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Post by daylilydude on Apr 28, 2018 4:23:49 GMT -5
Do you use this in your garden/potted plants... tell us how you use it and if it really works?
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Post by brownrexx on Apr 28, 2018 7:40:39 GMT -5
I don't use it in my garden, but I use it in my chicken coop to kill mites. I sprinkle it around and let it settle into the cracks and crevices.
I never think about using it in the garden but maybe I should give it a try. Last year I had some aphids on some of my tomatoes and I just kept spraying them off with the hose and finally got rid of them but probably DE would have helped. I will try to remember that.
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Post by coppice on Apr 28, 2018 8:18:57 GMT -5
Diatomaceous earth works in broad like soapy water does. It dries joints of pests. the legs fall off, bug dies.
All things being equal, I prefer 1/2 ammonia & 1/2 water as a spray for slugs. Works faster, slugs melt much more dramatically. Brings out the evil chuckle in me.
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Post by paulf on Apr 28, 2018 10:07:59 GMT -5
Don't use.
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Post by spike on Apr 28, 2018 10:31:51 GMT -5
I shall add that to my list of: I have heard of but have no clue how or why to use.
This is a VERY VERY long list . . .
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Post by pepperhead212 on Apr 28, 2018 11:03:47 GMT -5
I used to use it as a dust, before I started using Surround, which stays on plants much longer, and doesn't kil beneficial insects. I do use it around the base of some plants, and this season I put a bunch in all of my houseplant pots, and didn't see ANY signs of scale or ants - usually a problem here.
I also used some of the larger DE - the absorbant - in place of some perlite in some of my potting mix. The jury is still out on that, but it does seem to help drainage, as does perlite, but maybe doesn't dry out so quickly.
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Post by guruofgardens on Apr 28, 2018 17:38:35 GMT -5
I haven't ever used the powdered DE, but am trying the granular DE for seed starting and also will be in my potted peppers.
All will be an experiment.
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Post by daylilydude on Apr 28, 2018 19:11:29 GMT -5
Oooo... great to hear about pepperhead212, and guruofgardens, trying the granular DE, as I couldn't find much perlite local so I'm also adding the floor dry (DE) to many of my pots... good luck you two.
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Post by guruofgardens on Apr 28, 2018 19:50:00 GMT -5
daylilydude, best of luck to you, too! I've been reading about how much DE granular to add to each pot and 'they' suggest 20%, but I think I'll just try one cup in each #5 pot (3.7 gal) and 2 cups in the 7 gal. fabric pots. It's all an experiment, so if you have any other suggestions, I'd welcome any and all. I guess I'll mix up one pot with soil, compost, leaf mold, and worm castings, add the DE and see what the soil looks like. Here's hoping the fabric bags won't dry out too often with the DE.
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Post by bestofour on Apr 28, 2018 21:26:01 GMT -5
I tried it for squash bugs. Didn't do a thing.
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Post by octave1 on Apr 28, 2018 21:37:56 GMT -5
bestofour, you got me thinking: maybe planting squash in a pot filled with DE, plus other things of course, would do the trick.
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Post by bestofour on Apr 29, 2018 13:52:52 GMT -5
octave1, interesting idea because those hateful squash bugs just crawled right across it on the straw bales.
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