Gardening in MWV & the Surrounding Areas

[GardenAssociates.com]

Neem Oil (from the Neem Tree) has worked best for my non-editable plants. I use to get it at GardensAlive.com, but for some reason they no longer sell it

All about Neem:
http://www.planetnatural.com/site/xdpy/kb/neem-tree.html

http://www.planetnatural.com/site/xdpy/kb/neem-tree.html


As to food crops, hand picking is my only way to battle them and yes I get strange looks as well. Early morning and evenings are best as they are less likely to fly away.

I use a quart yogurt container with a bit of water & dish detergent to kill them and prevent them from escaping. Using this method I can easily trap large orgies all at once by tilting the leaf into the container. I let the container stand overnight and if some are still moving the next day, I dump them on the edge of the road and squash them with a board!

Can you tell I dislike them very much

Some like to place traps in their yard, but I think you end up attracting more than you bargained for....
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[Riverwalker]

A few years back I found out the hard way that Japanese beetles love basil! To save my pesto-making crop I now use the lightest weight floating row cover to keep the beetles off their favorite food. A side benefit - the basil stays clean and the leaves are easily stripped into the food processor. The delicious aroma of pesto in the winter instantly brings back fond memories of warm summer days.
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Feed the soil, not the plant