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| I have a white fly infestation in my garden, primarily affecting Brassica plants. Because I am saving seed, I left these plants in the garden long after spring. I am now collecting seeds and cut most of the plants to the ground, but the komatsuna (mustard spinach) is still producing, and the Brussels sprouts have sent out side shoots that I would like to leave through winter. Ditto on the kale. I have been spraying a mixture of soap (Dr. Bronners), water, and olive oil onto the lower leaves. I will soon be planting my fall crop of Brassicas, so I need to get this under control and have been spraying every few days. So, my actual question is about the sprayed leaves. The oil (I assume) is leaving a waxy film on the leaves (I try to just spray bottom but that is difficult). Should I remove these leaves, or just let them be? Can anyone who has used a similar spray advise me if I am proceeding correctly? |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| What is the ratio of the mixture you are using? That makes all the difference as heavy application can do more damage than good. Standard recipe is 1T each of soap and oil to 1 gallon of water lightly misted. But the effectiveness on whiteflies is debatable. Dave |
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| Dave: I thought the ratio was a 1-2 percent solution. Which is about 2.5-5 TB soap to gallon water. Veeta: Like Dave said, too strong of a solution can cause more damage than good. Here's what I would do in your case... I'd either use just soap or just neem oil(anti-feeding properties). And with the soap, I'd hit the plants about ever 4 days at dusk for a couple weeks, rinsing them off with water the following morning to prevent any damage from the hot, summer sun. Or... spend a few extra bucks and order some lacewing eggs/larvae. JMO. Kevin |
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