The Lazy K - Orchard Nursery

Orchard Nursery & Florist • Home & Garden News • April 2010
Orchard Nursery & Florist • Home & Garden News • January-February 2010
From the Flower Shop
Planning a
Wedding?
Flowers are the greatest
accessories and reflect the
personality of your wedding.
Whether the colors are vibrant
or naturally subtle, flowers
enhance the beauty of their
surroundings and the happiness
of such a joyous occasion.
Please call to plan your
wedding consultation with
our talented design team at
Orchard’s Flower Shop.
Out With the Old, In With the New
Part 2 in a 3 part series highlighting the benefits of organic pest control.
For the last few years the state of California (among other states and
countries) has been banning chemical pesticides that have proved
harmful to humans, animals and the environment. Most of these banned
chemicals now have a safe alternative.
DDT
This was a common chemical once used to fight malaria and more
recently, codling moths. Adult codling moths lay eggs in early Spring,
the larvae affect apple and pear fruit and can easily destroy a season’s
harvest. Hanging traps can stop adult codling moths from laying eggs.
Captain Jacks Dead Bug Brew (Spinosad) is a bacterium based organic
alternative to DDT that can be used to control the larvae before they
enter fruit. Timing is everything when it comes to spraying for codling
moth, UC IPM http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu Keyword: codling moth,
is a great resource for helping to find exactly when to spray.
Orthene
Many gardeners have used orthene for years to control
aphids and thrips as well as some common diseases, which
made it perfect for roses. Neem oil works to smother both
insects and funguses and is safe to spray on vegetables and
fruit trees because it is derived from the evergreen Neem
tree. Rose Defense comes in a ready-to-use hose-end
sprayer, and as a concentrate.
Dursban
Near the end of Summer and into Fall raccoons begin tearing open
lawns to get to their favorite delicacy—grubs. Grubs also attract moles
and can leave brown patches because they feed on the grass roots. People
have used diazinon to control these turf-hurting grubs but it can
produce harmful runoff and is not safe around dogs and
cats (who sometimes feed on grass for better digestion).
Recently new, safer products have come on the market,
such as Grub Beater, which is based on the Neem tree
seed and is similar to Neem oil. Grub Beater comes in a
ready-to-use hose-end sprayer and controls other grass
dwellers (Chinch Bug, Sod Webworm and more) while
keeping beneficial insects and worms safe.
ARRRR! Fetch Me Some Dead Bug Brew!
Spinosad is an old contender in the pesticide ring that
has recently been gaining notoriety because it controls
a wide variety of insects. This spray kills in 2 ways; it
works as a smothering agent like spray oils and secondly
as a bacterium that is toxic to insects upon ingestion.
Similar to BT the bacteria Spinosa controls insects
that spray oils can’t, such as caterpillars, budworms
and borers. The bacterium lasts longer on the leaf at
about 16 days so there is a longer time window for it to work. Spinosad
is toxic to honeybees so spray early in the morning or late at night so
it can dry out on the foliage and flowers. Legend has it that Spinosa
was discovered as a byproduct of fermentation in an abandoned rum
distillery somewhere in the Caribbean by a vacationing chemist-this
is why our product is called ‘Captain Jacks
Deadbug Brew.’ Captain Jack’s comes in a
ready-to-use hose-end sprayer, and pint and
quart concentrates. When bugs are invading
your planting beds… call for the Captain!
A big thanks to our own Garden Shop Swashbuckler,
Brandon Brooks, for these informative articles.