Botanicals

I have used one cup of alfalfa meal and half cup kelp meal to five gallons of water for awhile and used straight without burns. pretty sure that was the ratio LD posted awhile back. I just aerate for 24 hours then use.

 

Hey dere, didn't see this until someone kindly pointed it out. 
 

 

 
Lemon balm should be VERY useful, though if it's actually pure lemon balm oil it would have been VERY expensive. I ended up with the reconstituted variety and cannot seem to get a reply on the specific chemical compounds or other oil (lemongrass I suspect) they used to cut it with. If it is the pure stuff I say tread carefully (1 mL per gallon) as I haven't gotten a chance to play with that yet. The reconstituted variation I had on hand worked well outside though I did not test it on my cannabis plants.
 
I used cineole type rosemary oil to begin with then tried camphor later with similar though not as effective results (minor variance; not worth neglecting what you already paid for) Both are effective pesticides, especially in combination with a preventative program in place (neem, aloe, silica) for protection. I use the essential oils as an immediate knockdown tool and the others for long term control.
 
I use them concurrently though I have managed to knock everything down to 2 TSP of neem oil (ahimsa) + 2 TSP of potassium silicate (agsil 16H premixed) + 2 mL of an essential oil applied weekly in my 3.5 gallon Chapin sprayer. I mix the neem, k sil and ess. oil(s) in a shot glass first to emulsify and then again mixed into a solo cup with warm water to further emulsify the oils before adding to the Chapin. I mix the aloe (200x powder or fresh from the plant) in a separate container and add after I mix the emulsified neem solution into the sprayer.
 
You could also utilize them only when necessary (as mites etc. show) as a rigorous neem, aloe and silica regime applied once weekly, with care taken to not wander through foliage outside before going into the garden works okay as well. I like the efficacy of the oils though, adds a bit more kick to the weekly IPM routine.
 
Spike lavender or rosemary is all I use now; usually alternate between them weekly unless an infestation or problem shows, at which point I'll increase the amount used as well as using both at once. I strongly suspect this may be an effective tool against PM though I have little experience testing on that front.
 
In the IPM thread I have a few links but here's a couple books regarding oils if you care to browse them; I'll see what else I can find but chrome didn't like my previously organized bookmark folders and now it's a tedious mess to slog through. 

 

I put some lemon balm and lavender flowers into a tea, added insecticidal soap and sprayed with it last night.  The (outdoor) girls look good this morning.  Even found a couple of corpses laying on the leaves.  Some sort of flying critters that didn't make it out.

 

I liked the part about insecticide, don't like the part about weed inhibition.  I likey my "weeds."
 
I wanted to add it looks like they were using fresh herb, not that it matters.  You can get dried at most health food stores that sell bulk herbs.  It's pretty common.

 

I planted some a couple a years ago.  My grandson mowed it down.  Never came back....   Gotta love the grandkids tho.  Life wouldn't be the same without them.

 

Here ya go, just scroll down a bit on that page til you see my post with a couple links to browse.
 
 
http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-growing/335656-natural-insecticides-fungicides.html/page-8

 

Anyone use holy basil?

 

Sounds like a good alternative to callin weed, weed. Lol

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Grasscity Forum mobile app

 

"holy Basil, Batman"   "BAM"  "POW"

 

As in Tulsi??  I've only seen it in health food stores, and not in bulk (at least in the 2 stores in my area).  It's some pricey stuff.  I've had it personally, it's an awesome tea.  Maybe it would make some happy plants.  Happy plants=happy flowers!

 

According to ancient folklore, the Tulsi plant is a manifestation of the Divine Mother on Earth and is for the benefit of all creation. Tulsi is the forerunner of all basils around the world just like the wolf is to our domesticated pet dogs. Tulsi is one of the original 7 holy plants in India which predates even the Ayurvedic Period which predates Hinduism by about 1,500 years. It has been used and is still used today for its medicinal compounds. It's used during sickness to help overcome cough, cold, flu and fever. Assists digestion and is good for treating any and all maladies of the digestive system. Tastes good and provides gentle stimulation to body, mind and spirit.

It is a common practice to plant Tulsi around homes, parks and other public places. It is loaded with the ketone called camphor making it a powerful pesticide and it's very high in the plant compound called thymol which functions as a fungicide.

Horizon Herbs in Southern Oregon sells both plants as well as seeds and they offer all 3 cultivars - Rama, Krishna and Kapoor. Kapoor is said to be the easiest one to grow if that's helpful.

This is a fantastic companion plant for your outdoor garden beds. It is a very beautiful plant which I've been growing for about 8 years.

Hare Rama!

(LD)

Edit:

"I've been a strong advocate of growing Tulsi long before I landed at GC about 5 years ago - something like that anyway. In the pre-Ayurvedic Period there were 7 Holy Plants which stayed when the Ayurvedic medicine system was developed and then several hundred years later in the earliest days of the formation of Hinduism.

In the iconic image of Lord Shiva holding out 8 hands (aka The Dance of Shiva) in one of the hands he holds a branch from the Tulsi plant. Many of the images of Lord Krishna will have Tulsi plants in the foreground and background. Same with the images of Lord Vishnu. Same with the neem tree - in the Bahavagad Gita it is told that Lord Krishna went to the battle with Arjuna carrying ‘the strongest bow' made from the neem tree and the arrows said ‘to fly straighter than any other in the world' were also made from the neem tree."

(LD)

J

 

Thanks J and LD. I grabbed a bottle at my doctors office recently.