What do you wear when you spray?

[Redbaron]

Originally Posted by seaeagle

I don't spray anything on any of my crops either, never have.I was scared to say anything, I thought I was the only one

I almost never spray either. I sometimes spray compost tea or Bt. Those are harmless. All last year though I never even needed BT!

[Bipetual]

Originally Posted by AlittleSalt

I wear shorts and a T shirt just because we are "supposed" to wear clothes.

[pauldavid]

Originally Posted by AlittleSalt

I wear shorts and a T shirt just because we are "supposed" to wear clothes.

Thats too funny, didn't see your post Bipetual!

[PA_Julia]

I spray Daconil on a schedule from a pump sprayer. I'm usually in flip flops, shorts and a t-shirt. This is in the morning so when I'm finished it's off to the shower.

[Mike723]

Originally Posted by HydroExplorer

I just spray compost teas to kill insects so I don't wear protective gear. One of the main reasons I grow food is so I can get food that didn't have chemicals sprayed on it.

What kind of teas are you spraying that kill insects? I'm aware of compost additives with things like chitin, neem meal and a few others that have great benefits in terms of pest control, but I haven't heard of any teas that kill insects directly.. Fill us in!?

[HydroExplorer]

A vermicompost tea will kill bugs. I've only done it once but it made my plants go from approx 100 bugs per leaf to zero in 1 day.

This guy had similar findings but he didn't find the spray killing aphids
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBI-Og5L8jc

I suspect his spray wasn't killing the aphids on the finer growth plants because he probably didn't put a surfectant in his tea. Regardless, the bacteria in a vermicompost tea will kill bugs. I have personally seen this work.

This faq also claims their tea does the same thing. I'm claiming that fresh vermicompost tea does this because I have personally done it.
http://www.chinookcomposttea.com/faqs.htm

[Bipetual]

Originally Posted by pauldavid

Thats too funny, didn't see your post Bipetual!

It was actually Salt's joke. He has a great sense of humor (and possibly some nudist leanings?). Just kidding, Salt! Thanks for making us laugh.

[Bipetual]

Originally Posted by HydroExplorer

A vermicompost tea will kill bugs. I've only done it once but it made my plants go from approx 100 bugs per leaf to zero in 1 day.

This guy had similar findings but he didn't find the spray killing aphids
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBI-Og5L8jc

I suspect his spray wasn't killing the aphids on the finer growth plants because he probably didn't put a surfectant in his tea. Regardless, the bacteria in a vermicompost tea will kill bugs. I have personally seen this work.

This faq also claims their tea does the same thing. I'm claiming that fresh vermicompost tea does this because I have personally done it.
http://www.chinookcomposttea.com/faqs.htm

Do you think something like worm power tea would help with bugs? I have so many freaking bugs. Aphids, spider mites, leaf hoppers, earwigs, big flies, little flies, whiteflies...I put out a bunch of the yellow sticky traps, which are looking quite gruesome but seemed to help quite a bit. I put pyrethrin on my basil after seeing some serious spider mite damage. I try not to use insecticide but when I see that kind of damage I feel like I have to nuke them.

http://www.harrisseeds.com/storefron...er-shower.aspx

What would you use as a spreader sticker? Would a few drops of dish soap work?

[Mike723]

Originally Posted by HydroExplorer

A vermicompost tea will kill bugs. I've only done it once but it made my plants go from approx 100 bugs per leaf to zero in 1 day.

This guy had similar findings but he didn't find the spray killing aphids
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBI-Og5L8jc

I suspect his spray wasn't killing the aphids on the finer growth plants because he probably didn't put a surfectant in his tea. Regardless, the bacteria in a vermicompost tea will kill bugs. I have personally seen this work.

This faq also claims their tea does the same thing. I'm claiming that fresh vermicompost tea does this because I have personally done it.
http://www.chinookcomposttea.com/faqs.htm

Hmm, thanks I'll look into it!

[HydroExplorer]

Sorry for the brief response. I got a support call and I had to cut that short without adequate supporting documentation.

I don't know if powdered worm castings would work or not. They would probably have the humic acid which is beneficial (especially combined with kelp extract). I don't know about the bacterial side of vermicompost in dried castings.

I know fresh ones from my worm farm worked in a way that was undeniable. I mean I had TONS of bugs eating all my stuff. I sprayed and the next day I had no bugs.

Here's a better document about pest control with vermicompost tea. Search the document for the word "insect". It's a long article. I didn't read the whole thing but they give more specifics about insect control than I was aware of. I have read a few places that the bacteria in worm tea can infect a lot of pest insects and kill them.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3725894/

If you don't have a worm farm I would strongly encourage you to get one. vermicompost tea from fresh castings is AMAZING. It does things that help with pretty much every aspect of gardening. My first year gardening I was getting better results than neighbors who had been gardening for 10+ years. I didn't even know what I was doing but I was doing the worm teas

I didn't truly realize how much of my success was tied to the worm teas until my worms died. Pretty much all of my success was tied to the worm teas (LOL). I'm a pretty mediocre gardener without worm tea.

[rhines81]

As children we used to follow the insect spraying (fogging) truck around the streets on our bicycles. I'm not too worried about spraying on a small scale. After all, I turned out ... hey look a squirrel!

[SueCT]

Depending on what it is, for Daconil or organics I wear long pants and try to remember to wear gloves, and I use a heavier droplet spray, not a mist so there is minimal stuff to breath in and I scrub and/or shower afterwards. For stronger stuff I will make sure I wear long sleeves, a mask and again don't use a fine mist. But I haven't used a liquid stronger than Daconil in some time.

[Bipetual]

Originally Posted by rhines81

As children we used to follow the insect spraying (fogging) truck around the streets on our bicycles. I'm not too worried about spraying on a small scale. After all, I turned out ... hey look a squirrel!

Yeah, I remember the smell of malathion well from my childhood well. But I can't remember anything that happened yesterday!

[Bipetual]

Originally Posted by HydroExplorer

Sorry for the brief response. I got a support call and I had to cut that short without adequate supporting documentation.

I don't know if powdered worm castings would work or not. They would probably have the humic acid which is beneficial (especially combined with kelp extract). I don't know about the bacterial side of vermicompost in dried castings.

I know fresh ones from my worm farm worked in a way that was undeniable. I mean I had TONS of bugs eating all my stuff. I sprayed and the next day I had no bugs.

Here's a better document about pest control with vermicompost tea. Search the document for the word "insect". It's a long article. I didn't read the whole thing but they give more specifics about insect control than I was aware of. I have read a few places that the bacteria in worm tea can infect a lot of pest insects and kill them.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3725894/

If you don't have a worm farm I would strongly encourage you to get one. vermicompost tea from fresh castings is AMAZING. It does things that help with pretty much every aspect of gardening. My first year gardening I was getting better results than neighbors who had been gardening for 10+ years. I didn't even know what I was doing but I was doing the worm teas

I didn't truly realize how much of my success was tied to the worm teas until my worms died. Pretty much all of my success was tied to the worm teas (LOL). I'm a pretty mediocre gardener without worm tea.

Very interesting. I already have quite a few pets, though!

Seriously, I will do some reading on the subject. I, too, am a mediocre gardener. Perhaps that is the missing piece of the puzzle!

[clkeiper]

Originally Posted by HydroExplorer

Sorry for the brief response. I got a support call and I had to cut that short without adequate supporting documentation.

I don't know if powdered worm castings would work or not. They would probably have the humic acid which is beneficial (especially combined with kelp extract). I don't know about the bacterial side of vermicompost in dried castings.

I know fresh ones from my worm farm worked in a way that was undeniable. I mean I had TONS of bugs eating all my stuff. I sprayed and the next day I had no bugs.

Here's a better document about pest control with vermicompost tea. Search the document for the word "insect". It's a long article. I didn't read the whole thing but they give more specifics about insect control than I was aware of. I have read a few places that the bacteria in worm tea can infect a lot of pest insects and kill them.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3725894/

If you don't have a worm farm I would strongly encourage you to get one. vermicompost tea from fresh castings is AMAZING. It does things that help with pretty much every aspect of gardening. My first year gardening I was getting better results than neighbors who had been gardening for 10+ years. I didn't even know what I was doing but I was doing the worm teas

I didn't truly realize how much of my success was tied to the worm teas until my worms died. Pretty much all of my success was tied to the worm teas (LOL). I'm a pretty mediocre gardener without worm tea.

I wonder how effective or how this would work on the dreaded drosophilla fly. We have raspberries that are a major magnet for this beast, but how does spraying the tea impact the raspberries that are just getting ready to ripen. are they going to make me or anybody who eats them sick if they don't wash them before the chow down on them? I would love to spray a non lethal restricted spray on the plants. The one we do use is a one day wait but we are restricted to 6 sprays per season. I know no one wants to have their berries sprayed BUT it is spray them or get NONE once this pest moves in.