I am SO upset- my poor garden.

**Kimberlina** · 06-17-2005, 11:41 AM

I noticed a couple days ago that my plants were suffering from bug damage- a lot of the leaves have holes in them. So I made up a mixture from an organic gardening magazine (veg. oil, molasses, garlic, water) and sprayed it on my plants to repel bugs. Now my plants all have splotches on them, some are losing their leaves, and there are still bugs!

I really hope all my nice pepper plants don't die. I will be SO sad if they do. It was SO hard to get them this far.

**Darlene** · 06-17-2005, 12:04 PM

Oh no! Hope the plants all spring back and the bugs go to bug heaven. Thinking good thoughts for your garden.

**debbiepittman** · 06-17-2005, 12:24 PM

We've had a couple of squash plants with some ailment. We don't have but a few bugs as yet.

It did come a huge wind and rain storm last night (power was off most of the night until about 9 AM). My garden got severely windblown, but think it's OK.

I hope you can get yours under control.

Debbie

**jlxian** · 06-17-2005, 02:37 PM

Oh dear, Kimberly, I hope you can rid your garden of the pests and save your plants. You've put so much effort into those little plants!

**Kimberlina** · 06-17-2005, 02:46 PM

Ack! Now some landscaper just showed up to tell me that Floyd is having them spray all the arbor vitae for scale.

He says it isn't toxic (um, why are you putting up signs, then, that say stay out? They are all over my yard.)

My poor little plants.

**forestdale** · 06-17-2005, 03:16 PM

who is floyd? !!!! @#$@%*#!

bugs are the bane of my life, kimber. it's why I never plant anything in our summer.

You should use oil based sprays with caution, even homemade ones. Oil sprays are supposed to cover the bugs body with oil and suffocate them. But if you apply too much it suffocates the plants. When I apply oil stray I look for the bug and spray that. I never spray the whole plant. But what I think has happened to your plants is that if it's hot weather there, the oil spray has assisted in the burning of your plants.

ok, let's try to salvage some of your precious plants.

Try to spray off as much of the spray as possible with a fine garden hose spray. If you can cover your peppers with an umbrella or netting for a few days it might help. If you have any seaweed concentrate (you can buy it at the plant nursery) or have access to seaweed from the ocean (I don't know where you live) make your own solution. What your plants need is a weak spraying of seaweed tea. It's a plant tonic and will help them recover. You could also water a weak solution of it around the roots of the plants.

I hope it helps. I know how devastating it is to lose your vegie crops.

**Mom23boys** · 06-17-2005, 08:56 PM

Oh no Kimberly. I hope you are able to save your plants.

**Kimberlina** · 06-17-2005, 10:07 PM

Rhonda, I think you are precisely right about what is going on. Luckily it is cool and rainy, so I think most of it got washed off, and it has been cloudy, but I think more than anything they are suffocating. I wish that the original article had been a little more explicit about how to use the stuff. Luckily, most of the falling-off leaves are ones that were insect damaged anyway and should have been picked off, so hopefully they will recover.

Floyd is the guy who owns the nursery next door. We have arbor vitaes on each side of our house, and it has always been a little unclear who "owns" them, since they are on the property line, and they were probably planted by his grandfather, who once owned our home. I'm not angry with him, really- he obviously doesn't do things organically, and he is worried about his stock. But it would have been nice if he had told us, since the guys walked past my (usually very private) family room window, which is in my back yard (and looked in) THEN knocked on my door and said they didn't think anyone was home. (Since there is no car in the driveway during the day anymore.) Thankfully, everyone was fully clothed and Maggie and I were just sitting on the couch looking at a book. As much as I don't like the stuff on the trees, more than anything I just wish he had talked to us about iy, KWIM?

**forestdale** · 06-18-2005, 09:41 PM

I do know what you mean. Try to get some seaweed tea for your plants. it will make a big difference to their health. And good luck.

**Kimberlina** · 06-19-2005, 10:56 AM

Thanks- although some of my poor little plants are still under the weather, most of them are doing okay.

I looked for seaweed emulsion a whil back and couldn't find any. I'll have to try some of my other organic stuff on them. What exactly is it that seaweed is high in? I'll have to remember to bring some back from the beach when I go!