Thank you for putting this out so quickly, as you promised! I saw it 30 minutes after you put it out, but I forgot to comment. I love your perspective on allowing the plant to develop it's own defenses. I didn't know that was a thing. I do have a question. How much damage should you allow before you intervene? I did find a leaf on my watermelon with a miner which I removed. Then I remembered what you said, but I wasn't sure how far I should let things go. Just so you know, I'm a helicopter plant mom. My plants get checked daily. Granted, I just have a few containers. Thanks again.
There is no harm in removing a leaf with a pest on it. If it’s easy and worth the time, it’s always worth while. Learning how far a pest will go is just experience. On a healthy plant, where all conditions favour the plant, pests will almost always come and then go. But that’s where one learns how one thing out of balance can cause a cascade of problems. If you enjoy hovering over your plants then there is no reason not to intervene on small pest problems. But fewer pests equals fewer predators, so it’s something you need to stay on top of.
Please can you help me? I am going to plant more watermelons now (GTA), putting them under row cover for frost, if need be. Would the cucumber beetle still be around at this time of year? If so, I may use insect netting for the transplants.
I am not very familiar with the cucumber beetle. It is only just arriving in my area. I would be cautious and keep them covered if you are in an infested area.
Hi....What do you think of diatomaceous earth? I sit less damaging than neem and soap? Also, what do you think of yellow sticky pads? Also, trap plants?
Thanks for the message. Diatomaceous earth, like oils and soaps kills non-discriminately. We use things like that to get rid of a pest we see, but we end up killing way too many other things. The big problem with DE is that it is often used for pests that it shouldn’t be used for and then just ends up killing other things. Yellow sticky pads/cards/tape are essential for monitoring in greenhouses. We use them both to make regular scouting reports and sometimes just to trap pests like thrips. Indoors they are great. Vineland Research in Ontario has done extensive studies on using yellow sticky cards. Trap plants are the best and least utilized tool. Some large scale tomato growers I work with have a trap/guardian/banker plant at the end of each row. Anytime you can grow something that is more attractive to the pest than the plant you want protected, you should. Then, you should treat that plant as a banker plant and allow predators to establish (or indoors, introduce predators.) Other plants like alyssum in most environments attract and sustain predators that then venture into the crop or towards target plants. Great questions!
@@jxg151 Bt is fine. But widely misunderstood. BTK kills caterpillars, but BTi kills fly species. It also has to be sprayed before caterpillars or flies start feeding. In most cases this does more harm than good. An even orchards would use cultural controls before bt for caterpillars because of the cost.
Would garlic water (basically a garlic tea) work well as pest prevention? I mentioned, if you remember my name, that I'm a helicopter plant mom. Still, a bunch of little green worms (probably close to 100) ate my favorite plant and now I found some on my watermelon. How did it happen? I didn't know what to look for, and I just didn't see them. My watermelon is pollinated already so I'm just trying to finish the growth and ripening process. These shysters aren't going to get my melon! Lol Are there negatives to using garlic?
A garlic tea is a good deterrent, but again, you don't want to deter everything, just the pest. Green worms on leaves are likely caterpillars. The recommended prevention for caterpillars is row covers, btk, and/or the wasp parasitoids: trichograma (only if matched by species.)
@@gardeningwithbugs721 thanks! I only have a few containers so maybe I'll use tulle. I just saw a clump of assassin eggs on my basil so I wouldn't want to ward them off.
Great video. I love this channel! I'm learning so much, keep up the great work!
Thank you!
Thank you for putting this out so quickly, as you promised! I saw it 30 minutes after you put it out, but I forgot to comment.
I love your perspective on allowing the plant to develop it's own defenses. I didn't know that was a thing.
I do have a question. How much damage should you allow before you intervene? I did find a leaf on my watermelon with a miner which I removed. Then I remembered what you said, but I wasn't sure how far I should let things go.
Just so you know, I'm a helicopter plant mom. My plants get checked daily. Granted, I just have a few containers.
Thanks again.
There is no harm in removing a leaf with a pest on it. If it’s easy and worth the time, it’s always worth while.
Learning how far a pest will go is just experience. On a healthy plant, where all conditions favour the plant, pests will almost always come and then go. But that’s where one learns how one thing out of balance can cause a cascade of problems.
If you enjoy hovering over your plants then there is no reason not to intervene on small pest problems. But fewer pests equals fewer predators, so it’s something you need to stay on top of.
@@gardeningwithbugs721 excellent advice. Thank you.
Please can you help me?
I am going to plant more watermelons now (GTA), putting them under row cover for frost, if need be.
Would the cucumber beetle still be around at this time of year? If so, I may use insect netting for the transplants.
I am not very familiar with the cucumber beetle. It is only just arriving in my area. I would be cautious and keep them covered if you are in an infested area.
Hi....What do you think of diatomaceous earth? I sit less damaging than neem and soap?
Also, what do you think of yellow sticky pads?
Also, trap plants?
Thanks for the message.
Diatomaceous earth, like oils and soaps kills non-discriminately. We use things like that to get rid of a pest we see, but we end up killing way too many other things. The big problem with DE is that it is often used for pests that it shouldn’t be used for and then just ends up killing other things.
Yellow sticky pads/cards/tape are essential for monitoring in greenhouses. We use them both to make regular scouting reports and sometimes just to trap pests like thrips. Indoors they are great. Vineland Research in Ontario has done extensive studies on using yellow sticky cards.
Trap plants are the best and least utilized tool. Some large scale tomato growers I work with have a trap/guardian/banker plant at the end of each row. Anytime you can grow something that is more attractive to the pest than the plant you want protected, you should. Then, you should treat that plant as a banker plant and allow predators to establish (or indoors, introduce predators.) Other plants like alyssum in most environments attract and sustain predators that then venture into the crop or towards target plants.
Great questions!
@@gardeningwithbugs721 Thanks for the replies.
Are yellow sticky p[ants more hazardous outdoors, since bees, etc. can get caught up in them?
@@gardeningwithbugs721 ..also, what do you think of biological sprays like BT? They are portrayed as being harmless
@@jxg151 yes, outdoors they aren’t necessary.
@@jxg151 Bt is fine. But widely misunderstood. BTK kills caterpillars, but BTi kills fly species. It also has to be sprayed before caterpillars or flies start feeding. In most cases this does more harm than good. An even orchards would use cultural controls before bt for caterpillars because of the cost.
Would garlic water (basically a garlic tea) work well as pest prevention?
I mentioned, if you remember my name, that I'm a helicopter plant mom. Still, a bunch of little green worms (probably close to 100) ate my favorite plant and now I found some on my watermelon.
How did it happen? I didn't know what to look for, and I just didn't see them.
My watermelon is pollinated already so I'm just trying to finish the growth and ripening process. These shysters aren't going to get my melon! Lol
Are there negatives to using garlic?
A garlic tea is a good deterrent, but again, you don't want to deter everything, just the pest. Green worms on leaves are likely caterpillars. The recommended prevention for caterpillars is row covers, btk, and/or the wasp parasitoids: trichograma (only if matched by species.)
@@gardeningwithbugs721 thanks! I only have a few containers so maybe I'll use tulle. I just saw a clump of assassin eggs on my basil so I wouldn't want to ward them off.