Quote:
Originally Posted by ginger2778
Scott, don't mean to hijack the thread, but is there a companion plant thet thwarts whitefly? Tremendously large problem here.
-Marsha
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Yes Marsha, there are several.
Whiteflies are not easy though, mostly because solving your own whitefly problem doesn't stop a neighbors whiteflies from spilling over anyway. They do fly after all.
The number one most effective whitefly companion plant is anything that attracts hummingbirds. So that means a whole host of potential flowering trees shrubs and annuals to make sure there is a favorite hummingbird flower blooming at all times. You also need hummingbird feeders and hummingbird nest sites. Best if you can turn it into a community project. If you can figure out a way to get a large concentrated healthy breeding population of hummingbirds in the neighborhood, your severe whitefly problem will be over. You will still have some of course, but not a plague like many places currently have. Zinnias are an annual that some hummingbirds like. There are many others and zinnias don't necessarily have to be right in the tomato patch, but they can be, they get along well with tomatoes.
The advantage is that nectar is energy rich but lacks full nutrients. It's a little known fact that hummingbirds are actually very adept hunters of small flying insects like gnats mosquitos fruitflies and their favorite? You guessed it..
..whiteflies. That's how they get the rest of their nutrition that nectar and pollen doesn't provide.
There are of course other types of whitefly predators like dragonflies too. They live in and around healthy ponds. But make sure any mosquito control methods used on the ponds are not poisoning the dragonfly population too.
Bats too after the sun goes down.
But of course whiteflies are not always flying around .... obviously. They like to hide on the underside of leaves. Ladybugs eat them there, just like they eat aphids.
Lots of things have whitefly on the menue, that's why whiteflies breed so fast.
Now for your own garden:
Cilantro, Borage, and Thyme repel whiteflies.
Borage is a companion plant to almost everything, but it does get pretty big sometimes and could shade out things if you let it get too big. I just try to keep mine well eaten!
Good in salads.
Cilantro does get big but it changes to lacy foliage when it bolts, so it doesn't cause problems with shading. You can squeeze it right in close as you want. I still try to keep it well eaten
but in my salsas
I actually like how the lacy foliage provides some shade in the hot Oklahoma sun. I get fruit set a week or two longer before the heat gets just too much.
Thyme works as a companion plant for your brassicas like cabbage and broccoli better, so I dont plant it in the tomatoes. But it does repel whiteflies.
Last but not least is nasturtiums. They actually attract whiteflies (and aphids too). It is a companion crop technique to plant things that the whiteflies like better than your food crops in a place nearby but not directly in the same rows. This is called a trap crop. Your whiteflies will avoid the tomatoes due to all the repellent herbs planted there and attack the nasturtiums instead. But nasturtiums also attract hoards of predator insects too!
MUAHAHAHAHA
The thing about this whole technique of gardening is that most these things by themselves are only so so effective. No matter how repellent those herbs are, they don't kill whitefies, just deter them somewhat. They will still attack unless they have an easier target available as a trap. And attracting them to a trap crop wont do much unless there are predators around to kill them there. And hummingbirds and other insects are never going to eat all of them or even slow them down much, if they are not concentrated at a trap crop. And you won't have predators unless you care for their needs too. So that is why the quote in my signature. It sounds somewhat philosophical and even dogmatic, but in truth, it actually is practical real world advise. You really do have to look at the system as a whole.
And btw, lets say at first for a few seasons you haven't got enough predators to eat them. Then you can take extra safe measures to controll them at the trap crop yourself. Maybe buy a biological spray that is harmless to predators like
Beauveria bassiana? Maybe even try to create a plague of disease yourself by capturing several with a fine butterfly net and fermenting them. Then spraying the homemade concoction on the trap crop? With a vaccuum even you can be the predator!
muahahaha
Die Whiteflies!
Good Luck
PS Pesticide use is directly responcible for the whitefly plague. So avoid pesticides as much as humanly possible.