Organic Crop Protection
Passing by your crop or backyard vegetable garden and you notice the leaves getting black or white spots, there are bite marks on the side of the leaves and webs on the underside too. Most growers will look away and ignore the warning signs that there is a disease growing on your plants or that a pest has been chewing away at the leaves, some will get away with it while others wont. There are a lot of options to choose from if you decide to take action, but for most backyard gardeners and for some primary producers they want to decide on an organic option, whether that be to keep to organic certification, or because you're concerned about your health or the health of the beneficial bugs you keep around. The reasons for choosing organic options can be endless so below I have made a list of a few options that can fix most of the problems you may come across.
Sulfur
Sometimes called Thiovit or elemental sulfur/sulphur, this product usually comes in a yellow powder form and can be mixed with water and sprayed onto crops. Sulfur is a great organic product that fumigates the area it is sprayed,/ leaving behind little to no residue and is completely safe to have around. Sulfur will deal with fungal diseases such as powdery or downey mildew and suppress any mites you may have feeding on your plants. Sulfur is low toxicity to beneficial bugs as well. This sulfur does not have nutritional value to your plants so don't skip out on the sulfur component of your plants nutrition.
Copper
Copper is another organic fungicide used to deal with bacterial diseases such as blight. Copper can be a blue liquid or a powder that is mixed with water and sprayed to coat the fruit, vegetables, and leaves of your plants. The copper on the plant is slowly made available on the surface of the plant which is toxic to most bacteria. This copper also has no nutritional value to your crop, copper is a trace element that all plants require.
Bacillus Thuringiensis
My favourite organic product is Bacillus Thuringiensis, sometimes known as BTK, BT, and Dipel. BT is a bacteria that creates toxic proteins that break down in the alkaline stomachs of caterpillars. This product poses no harm to humans or beneficial bugs and can last on the plants for up to a week, providing long term protection to your plants. Once a caterpillar eats foliage treated with BT the caterpillar will stop feeding and die two to four days later, so results take a few days before you start noticing dead caterpillars on the ground and less alive on your vegetables and leafy lettuces. Bacillus usually comes in a powder form that you mix with water and spray onto your plant, best sprayed in the afternoon when the sun is low, this provides the longest protection for you plants.
Potassium bicarbonate
Another fungicide for treating plants with fungal diseases such as powdery mildew. Potassium bicarbonate is available as an alternative to sulfur and works by creating an alkaline environment which is hostile to the fungus and dehydrates the fungal cell walls. Where potassium bicarbonate has worked you will observe dead leaf areas where the fungus once was.
Spray oils
There are a number of spray oils available that can be used on plants which are safe to humans. Some organic spray grade oils are called eco-oil, botanical oil, neem oil, white oil, and paraffinic oil. These organic oils are used as insecticides and work by blocking the breathing parts on the insect causing them to suffocate, the oil residue on the plant also acts as a deterrent. The oil can pose as a threat to beneficial bugs also if they come into contact, it is also best to avoid spraying plants when hot weather is predicted for the next three days as this can cause burning.
These are the main five organic sprays that are safe to be used around the little ones, near your home, and your pets. These sprays cover most of the disease you may come across and all the pests that may land and feed on your plants, except for locust and grass hoppers, a bird bath may be a good idea for them... However, when spraying keep in mind some of the tips below to get the best outcome:
- Ensure your product is thoroughly mixed into the water and that you're using the correct rates, using too much can damage your crop and too little won't protect them adequately.
-Spray to the point of run-off. This means spray your plants with a nice fine mist, if you spray your plants too much and they start dripping you have already caused run-off and this will decrease the protected surface area of your plant.
-Make sure you do your best to reach the underside of the leaves, The underside of leaves and down the middle of plants is where most pests and diseases will be found.
After reading this post, I hope you can now walk past your crop, veggie garden or potted plant and feel confidence instead of dread when you notice something not right. To be equipped with the skills and knowledge to protect your thriving plants without trying to convince yourself that everything is just fine and the black spot on your leaves won't spread...
Happy Growing!