Probably pests are the single biggest challenge any organic gardener will ever face. Pests are capable of destroying standing crops in matter of days. I got first hand taste of in the past few weeks.My first encounter with pest in my garden was in form Aphids.
Aphids they were, first in very little numbers attacking my hibiscus plants.
While I was still at it trying to find a non-chemical organic answer to them, their attention turned to my cucumber plants. In matter of days lot of my tiny cucumber were eaten up (sucked??) by the aphids.
They were all over the place, attacking the flowers buds as soon as they started to show up.But finally I found answer ( may be non-organic but home based)
That's mixing a liter of water in roughly 1 tbs detergent powder and edible oil (normal refine) and spraying it on the plant. Not sure if this was organic. Next time i will try with neem oil.
But I must admit it was a pain to flush out the pests by spraying this mix on each affected part. I wonder what organic options would a farmer doing farming in acres of land have against these pests.
Finally all is well that ends well. I harvested the first cucumber. It tasted yummy, the crunchiest i have tasted in a long time :) And what a journey it was from those tiny seeds to seedlings to now these tiny cucumbers and then to my family's tummy... all in just 2 month's time.
Here it is for your viewing pleasure.
I didn't know you were into organic farming. It's so nice to see those tiny saplings, flowers and vegetables. I love to do that..right now flying and my schedule doesn't allow me (moreover I live in LA in an apartment..so space for farming!)
ReplyDeletemy mom is an avid lover of farming. In our bbsr farming house she has done a great work. I remember her using neem leaves water as a spray . She also used to get neem leaves and sun dry them. Once they were fully dried she would make 'jhoona' under those affected areas.( you know how in Orissa they do that in the house to keep mosquitos away?) hope this helps.. :)