In Today’s post, let us look into 15 household items and their miraculous uses for plants and garden.
15. Soap: Bar soap apart from cleaning purpose, there are some really powerful uses in gardening. You can scrape your nails into a bar soap before handling a potting mix and stuff like that. The dirt won’t enter your nail beds and this hack allows you to clean your hands easily after the job.
Liquid soap or even shampoo is used as a simple pesticide if you do not have any pesticide. Just add 10 to 20 drops or 1 or 2 teaspoons of liquid soap to 1 litre of water and spray on the affected plant. This will clear pests like mealybugs, whiteflies and aphids which are the most common pests in garden. Dish washing liquid soap is actually more potent than handwash liquid soap.
14. Chalk Sticks: Chalk is chemically Calcium Carbonate. You can take white chalk sticks and bury them into the soil while planting your veggies. That’s in initial stages. This really works wonders for plants like Tomatoes, Peppers, squashes, egg plants and almost any vegetable plant. You can bury two chalk sticks per container for these vegetable plants safely if you soil PH is around 6.0. For other plants to provide slow release calcium source, you can bury one chalk stick per container.
13. Turmeric: Turmeric powder has many effective uses in garden like: It repels ants when sprinkled around the plants. You can get rid of soil pests particularly fungal root rot and fungus gnats in the soil by mixing turmeric in soil. You can mix about 1 tablespoon per gallon of soil while making potting mix or 1 tablespoon of turmeric in 1 gallon of water or 1 teaspoon per liter of water and thoroughly water your affected plant with this solution. Its also helpful in healing tree wounds and in grafting as it prevents fungal rot. Another common use of turmeric is in rose die-back disease.
12. Vinegar: You can use vinegar to clean your rusty garden tools and pots. To make your soil more acidic for acid loving plants like hydrangeas, rose, hibiscus and so on and increase flowering in these plants. To do this, Mix one table spoon of white vinegar to one litre of water and water you acid loving plants with this solution once every 15 days to reduce the soil PH. Vinegar is also a strong pesticide. Its almost 100% effective in clearing powdery mildew fungus. To make this spray add One cup of White Vinegar to 1 litre of water and shake well and spray it on the affected leaves. It is also effective against white files and mealy bugs. It is also an animal repellent. Just soak some pieces of cloth and stuff them at entrances or behind pots to deter animals that can spoil your garden.
11. Baking Soda: Apart from cleaning your dirty garden tools and stuff with baking soda, you can also use it for other purpose like sprinkle to drive away Foul Smell from your Compost Pile or compost bin. To kill cabbage worms – Sprinkle Baking soda + flour like wheat flour in 1:1 ratio on the cabbage or broccoli leaves. The worms munch on this and die within 1 or 2 days. Baking soda also encourages flower blooming. Make a solution of 1 teaspoon baking soda in 1 litre of water and spray on your plants with flower buds or unopened flowers.
10. Asafoetida or Hing: The most effective use of asafetida is to treat leaf curl disease in plants. Add 5 gms of asafetida powder to one liter of sour butter milk. Mix well, leave for an hour, then sieve the solution and load your spray bottle. Spray over your affected plant. Repeat this every 3 days for 3 – 4 times. Leaf curl disease which is common in pepper and tomato plants will be completely cured by this treatment. Asafoetida can also be used to repel animals in your garden. Just hang some pieces of it in your garden entrances. Animals hate the pungent odor of asafetida. It also repels other insects and termites.
9. Charcoal: Hard wood charcoal has lots of amazing uses in garden like filling your pot bottom with charcoal pieces reduces pot weight. It can be used for mulching and garden décor. Mixing charcoal in soil can act as a good fungicide and prevent root rot, especially for expensive succulent plants. It also increases soil PH, when your soil is too acidic. It also works as a soil conditioner making the soil well draining. It also hold the fertilizers added for a longer duration and make them act like slow release fertilizers. Sprinkled charcoal powder helps deter many insects like the voracious beetles which can create havoc in your garden or on your crops.
8. Alum: Alum or Potash Alum can help to boost flowering. It makes the soil acidic for acid loving plants like hydrangeas, rose, hibiscus and so on. Just 5 gms alum powder per litre of water and water your plants once in a month. Alum is also a good pesticide in higher concentrations, like 100 grams per litre of water and spray on the plants to kill many pests including cabbage worms, cutworms, slugs and snails, etc. It is well known for mostquito control as a larvicide when sprinkled over the stagnant waters.
7. Banana Peels: Banana peel is one of the highest organic sources of potassium. It helps strengthen the plant and increases flowering and fruiting. You can make banana peel tea or banana peel fertilizer powder if you intend to store it. To make banana peel tea, soak pieces of banana peels in water for about 3 to 5 days. Use this banana tea in 1:5 dilution to water your plants once in a month. To make banana peel fertilizer powder, sun dry pieces of banana peels for 2 to 3 days till they are crispy enough to make a powder. Add one tablespoon of this powder once in a month and see the effect.
6. Aloevera: Aloevera has numerous benefits not only to the human body, but also to plants, like: It helps in faster rooting. Just insert a cutting into a piece of aloe vera and plant into soil. Rooting is faster and success rate is higher. Diluted aloe vera gel sprayed or watered to your seeds helps in faster and healthier germination. High levels of certain compounds found in aloe vera confer immunity or resistance against many plant diseases. Aloevera can also be used as a potent pesticide if mixed with other agents like neem oil, especially for pests resistant against certain pesticides.
5. Onions Peels: contain many useful substances like sulphur, quercetin, potassium, phosphorus, zinc, and so on. So, do not throw away the onion peels. The simplest use of these peels is to use them for mulching. If you have time you can make a fertilizer out of these onion peels. Just soak the peels in water for 1 to 2 days and water the solution to your plants once in a month to notice the benefits.
4. Tea and Coffee Waste: Do not throw this away. It can certainly boost flowering in your plants. It contains tannic acid which helps plants like Rose and hibiscus to increase flowering. You can wash the waste for any sugars and directly add to your plants or collect this and sun dry this powder and use it for your plants. You can also add this waste directly into your compost bin for making a rich compost.
3. Cinnamon: Cinnamon powder from your kitchen is well known for its wonderful uses in gardening. It can be used as a rooting agent to increase the chances for rooting cuttings. Just dip the cutting into cinnamon powder and plant it. It also deters ants when sprinkled around your plants. Its antifungal properties also fight fungal attacks to your seedlings. Just sprinkle fine cinnamon powder over your seedling and prevent dampening off.
2. Eggshells: Though eggshells are a great source of calcium, do not add crushed egg shells directly to your plants. It takes many years to decompose and release that calcium into the soil. You need to instantly release this calcium from eggshells by using Vinegar. Make eggshell powder first and then add a cup of vinegar to it. Stir it well and leave for an hour. The acetic acid breaks the eggshell compound and release free calcium into this solution. You can then dilute this solution to 1: 10 or 1:20 and then water your plants to treat or prevent acute calcium deficiency problems like tomato blossom end rot disease and other problems like bud or flower or fruit drop off and increase your flowering and fruiting. You can also add egg shells to compost bin for a calcium rich compost.
1. Aspirin: Aspirin is acetyl salicylic acid. Salicylic acid is a plant auxin and a rooting hormone which is proven to accelerate rooting and also it confers immunity against many plant diseases. You can use a dispersible 350 mg Aspirin tablet. Just a little of it will do the trick. A quarter or half a tablet is sufficient. You can read all detailed articles on these individual stuff by searching our website for that particular stuff.
Having a beautiful, lush green lawn is every gardener’s dream. It really makes your home and garden landscape look beautiful.
We would all like to have that best-looking perfect lawn, but it is not always easy to achieve. Here in today’s episode, we will show you step by step, how to grow lawn grass successfully from seeds without the need of hiring a landscape designer and stuff like that.
Whether you want to fill a bare spot in your lawn or grow a brand-new lawn grass from the scratch, please read till the end, as it might surprise you with lots of useful tips and tricks. Let’s begin.
- Type of Lawn Grass Seeds?
This is the first important step where most inexperienced gardeners and home owners get deceived while purchasing grass seeds.
PURCHASE LINKS:
BERMUDA GRASS SEEDS: https://amzn.to/3P5npAr
There are many different grass species which thrive in different climates. Like, there are cool-season grasses which grow best when temperatures are 60-75 degrees Fahrenheit and warm-season grasses which thrive from late spring through summer. You can check the packet instructions and labels for this info.
Well, some of the common grass types to mention are Bermuda grass or doob grass, buffalo grass, bentgrass, ryegrass and so on. In this context I would like to highlight you on this important lawn grass seed scam mostly going on online even at big websites like amazon. Some sellers list out as Bermuda grass and the seeds you receive are some millet seeds like foxtail millet seeds or cattle fodder grass seeds which are actually very cheap. These types of seeds are usually fed as budgie food grains but they are selling as Bermuda grass seeds. You must know how to identify the proper seeds before planting and avoid these types of scams. These are mostly non-returnable items and also amazon does not publish negative reviews when we try reporting these fake items. We will grow these fake seeds in one container and genuine Bermuda grass seeds in another container as well as over the lawn area and show you the results in the end.
PURCHASE LINKS:
BERMUDA GRASS SEEDS: https://amzn.to/3P5npAr
- Preparing the Ground and Soil:
This is a very important step and you should know that the tender roots of young grass plants will not grow well in compacted soils.
Choose the location you want to grow lawn grass whether its your front patio or your back-yard. Optionally, You may also have to level the ground surface by adding some loose soil over your lawn area, days before planning your lawn grass.
Well, Firstly, loosen the top 2-3 inches of the soil. If it’s a small area, you can use a hand cultivator or if it’s a larger area you can dig with a shovel or hoe. After digging, you need to rake it smooth to break up any soil clods and rake the soil out into fine particles. Then you need to water the area thoroughly before planting seeds, because damp soil encourages speedy germination and provides immediate moisture to emerging roots.
- Planting the grass seeds:
For home gardens, you can just use your hand to distribute the seeds, flinging it out over the area. Spread them out evenly over the soil surface, neither too crowded nor too sparse.
- Covering the seeds:
After the seeds are sown, covering them is very much important to protect them from birds and also preventing them from washing away in a heavy rain.
You can just use plain soil to cover the grass seeds after planting. But best thing to do is to use a mixture of soil and a water retaining stuff like cocopeat or peat moss to cover them. Like 50% soil and 50% cocopeat and optionally compost like decomposed cow dung or vermicompost. You can mix all three in equal proportions or at least add some 20% compost. Cover the seeds evenly with this soil-peat mix to about one quarter of an inch but never more than half an inch.
- Watering:
This is most important step for germination.
Keep the top layer of soil moist (but not soggy). Too much water is as bad as too little, and avoid vigorous watering with a hose and stuff like that and this could wash the seeds away. A misting or shower attachment on your watering hose can cut down on the amount of force you use.
Till germination, Water at least once a day early in the morning and depending on the climate again in the afternoon if the sun and wind have dried out the soil.
But, once the grass seed germinates and begins to grow, reduce the frequency of irrigation but water more deeply. Once your new grass is about two inches tall, reduce your watering schedule to twice or thrice a week depending on the climate, but water until the ground is wet down to a depth of about three inches.
- Germination:
We will show you the results of seeds grown in containers as well, including the fake bermuda grass or fodder grass seeds.
PURCHASE LINKS:
BERMUDA GRASS SEEDS: https://amzn.to/3P5npAr
Germination should begin within a week depending on the type of grass seeds. In my case, you can see germination has happened within 3 days. On the third day, you can see these cute tiny grass seedlings popping out.
You can check the results in these containers. On Day 5: This one is the result for genuine Bermuda grass and this one is the fake Bermuda grass seeds. Just look at the grass blades and spot the difference. The fake fodder grass has wider leaves.
Then you can see the results after 1 week in containers and the ground. The whole area should appear green in about 2 weeks’ time.
We will make another detailed episode on how to take care of lawn grass like fertilizing lawn grass, trimming lawn grass and stuff like that.
In today’s article, we will quickly debunk 20 interesting and unbelievable gardening myths and reveal some extremely useful scientific facts and tips related to Gardening.
- Fresh Cow Dung or Horse Dung is very Good for Plants?
This is absolutely false! Fresh Cow poop should never be applied for your plants, because it not only stinks but contains high levels of ammonia and salts which can burn your plants. It also contains harmful microorganisms like e-coli which are harmful to plants as well as humans. Plus, it also contains weed seeds which can produce a lot of weeds or unwanted plants in your garden. So always use decomposed cow-dung or horse dung for your plants. You can watch a detailed video on 5 hacks to quickly decompose cow dung from a link in description below or from end-screen link at the end of this video. Let’s move on..
- Is it Dangerous to Expose Roots to Light?
Well, This can be a very nice high school project for kids, to grow two similar plants, one in a transparent container and one in an opaque container and then compare these two. As you can see nothing happens to the plant grown in transparent containers. The actual concern is, root exposure to AIR and even the heat from sunlight that can cause drying and can damage your plant. But still you are advised to keep the roots in the dark. This is because of algae growth due to light and your roots are not getting enough oxygen because the algae is stealing the oxygen and nutrients for itself. So light as such does not hurt the roots, but air, heat and algae hurt the roots and kill the plant.
- Do Plants feel Pain?
There are many studies and researches conducted on this topic. Basically, Plants lack a nervous system – that is a brain and other neurological structures like nerves and pain receptors, so they should not feel pain, unlike in humans and animals where we have specialised pain receptors.
But according to some researches, “Plant can know of themselves being eaten” because studies have shown that plants release defence chemicals in response to caterpillars munching on them.
Other points include: Plants fight for territory, seek out food, evade predators and interestingly trap prey like what your see in carnivorous plants like the venus fly trap. They are as alive like any animal, and – like animals – they exhibit behaviour.
- Talking to You Plants will help them Grow?
People who really love plants and gardening will often tell you that talking to plants or even music has a beneficial impact on their overall health and growth. Despite many different scientific studies on this theory, there’s still no conclusive evidence that talking to plants helps them grow. One theory says that since plants take up carbon dioxide, and hence talking to plants releases carbon dioxide when we exhale. So, that explains it all.
- Plants can Die of Old age or aging. The oldest known tree in the world is the Great Basin bristlecone pine in the White Mountains of California which is over 5000 years old. Actually Trees grow indeterminately, meaning that with the right conditions, they can grow and grow and grow. But the only problem that limits them from reaching up to the sky is the food and water transport through xylem and phloem to the growing end from the roots. The taller the tree the more difficult it is to transport water from roots to the foliage near the top. But here what happens is instead of growing taller they increase in width and also branch out more, as you might have noticed some old trees with huge girth of their stems.
- Animal or Human Urine can be used as a Fertilizer. Yes, this is a Fact!For example, cow urine contains loads of NPK – that’s nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium which are the most essential plant nutrients for agricultural use. But it has to be applied in dilution of at least 1:20 in water.
- Is it Dangerous to go near Trees during Night Time? Well, In day time under the presence of sunlight – that’s photosynthesis, plants take up Carbon dioxide and release Oxygen. But during night they take in Oxygen and release CO2 and hence the air near trees will have lesser concentration of Oxygen and higher concentration of CO2. But, this impact will be negligible for small plants and at home gardens and only be noticeable near very large trees or in thick vegetation.
- Naphthalene balls or Moth Balls contain Naphthalene Acetic Acid and can be used as a rooting agent. It’s a Myth. NAA – Naphthalene Acetic Acid and IBA – Indole Butyric Acid are plant auxins or hormones which are entirely different compounds and used for rooting your plant cuttings. These two are entirely different from moth balls which are used to keep insects at bay.
- Watering plants on a hot sunny day will magnify the sunlight through the droplets acting as convex lenses and burn the leaves badly! No doubt, watering plants early in the morning or late in the evening is great! Because less water will evaporate during this time. But This theory that water droplets on leaves can act like mini magnifying lenses, focusing the sun’s rays and causing leaf burn has been completely disproved by physicists.
- Planting by the Moon affects plant growth and yield?
The idea that the Moon affects plant growth is an old one that is believed by many people. This is a myth! No study has proven the effect of moon on plant growth. And the only plants that use moon light for photosynthesis are certain types of phytoplanktons which are not normally found in gardens. - Crushed egg shells are a good source of Calcium to treat calcium deficiency? This is False! Even Powdered Egg shells take a long time to decompose and release that calcium into the soil and make them available for uptake by plants. You can make a water soluble calcium using egg shells by mixing it with distilled Vinegar to make this happen. You can find this detailed video from a link in description or from a link at top right corner of this screen.
- Saplings or seedlings need to be supported to protect them? True or False?
This is False! Many people recommend you to provide support to these young slender plants due to the risk of wind blowing them and things like that. Unless it’s a strong wind, tying a sapling or young plant to a support stick or any kind of support will actually do more harm than good. Research has shown that trees without support, over a period of time will develop thicker trunks, more supportive roots and more resistance to breakages.
- Do Magnets affect Plant growth?
This is a fact. Magnetism affects plant growth and seed germination positively. Studies have shown that when plants are exposed to a magnetic field with south pole facing towards the roots, Seeds germinate faster and plant grow faster and stronger in the presence of magnetic field in the soil. You can check a detailed video on this experiment from a link in description or from a link at top right corner of this video. - Can Harvested or Collected seeds be stored in a Refrigerator or Freezer?
This is not correct! Most seeds that are stored in a seed banks are first dried up so that the moisture content is reduced to about 10 percent and then these can be stored for several years. But if you freeze freshly collected seeds, the moisture content in these seeds will form ice crystals within and can destroy the seed viability. - Growing Fruit Trees in Containers is not possible due to limited space?
This is not true. You can grow them but you need little larger containers or fabric bags like more than 18 or 24 inch. You can watch a detailed episode on the top ten terrace gardening myths and facts from a link in description.
- Does Potting Mix Cause Legionnaires’ Pneumonia in Gardeners? True or False?
Do not worry! This is not True. Legionnaires’ Pneumonia is a severe form of pneumonia or lung infection mostly cause by inhaling the bacteria. Though these legionella bacteria survive in outdoor soil, it rarely causes infections. But still, prevention is better than cure. Better wear a mask while handling potting mix, specially people with weaker immune systems.
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- How do I know my plant is still alive and how to save a dying plant?
There are many signs to know whether your plant can still survive. If your plant is looking dry and has shed its leaves, most of us think its dead. But actually, it may be alive or can be revived. Please watch my detailed episode on this topic demonstrating how to save a dying plant. I have linked that video in description below.
- Can we grow plants from leaves?
Yes! Some, but not all plants can be propagated from just a leaf or a section of a leaf. Leaf cuttings of most plants will not generate a new plant; they usually produce only a few roots or just decay. There are many ways you can grow leaves into a new plant, like 1. from a leaf petiole, 2. by dividing a leaf into multiple pieces for example fleshy succulent plants like sanseviera or the snake plant and other succulents. Other methods of propagation like cane or stub cuttings, root cuttings, leaf bud cuttings and so on.
- Gardening on Terrace is Bad for the Building. This is not completely true unless your building is too old with a poor construction. Otherwise if wisely planned, a garden on terrace will not be a problem, like placing the heavy containers along the walls on your terrace which are weight bearing or main walls of the building and things like that.
Water proofing the terrace is not always necessarily, unless you plan to build raised bed terrace garden. If you grow in container, you only need to check whether the water draining out of the pots is easily flowing out of the terrace and not stagnant.
- Does Electric Current affect Plant Growth? Well, there is a separate science called electro-culture farming which utilizes this effect. I have conducted a simple experiment on this topic to study the effect of electric current on plant growth. You can watch that episode from an end-screen link or from garden tips channel.
Now let us now install a grow light for our indoor plants. Grow lights are not expensive now a days. You get simple grow light bulbs for smaller plants, full spectrum grow light panels which even support flowering and fruiting. I have shown them all in my earlier episodes on indoor gardening.
Now, coming to this led grow light strip. This is a good option for certain areas in your home and add to the beauty of your home interiors. These led strips come in various lengths like in meters. Depending on the requirement you can order these grow light strips from amazon or any other reliable shopping website. These are waterproof strips and come with a sticker at the back surface. You can see this partition panel and I have created these two compartments for indoor plants. I have done wiring from inside for power supply. The most elegant way to install these led strips is to use these aluminum profile light channels which again come in various sizes. Here I am using 17mm channels. You need to cut a groove for this 17 mm channel.
Now let us first assemble these led light strips. You can measure the length of the strip needed and how many strips you require and make a cut at this point marked on the strip. This not rocket science. Its simple DIY thing. If you want to join two strips together, you can use these connectors of proper sizes to hook in the ends of the strips. Or you can just solder wires to the ends. Make sure you have a color coding for positive and negative terminal and not to reverse the polarity. It’s clearly marked on the strip.
Depending on the specifications of your strip, you need to provide proper power supply, like in this case its 5 volts power needed for this strip for which you can connect it to any mobile charger or a socket with USB charging facility which has 5 volts supply. You can solder or join the wires from any USB cable to this led strip. Then you can stick the strip to the aluminum channel and fix the channel to your plant compartment area. That’s it. You can power these on for 10 to 12 hours a day depending on the plant you are growing under it. Make sure the distance of plant is not too much from light source.
It might sound weird but, there are many incredible Uses of Charcoal in the Garden. If you want to develop a healthy garden, please watch this episode till the end.
There are many types of charcoal available to purchase. But the good news is charcoal is very inexpensive to buy, though online prices are a bit on higher side than offline purchase. You get Hardwood and Softwood charcoal. Hard wood charcoal is best for gardening. Will tell you why as we proceed further. You also get special charcoals like coconut shell charcoal, bamboo coal, horticultural charcoal, activated charcoal and so on. It doesn’t matter, you can just use hard wood charcoal for your garden.
PURCHASE LINKS:
Wood Charcoal https://amzn.to/3FsyoNh
Coconut Charcoal https://amzn.to/3KTRKw3
Let us discuss the benefits of charcoal in gardening.
10. FILLING YOUR POT BOTTOM: Charcoal is porous and light weight and filling your container with pieces of charcoal at the bottom of your container, instead of using heavy weight rocks and pebbles, reduces your pot weight and you can lift or move your pot easily. This is a great boon for terrace gardeners.
9. CHARCOAL MULCHING: You don’t always need straws and twigs for mulching your top soil. You can use spread small charcoal pieces and enjoy the benefits of mulching. Mulching creates a protective covering over the soil surface and prevents moisture evaporation from the soil. It also helps to prevent weed growth over the soil.
8. GARDEN DÉCOR: Using a layer of small pieces of charcoal as mulch, especially around light-colored plants is a nice and unique way to create a different look in your garden!
7. AS AN ANTI-FUNGAL: Mixing charcoal to soil is an effective strategy to treat or prevent fungal infections in plants, especially succulents and adeniums which are more prone to fungal rot. Just include 10% of small pieces of charcoal in your potting mix to keep harmful fungi at bay.
6. INSECT KILLER: Sprinkle powdered charcoal over your plants. This helps deter many insects like the voracious beetles which can create havoc in your garden or on your crops.
5. PESTICIDE RESIDUE REMOVAL: The absorption qualities of charcoal powder, especially activated charcoal, helps in neutralizing the harmful effect of pesticides. Mix 500 grams of charcoal powder to 1 gallon of water (1 gallon is 3.78 litres). Spray or sprinkle this over the pesticide treated plants. This is very useful in edible gardening.
4. REDUCE FERTILIZER FREQUENCY: Charcoal will also absorb any fertilizer you put into the garden and will hold it over a long period of time, providing the plants a slow, steady supply. Here, you need to know one thing – Hard wood holds more nutrients than soft wood.
3. INCREASE SOIL PH: If your soil is highly acidic like PH of 5 or below, you need to increase the soil ph to desired level. A soil ph of 6.0 +/-0.5 is considered ideal for most plants. The potassium content in charcoal and also wood ash raises the pH balance of the soil and neutralizes the acid. Just don’t add too much ash, because if you increase the soil ph too much – like over 7, the plants may not do well, because most of the nutrient absorption in soil happens at a PH of around 6.0. So, How much of charcoal to add per container or per plant? You can add 100 gms or max 200 gms of charcoal per standard container – like a 12-inch container. Of course depending upon your soil PH level. You can read a detailed post on soil ph and its importance in improving flowering HERE.
2. IN POTTING SOIL: Charcoal acts as an excellent soil conditioner, thanks to its low cost, and in fact it’s a suitable replacement of lime in soil additive mixes. It makes the soil a well-draining soil which is very important for plant growth. It is the high porosity of charcoal that benefits plant soils because it offers more of the oxygen that plant roots need to stay alive.
1. REMOVES BAD ODOURS IN SOIL AND COMPOST: You can sprinkle charcoal powder over your compost to reduce foul odors that may arise during composting. Also, when included in potting soil, charcoal soaks up the nauseating odors of compost and manure, while leaving the nutritional integrity of the mixture intact.
- What is an Insecticidal Soap?
Insecticidal soap a.k.a soap salts, is an organic pesticide made of potassium salts of fatty acids and is derived from plant oils like coconut oil, olive oil, etc.
The difference between soap salts and regular soap is the alkali used in making this. In bar soap, they use sodium hydroxide, whereas in insecticidal soap they use potassium hydroxide to make potassium salts of long chain fatty acids which are considered safe, non-toxic and eco-friendly and infact approved for use as an organic pesticide. As always, we always recommend you not to use hazardous chemical fertilizers and pesticides in our website.
PURCHASE LINKS:
Insecticidal Soap (Potassium Soap Salt) Concentrate: https://amzn.to/3vBBzzk
GardenSafe Ready to Spray Insecticidal Soap: https://amzn.to/3hD9MWV
- What is the mechanism of Action of Insecticidal Soap Spray?
Insecticidal soap acts by contact. It kills insects in three ways:
- It damages their cell membranes, causing the contents of the cell to leak out, leading to dehydration and death.
- It melts the protective wax that covers certain insects (mealybugs and other scale insects) and this leads to dehydration from evaporation.
- It blocks the pores through which insects breathe, leading to asphyxiation and death.
The pest treated usually dies very rapidly, within minutes of treatment.
- What are the insects and pests that are sensitive to Insecticidal Soap Spray?
Insecticidal soap is most effective on soft-bodied arthropods, a group that includes most plant pests like Aphids, Earwigs, Leafhoppers, Mealybugs, Sawfly larvae, Spider, mites, Thrips, Whiteflies and even Small caterpillars. Apart from these, insecticidal spray is also recommended and very effective for treating powdery mildew disease. Identify Various Pests here!
- What are the insects that are not harmed by Insecticidal Soap?
Normally, the pollinator insects like bees, butterflies, ladybugs, lacewings, etc. are not harmed by insecticidal soap.
- Ready to Buy Formulations of Insecticidal Soap:
You have two options to choose. One is Ready-to-use insecticidal soap spray that comes packaged in a spray bottle. The second option is to buy a concentrated solution. You have use some 5ml per liter of water and then spray on your plants. Many gardeners like the idea of the ready-to-use product because it’s already mixed in the correct proportions so there’s very little risk of plant damage. The bottle may be labeled as “Suitable for Organic Use,” or “Safer for Plants and Vegetables,” but if it is a true insecticidal soap, its bottle will list “potassium salts of fatty acids” as ingredients. Please check this composition before purchase.
PURCHASE LINKS:
Insecticidal Soap (Potassium Soap Salt) Concentrate: https://amzn.to/3vBBzzk
GardenSafe Ready to Spray Insecticidal Soap: https://amzn.to/3hD9MWV
- How to use these Insecticidal Soap Sprays?
Before we go to making your own powerful insecticidal spray, let’s learn how to use these commercial formulations. The ready to spray bottle is simple to use. Just shake well before use and start spraying thoroughly on the affected areas of your plant. If you have the concentrated solution of the insecticidal spray, use 5ml per liter of water or as directed in the bottle usage instructions. Mix well and spray the plant thoroughly or wet the plant completely, because It is effective only when it is wet and has no residual effect. In other words, it loses all its effect once it dries out. But the pests usually die very rapidly, within minutes of treatment. You may also perform a patch test before using it for the first time. We will discuss about it later.
- DIY Powerful Pesticide Recipe:
The active ingredient in insecticidal soap is the soap, itself. While many homemade recipes may tell you to add additional stuff, such as garlic, chili powder, etc, the insecticidal soap is actually the main ingredient. We will make the recipe for 1 liter of water in this demonstration.
- Take 1 liter of water in a container which can be closed (Distilled water is best. Do not use hard water)
- Add 1 full teaspoon of mild liquid soap – like hand wash liquid. Do not use stronger ones like dish wash soap. Liquid soaps contain potassium salts of fatty acids which are soap salts.
- Add 1 full teaspoon of vegetable oil like coconut oil to this. Now this will be your home made insecticidal spray. But to add more power to this, you need to add Neem oil to it, like about 5 ml, especially if the pests infestation is too extensive or resistant to any of the treatments.
- Mix it well by closing the cap and shaking it well for few minutes.
- Fill your spray bottle and shake every time before you spray.
- Both the liquid soap and the oil act as surfactants to help keep the solution from quickly running off the plant’s leaves when sprayed. The longer the solution remains on the plant’s foliage, the better the chance of killing the pests.
- What is Patch Test?
Whenever you make or use a pesticide for the first time, always do a patch test on a leaf first before spraying on the entire plant. You never know, how strong it is and may damage your plant. So, first spray it on a leaf or branch and wait for 1 or 2 hours. If the leaves start wilting, then its too strong to use. Dilute it accordingly and use.
- How often Should I spray?
For pest prevention, spray plants thoroughly with insecticidal soap once in 10 – 15 days. For treatment once weekly or max twice weekly. And after a heavy rain, you have to reapply the spray.
- Can I store this solution once prepared?
You can refrigerate it to store. But always better to make fresh solution every week.
PURCHASE LINKS:
Insecticidal Soap (Potassium Soap Salt) Concentrate: https://amzn.to/3vBBzzk
GardenSafe Ready to Spray Insecticidal Soap: https://amzn.to/3hD9MWV
About 7 Months back, we planted some pieces of grocery bought ginger and turmeric rhizomes. Let’s take a quick recap of that step by step process which is common for both ginger and turmeric.
- Choose your rhizomes – they must be free of wrinkles and with visible eyes.
- Cut into multiple pieces – each piece must have atleast 2 eyes.
- Soak in water for about 12 hours.
- Plant them in a well draining soil containing at least 50% compost like decomposed cowdung or vermicompost. You can use garden soil or coco coir or a mix of both.
- You can first plant in smaller containers or directly plant in larger containers of atleast 12 inch size.
- Plant them 1 to 2 inches deep with eyes facing upwards or sidewards. Best time to plant is spring or summer so that you can harvest in fall months.
- Water thoroughly and then keep in bright indirect sunlight until you get first set of leaves.
- Rooting and shooting should start within a week, you can keep in direct sunlight of atleast 4 to 6 hours.
- After a month, if you have grown in smaller containers, transplant each plant into a larger container of atleast 12 inches.
- Fertilize once a month With one or Two Handfuls Of Compost and water thoroughly twice a week or more depending on your climatic conditions.
Now Let’s look into harvesting:
Ginger and Turmeric can be harvested any time after 6 to 8 months or when you see the plant starts to dieback and leaves turning yellow and dry.
You need to stop watering a week before harvesting. Then just loosen the soil in the container by tapping it or if you have grown in a poly bag, you can loosen the soil by tapping and patting. That’s it. Remove the dirt and air dry the rhizomes before storing.
Plant identification is the key to successful home gardening. If you know the plant by name, you can google it’s care tips and light requirements. Too much light for these plants can result in leaf burn or even death of the plant.
Variegated species are not recommended for low light areas, as the leaves will lose their coloration. As a general rule, variegated foliage requires more sunlight than darker green foliage.
PLEASE WATCH VIDEO BELOW FOR THE LIST:
Ponytail palm also known as the bottle palm tree or the elephant foot tree. It’s actually not a palm tree. It’s in fact a succulent plant and a member of the Agave family.
Pony tail palm is a very beautiful and a popular houseplant with a bulb-like trunk and beautiful long curly leaves which looks like a pony tail.
This bulbous trunk is similar to the fat caudex of adenium or the desert rose and in both the function is to store water within the plant. Hence, both these plants require infrequent watering. Now let’s look into its important care tips:
- Sunlight: As I said earlier, the term palm used to name this plant as ponytail palm is a misnomer. It is not a palm. Many newbies may think it to be a palm such as Areca palm and keep in full shade. This is not true. Ponytail palm actually need full bright sunlight similar to adenium. But this is such a forgiving plant, it survives and adapts even to low light conditions. But for best results keep in full sunlight. In summer, to protect it from very hot sun, you can keep it under a 50% green shade net.
- Watering: This is a succulent plant and needs less frequent watering. This is infact a very hardy plant but the most common reason for its death is over watering. So be cautious while watering this plant. Best is finger dip method. You dip one or two inch of your finger to check for moisture. Water it only if its dry. Whenever you water, give it a deep and thorough watering until the water comes out of the drainage holes.
- Fertilizer: This plant requires adding a handful of some decomposed cowdung or even vermicompost once every 3 months. That is all is needed for this plant. Do not try to add more fertilizers to this plant, especially the NPKs and other chemical fertilziers.
- Pot Size and Repotting: It is best to allow them to become root bound before repotting them. And when you do repot them, use a pot that is only one or two inches larger than the previous pot. If you repot them into a larger pot, they can get too much water at once, which can lead to rot.
- Potting Soil: They need a good well draining soil with lots of sand mixed in your regular garden soil. Best is to use a succulent soil mix like using sand, perlite, garden soil, charcoal and other stuff in different proportions. One such recipe you can follow is:
Garden Soil: 30 to 40% + River or Construction Sand 30 to 40% (Never use beach sand). Then you can add pebbles or chips about 5%, Then about 10% Compost like decomposed cowdung or vermicompost. Then about 10% Perlite, small Charcoal pieces, neem cake powder, etc if you have them. That’s it! - Propagation: Mature plants usually develop pups or babies which are actually side shoots arising from the mother plant, very much similar to other plants like Aloe vera and others. These smaller pups can be separated away from the mother palm and grown as independent plants.
Adenium obesum, also known as desert rose, is a succulent plant with red, pink, white, and many varieties of flowers. Adenium is an extremely beautiful plant and sometime called Natural Bonsai, because of its thick stems and the modified fat lower stem called as Caudex.
Let’s Start with:
How to grow Adenium from Seeds: The most important criteria to grow from seeds – the Seeds must be fresh and healthy or from a reliable source. The ones you get online may be old and may not germinate. If you have one adenium and you take proper care of it, you should good flowering and then seed pod formation soon. It’s best to grow from fresh seeds or buy a plant from a nursery or even online. You can purchase adenium online because it’s a drought tolerant plant and easily survives without water even for 7 days.
Well, When you are growing adenium from seeds, you need to apply some tricks and hacks for successful germination.
First thing you need to do when you notice an adenium seed pod is tie some thread around the pod to prevent spillage of seeds before the seed pod matures and releases seeds. It has a special seed dispersal mechanism by wind, where each seed had this fluffy stuff which is easily carried away by wind. Here you can see, I have protected the seed pod from its natural dispersal mechanism. When the seed pod starts drying and cracks open, it’s the time to harvest the seeds. Separate the seeds by gently pulling this fluffy stuff……. So these are fresh adenium seeds we just harvested!
Now the first secret to get a great success rate in germination? These seeds are very delicate and are more prone to fungus. So what you need to do immediately is pour in some antifungal powder like bavistin or SAAF or any antifungal powder like Carbendazin + mancozeb combination. You can also add a mixture of cinnamon and turmeric powder if you don’t have antifungal. Coat the seeds with this antifungal powder whether you keep them aside for storage or plan to sow them immediately.
Now the next important step: The growing medium. You can use sand or some cocopeat mixed in it or soil plus sand plus cocopeat. If you have perlite, this is another great stuff. The idea is to have a loose well draining light weight soil mix for the seeds to sprout. You can mix small amount of anti fungal powder into this mix which combats the fungal rot.
Plant the seeds and cover with a thin layer of potting mix and do not plant too deep, they may not sprout. Then finally, you also mix some antifungal into the water or spray can and use the same solution to spray or gently sprinkle some water once every two days.
You can see they should start germinating within a week. On third or fourth week, you should see the beautiful tiny caudex of these babies. When they are about two months old, you repot these into independent containers. During transplant, you need to remember few important points during the process of repotting as well as post transplant care, like:
- Choosing clean containers or if using old containers, you can clean them using baking soda.
- Then comes the Potting mix: You can use any succulent potting mix. Or make your own using a simple recipe: like 50 percent sand, 40 percent Garden soil and 10% compost like cowdung or vermicompost. You can also mix perlite and other stuff if you have. You can find a detailed episode on succulent potting mix recipe from a link in description.
- Then comes Repotting: Have a look at the structure and the markings. The first mark is to demarcate the level above and below the soil. Make sure you insert the plant’s future caudex above the level of soil. If its too below the soil level, it can lead to rot and death.
- Then finally, water this once preferably mixing some antifungal in water and leave it in indirect sunlight for the first week. Water them occasionally like once a week or so depending on the climate.
General Care Tips for Growing Adeniums:
- SOIL: This is the most important factor for successfully growing adenium. It’s a desert rose and hence prefers a sandy soil. Make sure you have at least 50 percent sand or perlite mixed in your potting soil. You can check my detailed episode on making the best succulent potting mix recipe from a link in description.
- WATERING: If your soil is really well draining, the frequency of watering does not matter much, like for instance if you have lot of rains in your zone, its almost like daily watering. And also make sure, you have good drainage holes in your container. Otherwise, generally watering weekly twice or even once is the general rule for adenium like any other succulent depending on the climate of the zone you live in.
- SUNLIGHT: This is a very important factor for proper flowering. Adenium needs maximum sunlight and good humidity for flowering and growth. Atleast 6 hours of direct sunlight is a must! Also encourage pollinator insects like honey bees and butterflies to encourage seed pod formation.
- FERTILIZERS: Most recommend chemical fertilizers like water soluble NPK, but I always use organic ones like simple decomposed cowdung or vermicompost like a handful of it once a month. And during repotting mixing a table spoon of steamed bone meal or Organic rock phosphate for vegans. This much is sufficient to make the roots stronger and induce enormous flowering in all seasons except in it dormant season – that’s winter.
- PEST CONTROL: Its commonly affected by sucking pests like aphids, mealy bugs and mites. Weekly spray of 5 to 10 ml neem oil in 1 litre of water will easily control this problem.
5 Tricks to make caudex grow thicker:
Some Adeniums develop a thicker caudex themselves, perhaps determined by the genetic characteristics of the plant, but others may require human interventions. Apply these 5 Tricks and hacks to make the adenium caudex powerful and thicker.
- POT SIZE & SHAPE SELECTION: Select a pot that is wider than deep. This forces the root system to become exposed to air as it grows and we call it Training your Adenium or Adenium Bonsai Training or adenium root training. Depending on the size of your plant, take a wider container, roughly about 2-3 inches extra space around the existing caudex. And the depth of the pot of about 4 to 6 inches should be fine.
- WATERING TRICK – ONLY water it when it’s starving and very thirsty. That is when your soil is fully dry like using the finger dip method. 1 OR 2 INCH inches of your finger. And whenever you water it GIVE FULL WATERING. This frequency depends on the climate. Like in summer, the frequency increases where as in winter, this can be weekly once. Make sure the soil is well draining as discussed already.
- CUTTING THE CENTRAL ROOT – the tap root of adenium. The caudex is actually the storage organ of adenium – This is an adaptation from mainly the stem and also partly the root. This cutting helps to make the caudex wider and thicker. But perform this step at your own risk very carefully, because there is a risk of rot and death of the plant. Before carrying out cutting, try to wash or spray the root with Hydrogen peroxide solution, about 1 teaspoon in 1 liter or water. Or first wash the dirt in running water and then spray some h2o2 solution on the roots. Make sure when you perform cutting, disinfect the cutting tool with a hydrogen peroxide solution or any disinfectant. You can cut it carefully without cutting or damaging some side roots. After cutting apply a Fungicide powder like SAAF. SAAF is a brand name for combination fungicide with Carbendazim and Mancozeb. You leave this in air for 2 days to form a callous wound. Then you can repot by placing some flat object like a plastic lid below this root flat and then repot.
- PRUNING: PRUNING of branches helps to increase caudex. This is because most of the plant energy is diverted to growing thicker caudex rather than leaf and flower development. You can leave few branches or leaves for photosynthesis. The pruning will not only increase caudex size, but also increase branching and flowering. Remember to seal the cut end with candle wax or a fungicide powder to protect your plant from rot. If it’s a grafted adenium, you should always cut above the graft. IF its seed grown plant, you can hard prune or cut at the level of caudex, so that more branches emerge out from the caudex itself. The best time to prune adeniums as recommended by many experts is after the spring or when temperatures are high. You can check my episode on some Important Pruning Tips and precautions from a link in description below.
- REPOTTING and RAISING THE CAUDEX to Half to One Inch, every 3 to 6 months. This trick will not only increase the caudex size but also give a beautiful bonsai look to the plant.
How to save a Dying Adenium or How to treat Adenium Rot:
There are two problems to diagnose. One is root rot which can lead to stem rot and death of the plant. The second problem to differentiate from the first one is soft caudex or soft stems which may or may not destroy the plant.
You can carefully look for Some signs of root rot or impending danger like:
a. Leaves becoming yellow and dropping,
b. Caudex pimples – like If you see some pimple like spots popping up on the caudez, this may indicate too much water inside the caudex and the plant is trying to creat exit pathways for this excess water.
c. Softening of the caudex or branches is another sign. Normally the caudex and branches are firm when you press with fingers. But if its getting soft, then there is a danger.
d. Inspect of any Injury. Generally injured stems or caudex can start to rot from the injury point. This is called Focal rot and is easy to treat when diagnosed in early stages.
Well, The Treatment steps vary depending on the signs and symptoms.
If it’s a focal rot, you need to cut off that portion using a clean knife and then apply antifungal powder over the wound and just leave it to heal and keep it in full sunlight. Do not pour water over this wound.
If the caudex is becoming soft, you can remove the plant and inspect its roots. Then soak this in a strong fungicide solution for few minutes and then hang it in air in sunlight for 2 to 4 days. It should start shrinking and possibly start healing. If its getting firm, then you can repot in a fresh potting soil and then water with antifungal mixed and leave it undisturbed for a week.