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Blog ● المدونة

Aphids!

by Alzainah Albabtain on Jan 16 2012

Uh oh! I've got aphids! [/caption] Aphids feed on most fruit and vegetable plants, they reproduce like there's no tomorrow. Both adults and nymphs suck plant sap, which usually causes distorted leaves, buds, branch tips, and flowers. Severely infested leaves and flowers may drop. As they feed, aphids excrete a sweet, sticky honeydew onto the leaves below. Also, some aphids spread viruses as they feed. Aphids are bad news, and if you find just one in your garden, you should act right away. Look under the leaves to find them. Im using organic insecticidal soap (orange bottle). I have the blue bottle incase of extreme infestations that can lead me to pull out the plants like I did with my zucchinis. Organic damage control Drench plants with strong sprays of water from a garden hose to kill aphids. (A hard rainstorm will have the same effect.) Keep your plants as healthy as possible. Control ants that guard aphid colonies. Spray aphids with insecticidal soap.Both bottles can be found in True Value

Blog ● المدونة

New Compost Batch

by Alzainah Albabtain on Oct 24 2011

Here is a new compost batch that I started last month, its getting well watered and turned. I add layers of grass clippings (C+N), then kitchen scraps(N), then wood shavings (C), this way the dry wood shavings mask the scent of the fruits and vegetables which will attract less insects. The reason my grass clippings are N+C is because I leave them in the sun for about 2 weeks before I put them in the bin, this way the dried brown grass reacts with the still fresh grass to make fast compost. [/caption] You can see that the wood shavings take longer to compost than the grass and kitchen scraps. Im also making new compost tea to water and spray the plants with.

Blog ● المدونة

Steeped Compost Tea

by Alzainah Albabtain on Oct 11 2011

Compost in any form is a plant's idea of gourmet health food. Made into tea, it's the ideal liquid fertilizer, especially for young plants. Compost tea helps plants grow stronger and more productive and, evidence suggests, can protect against disease. The tea can be sprayed on the plants or used instead of water for a soil drench. I'm making compost tea the inexpensive and simple way, make sure you're using non-chlorinated water. 1- Empty about a cup and a half of mature compost into an old sock. 2- tie the sock. 3- toss it in a bucket of water, here I am recycling an Rawdatain plastic water gallon. 4- stir the mixture 5- keep stirring it as often as you can for a couple of days, stirring allows oxygen to enter the mixture in order for aerobic bacteria to do their job. Update: Here is the compost tea two days later: It smells a little sweet and earthy, no bad smell at all!