Default Header Ad

Pests – Page 2

Potted Key Lime Tree with Tiny Black Ants

Question from Brenda: I have a potted key lime tree, new, and all of sudden tiny black yard ants have made a home in the pot, and are crawling into the blooms. How can I get rid of them without hurting the tree? Answer from Pat: Purchase a bag of dry earthworm castings and put […]

Organic Snail Control

Credits: Genevieve Schmidt & Ester the Chicken Question from Tressa: I love your month by month gardening book and have read it almost cover to cover. My problem is armies (literally of snails) I live in Claremont, Ca. (new Pomona not San Diego) in the foothills and have snail attracting ground covers which I can’t […]

Gray scaly bark on Crape Myrtle

Question from Jonnie: My crepe myrtle was purchased with a gray scaly bark = it looks like fungus.  What organic spray can I use to rid the plant of this fungus. What kind of soil would you use to put in ground for the crepes? Answer from Pat: Without seeing your crape myrtle (Lagestroemia indica) […]

Root Nematod

Question from Tef: I came across your video would these seeds or any marigold seeds work in my perlite beds I do alot of cuttings and than root them how do I apply these seeds to them and how often should I use the seeds and when 1 a year or how can you please […]

Shrimp Shell Meal

Question from George: I’m having problems finding the shrimp shell meal you talked about at the fairgrounds the other day, the only place I can find it is on line and its a 50lb bag. If I bought the 50lb bag how long can I store it and it still be good. It would take […]

Iceland poppies

Q. I planted a beautiful bed of Iceland poppies and the first week everything was fine. I started noticing that the new buds were mysteriously disappearing before they opened? The stems are fine but the buds are cleanly removed from the top of the stem? Our area has wall rats and squirrels could it be […]

Help with Nematodes

Gardening Question from Christine: I’ve been fighting nematodes for some time, and discovered by accident last summer that the French marigold eliminated them in one of my beds. I decided this fall to plant them in my vegetable beds which do have nematodes in them, so I seeded thickly, then started planting vegetable seedlings among […]

White Flies on Hibiscus

Gardening Question from Jim: Seems like every other year I get small infestations of white flies on my Hibiscus plants. Usually it’s only one, I’ll prune all the infected leaves off and spray with soapy water. My property has wasps, which I have heard, to be a good insect to kill off the White Fly, […]

Root Knot Nematodes

Question from Arline: How can one get rid of nematodes? A friend of mine has a community garden and she has them in her plot…..any tips? Answer from Pat: There are many ways to get rid of root knot nematodes. I think I have now found the best way, but in order to answer this […]

Aphid Anarchy

Question from Jess: My team is once again struck with a WWPD?(What Would Pat Do) question. We are 100% organic gardeners and the aphids are putting up a heck of a fight. We’ve hosed off the plants in the morning and diligently sprayed. Yet, they thrive. Do you have any other organic remedies?? Thanks again […]