Disinfecting between plants?

Tracydr · June 19, 2015

How careful are you to disinfect when pruning bad looking leaves? Every pinch/cut, every plant or not at all?
I need to prune some bottom leaves with yuck on them. I've been avoiding it, since I didn't want to spread disease and never have any hand sanitizer or alcohol handy.

KarenO · June 19, 2015

You can dip pruners in a 10 % household bleach solution (1 part bleach to 9 parts water) to clean and sanitize your pruners. If super fussy, between cuts, if not, then between plants .
Rinse and dry your pruners following to keep them sharp and rust free
KO

digsdirt · June 19, 2015

Not much. Between plants at most and usually not even then. But I guess it also depends on how you are removing them - by hand or with pruners. I do it all by hand with gloves on and am only removing diseased ones so no need to be touching healthy parts of the plant.

Dave

Tracydr · June 19, 2015

Thanks,guys. I hate wearing gloves but often pinch by hand. I should wear them, since I've been squiching stink bugs and CPBs.This is the first year I've ever had anything besides a few yellowed leaves. Nothing bad, although I noticed a Carbon Copy with some black mold today.

joseph · June 20, 2015

To me, it's "good plant -- bad plant". Either I leave the plant alone, or I chop it off. No fiddling with individual leaves for me. If a plant is ravaged by disease, or bugs, or if it looks unusually droopy on a hot day, or if it gets blossom end rot, then it gets chopped out. I don't disinfect my weeding hoe.

It seems surreal to me sometimes, how little attention I pay to the plants in my fields. I expect them to grow vigorously and without problems with disease or bugs. If a plant is unhealthy enough to catch my attention for being infested with something, then it's chop, Chop, CHOP. I don't want to be distracted by sick plants.

pauldavid · June 20, 2015

All the time. I use rubbing alcohol with water. You can spread disease if you don't.

ginger2778 · June 20, 2015

I wear exam gloves, because my hands/nails don't get stained, and because they have a smoother surface with no creases for microbes to get burrowed into. Can't say the same for bare hands. I wipe the pruners with Lysol wipes by squeezing the foam on them for a few seconds, then swiping all the way down. Lysol kills 99......% of all microbes, including viruses, and it is easy to carry a moist towelette around.
I wipe between every plant, and also wipe my gloves between each.
Aseptic tecnique.

kurt · June 20, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by ginger2778

I wear exam gloves, because my hands/nails don't get stained, and because they have a smoother surface with no creases for microbes to get burrowed into. Can't say the same for bare hands. I wipe the pruners with Lysol wipes by squeezing the foam on them for a few seconds, then swiping all the way down. Lysol kills 99......% of all microbes, including viruses, and it is easy to carry a moist towelette around.
I wipe between every plant, and also wipe my gloves between each.
Aseptic tecnique.

Since gardening here in S Florida does have its challenges with the higher than normal heat and humidity.Couple practices I adhere to.Plus we do not enjoy a winter that eradicates a lot of malady's than in the northern climates.

All tools are cleaned in between each use.Be careful with bleach it will hasten the corrosion of most metals, Physan(Phisane) is a good alternative(used in commercial applications)
All containers are cleaned in between uses.All staking bamboo is disinfected and treated after each season.When a plant shows symtoms I either discard or prune and bag all infected material. Regular hand cleansing is a must.Clothing should be cleaned regularly(fiber harbor and transmit pathagens). So far so good(and after years of trial and error) clean hygienic practices have kept me in good working order.Even my wooden fences get a pressure cleaning and coating when needed.Call me crazy but it doesn't help(or does help) to have a ER nurse as a wife.

June 19, 2015	#1
Tracydr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: Laurinburg, North Carolina, zone 7 Posts: 3,207	Disinfecting between plants? How careful are you to disinfect when pruning bad looking leaves? Every pinch/cut, every plant or not at all? I need to prune some bottom leaves with yuck on them. I've been avoiding it, since I didn't want to spread disease and never have any hand sanitizer or alcohol handy.

June 19, 2015	#3
digsdirt Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: No.Central Arkansas - 6b/7a Posts: 179	Not much. Between plants at most and usually not even then. But I guess it also depends on how you are removing them - by hand or with pruners. I do it all by hand with gloves on and am only removing diseased ones so no need to be touching healthy parts of the plant. Dave __________________ Dave

June 19, 2015	#2
KarenO Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Vancouver Island Posts: 5,929	You can dip pruners in a 10 % household bleach solution (1 part bleach to 9 parts water) to clean and sanitize your pruners. If super fussy, between cuts, if not, then between plants . Rinse and dry your pruners following to keep them sharp and rust free KO

June 20, 2015	#5
joseph Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: Cache Valley, N/E of The Great Salt Lake Posts: 1,244	To me, it's "good plant -- bad plant". Either I leave the plant alone, or I chop it off. No fiddling with individual leaves for me. If a plant is ravaged by disease, or bugs, or if it looks unusually droopy on a hot day, or if it gets blossom end rot, then it gets chopped out. I don't disinfect my weeding hoe. It seems surreal to me sometimes, how little attention I pay to the plants in my fields. I expect them to grow vigorously and without problems with disease or bugs. If a plant is unhealthy enough to catch my attention for being infested with something, then it's chop, Chop, CHOP. I don't want to be distracted by sick plants.

June 20, 2015	#6
pauldavid Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: NE Louisiana, Zone 8A Posts: 1,179	All the time. I use rubbing alcohol with water. You can spread disease if you don't.

June 20, 2015	#7
ginger2778 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Plantation, Florida zone 10 Posts: 9,283	I wear exam gloves, because my hands/nails don't get stained, and because they have a smoother surface with no creases for microbes to get burrowed into. Can't say the same for bare hands. I wipe the pruners with Lysol wipes by squeezing the foam on them for a few seconds, then swiping all the way down. Lysol kills 99......% of all microbes, including viruses, and it is easy to carry a moist towelette around. I wipe between every plant, and also wipe my gloves between each. Aseptic tecnique.