shephard hook holding the Topsy but I thought again. I'm going to wait until I find the tap for that. I don't want to add even a gram of weight to that thing. 

I gathered everything up and went inside. 

Gluing pennies on to the 8G bucket. 

Completed 8G bucket. The glue will dry clear.

Both buckets finished. I think they look decorative.