[Eric Vinje]

Michelle –

I don’t see any reason to wait and purchase a bin — or make your own — especially if you have plenty of table scraps ready to use. Many commercial bins are rodent proof, which sounds like it might be helpful in your area. And yes, burying table scraps will almost always invite rodents. I’ve attached a few links from several of our composting sites that will help:

https://www.planetnatural.com/product-category/organic-gardening/composting/
https://www.planetnatural.com/composting-101/
https://www.planetnatural.com/composter-connection/

One other suggestion. If you have a constant supply of fruit/vegetable scraps and not a lot of yard waste you may want to consider composting with worms. Here’s a link:

https://www.planetnatural.com/worm-composting/

Hope this helps!

[Eric Vinje]

Isaac –

The following is a response from our insectary concerning your Mealybug Destroyer questions:

I have never heard of the Crypts eating predators. I don’t think it is likely to happen. As far as controlling psyllid nymphs, they should be able to eat them, although I don’t have any data to back it up. Let me know if you have any questions or need anything.

Have a great day!

[Eric Vinje]

Ken –

Here’s a response from the manufacturer:

It depends on the fertilizers they are using, use rates and frequencies of use.

Without knowing this we’ve provided several applicable options:

Same for Vegetative – Flowering

> Add to the fertilizer solution at 1/2 tsp per gallon and use with each feeding.

> For aggressive and/or big plants once a week at 1 tsp per gallon of water or feeding solution.

> Smaller slower growing plants once every 2 weeks at 1 tsp per gallon of water or feeding solution.

> Use whenever there is a micro nutrient deficiency

[Eric Vinje]

Neem Oil — a naturally occurring pesticide found in seeds from the neem tree — is made up of several components. Azadirachtin — the active ingredient in Azatrol AC — is the most active of these components for pest control. Azadirachtin acts as an anti-feedant, insect growth regulator and as a repellent. It has very low mammalian toxicity and is generally considered non-toxic. Neem Oil is used in cosmetics, soaps, toothpaste and pet shampoos. Azadirachtin can be irritating to the skin and stomach.

https://www.planetnatural.com/product/azatrol-ec-insecticide-azadirachtin/

Hope this helps!

[Eric Vinje]

Phyllis –

I received the following response from the company that produces Actinovate:

“There is no adverse effect on conifers, no toxicity, will not burn and may be used multiple times per week.”

Hope this helps!

[Eric Vinje]

Tracey –

As a control measure, it’s best to wait until next spring. With that said, some growers will apply Semaspore Bait on older grasshoppers late in the year to get the infection started — the spore overwinters in infected egg pods.

The USDA has mentioned that Semaspore Bait will persist in an area for up to three years — and maybe longer, they stopped testing after three years — after application. Keep in mind, however, that the spore can get overrun if pest populations are high and pretreatment will be necessary.

Semaspore Bait provides effective, long-term grasshopper control and is OMRI Listed for use in organic production.

[Eric Vinje]

Plants that grow from bulbs can be propagated by taking small offsets or bulblets from the base of the parent bulb. Place the bulblets in light, rich soil and let develop for 2 or 3 years. The same procedure used for propagating bulbs works for plants with corms.

Another method that is popular for propagating nontunicate bulbs, such as lilies, is known as scaling. Pick a healthy bulb and trim off the old roots to prevent rot. Be careful not to damage the tough base of the bulb where the roots emerge called the basal plate.

Gently peel several of the outside scales away from the main bulb. Each segment should have part of the basal plate so new roots can grow. Toss out any pieces that do not have a basal plate.

Put the scales into a bag of moist, but not wet, vermiculite. Use a ratio of 4 parts vermiculite per scale. Leaving some air in the bag, seal it up and put it somewhere with a temperature of about 70°F. If you choose to use a fungicide, dust the scales before inserting them into the bag.

Check regularly for rot, and after 8-10 weeks tiny bulblets should be noticed at the base of the scales. Plant the scales 1/2-inch deep in a container filled with organic potting soil. Keep the plants in a warm, bright spot and make sure the soil stays moist. New leaves will shoot up in the spring. When these leaves die back at the end of the growing season, separate and replant the new bulbs.

[Eric Vinje]

Watermelons can grow in many kinds of soil, but prefer a light, sandy, fertile loam that is well-drained. Add generous amounts of manure, compost and leaves to your garden and work the soil well prior to planting. Watermelons like lots of water. Keep the soil moist at all times. Here’s our page on growing watermelons:

https://www.planetnatural.com/growing-watermelon/

[Eric Vinje]

We recommend Hydrofarm’s T5 Fluorescent Grow Lights for low light areas like yours. They deliver performance, flexibility and high lumen output in just about any growing environment. LED lighting would work well here too, bit they’re still very expensive. Here’s a link to the 2-foot T5 System:

https://www.planetnatural.com/product/t5-fluorescent-grow-light-2-foot/

[Eric Vinje]

Michelle – A good primer course on composting can be found at our Composting 101 site (https://www.planetnatural.com/composting-101/). Here you’ll find all you need to know about getting started as well as maintaining the process no matter which composting method you’ve chosen.

Want to learn even more about composting? COMPOSTERconnection (https://www.planetnatural.com/composter-connection/) is our detailed, comprehensive guide that discusses all the various types of composting methods as well as offering inside tips from successful com posters.

Also, please check out our blog articles for more composting tips and information. We have articles on worm composting, compost tumblers, selecting the right bin and much more. Here’s the link:

https://www.planetnatural.com/category/compost/

Hope this helps!

[Eric Vinje]

Pamela – We have a whole page on leaf spot over in our Pest Problem Solver. Please visit…

https://www.planetnatural.com/pest-problem-solver/plant-disease/bacterial-leaf-spot/

… and let me know if it helps.

[Eric Vinje]

Roots Soil is ready to go right out of the bag and comes with enough organic nutrients mixed in that you don’t need to fertilizer for the first 6 weeks.

[Eric Vinje]

Shirley –

This fall we recommend digging up the corms and dusting them with diatomaceous earth prior to storage. Corms should be placed in paper bags and stored in a cool, dry place. Some references suggest storing corms at 35-45˚F to kill thrips. Do NOT freeze.

There are no recommendations available for using Monterey Garden Spray on bulbs. However, you may want to try mixing the spray according to the directions and soaking corms for an hour or two. Allow corms to dry prior to storing.

If possible, plant corms in a different location from season to season. This helps prevent many “glad” problems. I’ve included a link that should help.

https://www.planetnatural.com/pest-problem-solver/houseplant-pests/thrips-control/

Good luck!

[Eric Vinje]

Phyllis –

I have emailed the manufacturer and I’m waiting on their response. I will let you know as soon as I hear something.

[Eric Vinje]

Cody –

I am not familiar with many manufactures that go through the organic certification process for cleaners. However, the ingredients in the metal polish are:

Ingredients: Derived from glucose derivatives, fruit acids, vegetable oil compounds, lemon oil and diatomaceous earth.

As for a stainless steel cleaner, many of our customers use the All-Purpose Cleaner by Biokleen.

Ingredients: Surfactants from coconut and/ or corn, grapefruit seed and pulp extract, orange peel extract, linear sulfonate and filtered water.

https://www.planetnatural.com/product/metal-polish/

Hope this helps!

[Eric Vinje]

Judy –

Semaspore Bait is 100% organic and safe for use. Ideally, the best way to use the bait — which takes a couple of weeks to work — is spread in hatching areas to infect grasshoppers before they move into your gardens. Unfortunately, the required EPA labeling can be very intimidating and falls short when explaining how to use our product.

Semaspore Bait contains Nosema locustae, a naturally occurring grasshopper control that is specific to grasshoppers and one species of cricket. It will NOT harm people, pets or the environment.

[Eric Vinje]

Hi Travis –

Horticultural Vinegar may make the soil a bit more acidic but I don’t see this being a problem with growing plants in the future. I do like your idea of using mulches and planting a garden in the area. Also, consider native landscape plantings — a good nursery should be able to help with this and please check the landscaping section of our blog… it’s chock-full of useful information that should help. Thanks for your question.

https://www.planetnatural.com/category/lawns-landscapes/
https://www.planetnatural.com/organic-lawn-care-101/

[Eric Vinje]

Hello –

We offer several organic herbicides including Horticultural Vinegar here:

https://www.planetnatural.com/product-category/organic-gardening/lawn-landscape/organic-lawn-care/

[Eric Vinje]

Barbara –

AM or PM is fine… just not during the heat of the day. The idea is to give them time to seek shelter — and get somewhat established — before the sun gets too hot.

[Eric Vinje]

Hello –

Hydroponics gardening can be done organically! In fact, the USDA’s National Organic Program (NOP) allows it and there are entire nutrient lines developed specifically for this purpose. Here’s a link.

https://www.planetnatural.com/product-category/growing-indoors/plant-nutrients/natural-organic/

Happy growing!

[Eric Vinje]

Trichogramma will not help with squash or stink bugs. They are specific to Lepidoptera which are leaf eaters in their caterpillar stage. Examples of such pests include corn earworm, cutworm, cabbage looper, armyworm, borers and codling moth caterpillar. I’ve included a link that should help.

https://www.planetnatural.com/pest-problem-solver/garden-pests/squash-bug-control/

Good luck!

[Eric Vinje]

Rain will not affect the hatch… but if you have a large number of ants they will feed on the eggs. By the way, the parasitized moth eggs on the cards will not change in appearance. The tiny trichogramma wasps will exit the eggs through a tiny hole — you’ll be able to see the exit holes with a magnifying glass.

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