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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
Insecticidal soap acts by contact. It kills insects in three ways:
The pest treated usually dies very rapidly, within minutes of treatment.
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!
Normally, the pollinator insects like bees, butterflies, ladybugs, lacewings, etc. are not harmed by 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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
]]>The pesticides approved in organic farming are largely the natural ones, though a limited amount of synthetic substances are permitted.
Let’s list these synthetic and natural pesticides used in organic farming and learn how to use them one by one.
1. BORIC ACID AND BORAX: This powder is commonly used to play carom has many uses in gardening. It’s mainly used to treat soil pests and insects like millipedes and also for ant control. Just sprinkle the boric acid over the areas of infestation and do not water for at least 24 hours. It acts as a contact poison and also as a stomach poison when the pests ingest this powder.
2. COPPER SULPHATE: This is used both as a fertilizer as well as a fungicide. As an anti-fungal, it can be used in the prevention and treatment of fungal diseases like the Powdery mildew, Leaf rust, black spot rose disease and any other serious fungal disease. This is the most effective anti-fungal in organic gardening.
How to Use it? Mix 20 grams of copper sulfate into 1 litre of water in a spray bottle and spray it on the affected plant. You can repeat this process after 1 week. Prepare only the required solution for the day and do not store it for next use.
3. TRICHODERMA VIRIDE: This is a certified bio-fungicide and is normally present in soil which controls other pathogenic fungi and prevents root rot and other harmful soil fungi. So, this can be used in the treatment of soil fungi, root rot, damping off in seedlings and also to treat fungus affected seeds or to prevent fungal infestation of seeds.
How to use it? For Preventing Canker and stem rot after pruning, make a solution by adding 10 gms in 100 ml water and apply this on the injured stem after pruning to prevent fungal disease.
To Prevent Seed Fungus, add 10 gms powder to 1 kilogram of seeds and mix well.
For plants that are wilting and you suspect a fungal disease in soil and root rot, mix 10 gms per litre of water and drench the plant and soil. Repeat after a week if necessary.
To Mix it in your potting mix, add about 10 gms to a potting mix volume of a 12 inch container and then repot your plant. This is particularly beneficial when you transplant your seedlings into fresh potting mix.
4. BAKING SODA: This is pure sodium bicarbonate which is mainly for cooking purpose and readily available in your kitchen. To use it as a fungicide, you can mix 2 to 3 teaspoons of baking soda in 1 litre of water and mix well and spray on the affected parts. If you want to make it more effective and a universal pesticide, you can add 1 teaspoon of oil like neem oil to this solution plus some 10 drops of liquid soap and spray on the plant. You can also use any vegetable oil, but best is neem oil and also clove oil or eucalyptus oil. Repeat this spray every week till your problem is solved. Apart from this there are about 10 uses of baking soda in gardening. You can check a detailed post on baking soda in garden.
5. DIATOMACEOUS EARTH: This magical organic powder has many uses in gardening like ant control, slug and snail control, preventing animals and rodents in your garden and mainly as an organic pesticide effective against all types of pests like aphids, mites, thrips, mealy bugs, caterpillars and even soil pests and insects. The mechanism of action is it’s a contact poison which kills pests by extreme dehydration. You can check a detailed post on DE powder.
How to use Diatomaceous earth on plants?
First of all Water your plants for the day. Then dust the plants with an applicator or just sprinkle the powder on your plants. To avoid killing beneficial pollinators like bees and butterflies, do not sprinkle on flowers.
6. HYDROGEN PEROXIDE: Though it a chemical with formula H2O2, which is similar to that of water, but with an extra oxygen atom. This concept is the key for using hydrogen peroxide in gardening. Well, to use it as an effective pesticide and antifungal, add 1 cup that’s about 250 ml of 6% hydrogen peroxide per litre of water or 2 cups of 3% h2o2 per litre of water. Load it in a spray bottle and spray on the plants. To control Fungus gnats and soil pests, you can water the plant with the same solution. Apart from this, hydrogen peroxide has many other miraculous uses like to save a dying plant, as a fertilizer and many other beneficial uses. You can check a detailed post on hydrogen peroxide in gardening.
7. VINEGAR: this is chemically called Acetic Acid. It’s an inexpensive product and found in most kitchens. In gardening we use 5% white vinegar or the distilled white vinegar. For the treatment of powdery mildew or spot fungus, add One cup of White Vinegar to 1 litre of water and shake well and spray it on the affected leaves. To use it as a pesticide, Add one cup white vinegar to 1 litre of water and then add some 10 drops of liquid soap and spray on the affected plants. You can check a detailed post on uses of vinegar in garden.
8. NEEM OIL: Neem oil is by far the best Organic Pesticide available worldwide. Azadirachtin and Nimbin found in neem oil are the two major compounds responsible for its antibacterial and antifungal actions. It is in fact a broad spectrum pesticide and the safest and most effective of all organic or natural pesticides. To learn about how to use it, the dosage and the patch test, You can check a detailed post on neem oil for plants.
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Neem oil is a vegetable oil extracted from the Miracle Tree – that’s the Neem Tree. The botanical name of neem tree is Azadirachta indica. Azadirachtin and Nimbin found in neem oil are the two major compounds responsible for its antibacterial and antifungal actions.
This neem tree is native to the Indian subcontinent and can be easily grown at home gardening level even in large containers.
Before we discuss on which Neem oil you should purchase for best efficacy in gardening, we will list out the best uses of neem oil for your plants and gardening.
Now, we will discuss the most important aspect of this video, based on which the quality, composition and efficacy of neem oil depends – that’s the method of extraction of neem oil from seeds.
There are three methods:
Heat pressing method – as the name implies, its using heat for crushing or pressing the seeds to extract oil.
Solvent extraction means using a solvent like alcohol is used to extract neem oil. This solvent extracted neem oil usually has a low price, because it is turbid and contains a significant amount of water and metals with low content of the important compounds namely azhadiractin and nimbin.
Heat extracted neem oil also has moderate loss of the useful compounds and less effective.
Whereas the Cold pressed Neem oil extracted without applying any heat, is the best and effective source for neem oil. So, when you are purchasing from a local garden store or online, make sure you check the method of extraction mentioned on the bottle or product description. You can purchase cold pressed neem oil here.
How to use Neem oil properly for the best effects?
Before I start with the neem oil recipes for plants, the safety profile of neem oil. It has few effects when concentrated form is ingested like stomach irritation causing gastritis and vomiting. Then Eye irritation and contact dermatitis can develop on contact specially in children. Otherwise it has an excellent safety profile and its completely biodegradable.
Now the recipe for Neem Oil you can make at Home.
Before this, few important points you must remember:
To Make the best broad spectrum PESTICIDE FOLIAR SPRAY FORMULATION for 1 litre:
Take 1 litre Warm Water and add 10 drops of liquid soap like your handwash or
even some shampoo. Then you add 5 ml to
10 ml of Neem oil into this. 5 ml if you want to spray as a maintenance
pesticide spray for your garden where you do not have much pests.
10 ml if you have lot of pests on your plants.
Mixing this thoroughly before use is very important.
Perform a PATCH TEST to know how strong it is. This means you Just spray this
on one or two leaves and then wait for a couple of hours to see if the leaf is
wilting or burning due to too much concentration of neem oil. If you pass the
patch test, you can spray it on your whole garden safely. Patch test may be
important for newbie gardeners or if you have purchased a new brand of neem oil
from some company for the first time.
Also make sure you spray the underside of the leaves as well.
Happy Gardening!
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