Things to Do in August

The Lawn: Mow your lawn at a higher setting and keep it mowed regularly so that you do not have to remove so much grass that the lawn turns yellow after each mowing. Leave the grass clippings on the ground so that they can break down and be used as a fertilizer.

Aerate the lawn now. The plugs taken out of the soil will leave little cups that can be used to collect water permitting easier percolation and therefore less amount of water will be needed. Use Green Sense Lawn & Garden Microbial Treatment as a tool to improve percolation of the soil.

Water: Deep watering is more important now then any other time of the year. Deep watering allows the root system of plants to follow the water deep down into the soil. When watering for long periods make sure that:

• The wind is not blowing.
• That the water is going where it is needed. That means do not water wood or concrete surfaces. Take some time to adjust the sprinkler head for proper coverage.
• That the water is not running off of the lawn and down the street. Let the water soak into the soil until it starts to run downhill, then turn the water off in that section so that it can soak in, continue to water.

Brown patch: Several customers came in while I was working on this newsletter complaining about Brown Patch.

Corn Meal is a product that works very well for control of most fungal problems in soils or on grass but I find myself recommending Potassium Bicarbonate more and more. Potassium Bicarbonate (PB) is easier to apply and can be used to control more fungal problems then Corn Meal.

Have you tried PB for black spot on roses or powdery mildew on Crape Myrtles' What about algae on walls'

PB works great at just 2 ounces per gallon of water on all plant fungi. When used for ponds with circulating water just add 2 ounces of PB per 100 gallons of water.

Another benefit of PB is that it comes in 1 lb bags easy to carry easy to store AND it does not get weevils.

Chinch Bugs: Most homeowners will first notice dead patches of grass along a driveway, curb, sidewalk or foundation of the home, due to the heat emitted from such objects.

The chinch bugs insert their slender beak into the grass and suck the plant juices. As the chinch bug sucks the plant juices, it releases a toxin that causes yellowish to brownish patches in turf. Typical injury appears as spreading patches of brown, dead grass.

Inspecting for Chinch Bugs: You can identify infestations by using a large coffee can or gallon can with both ends removed. Press one end of the can about two or three inches into the soil, fill with soapy water, and watch for about five minutes. If chinch bugs are present, they will float to the surface. It is very important to check areas where the yellowish spots and the green grass meet in several different locations.

Control for Chinch Bugs: If you do find that your lawn has chinch bugs use Green Sense D.E. at a rate of 1 lb per 500 sq/ft. Treat infested areas and then treat the edges of these areas as a control for escaping insects. Do not treat the entire lawn.

Last year during Chinch Bug season we did some experimenting with Green Sense Soil Drench for control of fleas and chinch bugs. We found that when you use 2 ounces of Soil Drench per gallon of water over 500 square feet the insects are quickly killed. However emerging fleas required a second and sometimes a third application for total control.

Thatch: Removal is important for eliminating conditions favorable for chinch bug survival. Most organic lawns that have plenty of microbial activity do not have a heavy thatch problem.

Green Sense Lawn & Garden Microbial Treatment helps reduce thatch. With proper watering practices you can promote beneficial fungi that attack chinch bugs. Low nitrogen fertilization slows chinch bug reproduction although the lawns regularly attacked by these insects (St. Augustine) are heavy feeders and prefer more fertilizer than other turf grasses. This is one of the reasons why chemical advocates do not recommend fertilizing at this time.

Crape Myrtles: Powdery Mildew did not seem to be as big of a problem this year as last until mid July. Now powdery mildew seems to be on every Crape Myrtle. Powdery mildew can be treated with a combination of Potassium Bicarbonates and Ultra Fine Paraffinic Oil at a rate of 2 ounces each per gallon of water. Apply as needed

Baking soda, better yet: Potassium Bicarbonate. Many gardeners have baking soda in their kitchens and can also use it as a control for mildew and other fungi. Long term build up of sodium is the reason why I do not use it.

Most fungal problems can be treated with either or by mixing 2 tablespoons Potassium Bicarbonate to a gallon of water. For best results add 2 ounces of Foliar Juice to the mixture and lightly mist the foliage of diseased plants. For grass, apply the same mixture over 400 sq/ft. Click here for more information on baking soda. I would add Foliar Juice or Kelp each time.

Bugs: During the last week of July we had many customers come in that were having problems with:

Ants: All kinds of ants. Fire ants, carpenter ants, crazy ants you name it ants. Fire Ant mounds will pop up out of the ground occasionally and can easily be treated with Green Sense Soil Drench. Successful complete kill can be accomplished by using as much product as needed to overflow the mound. If you remember the mounds become more obvious after a rain, so if you know where there is a mound take a hose to it and turn on the water to a slow trickle to force the ants in the mound to surface and protect the larvae from drowning. After a few minutes you will be able to kill the entire mound with just a little bit of product.

Carpenter Ants: are not easily found but if you see sawdust on the floor or on furniture, look up look for small holes in the ceiling or cabinets. You can at the same point drill holes just wide enough to inject or puff boric acid baits. If an attic is available get up early in the morning and apply sufficient amounts of boric acid and diatomaceous earth to the suspected area in hopes of controlling these pests. At my house I have used a product called Eco PCO D for ants and silver fish in my attic. Michael Bosco owner of Soils Alive recommended this product to me. Michael does insect control using all organic, low impact products. If you cannot treat your home give him a call at: 214-343-9831.

Web Worms: Web worms, tent caterpillars-same thing. If you want to avoid them altogether, there are a couple of things to do. One, just keep your birdfeeders filled, all birds love fat juicy worms to feed their babies; in fact there is a Yellow Billed Cuckoo that flies all the way up from South America just to eat fuzzy caterpillars. Secondly, if you will protect any wasp and/or hornet nests, which are built in an out of the way spot, those guys clean up the caterpillars big-time! In fact, I can't even grow larval food plants in my yard, because ALL the caterpillars get eaten. Now here is where it comes in handy to have organic neighbors, or even ones that don't do anything at all, the larger the area that is organically maintained, the more native beneficial insects there are. Hopefully you have enough trichogramma wasps around naturally. If not, things are not yet in balance enough to care of them first, then you can spray any of the BT products, and/or release trichogramma yourself. It will be easier if the web can be torn open, for the birds or wasps to get in, so if the tree is low enough, tear open the webs, if not it may be time to practice pitching, with small water balloons of course. The most annoying thing to me is, you always see web worms in pecans, hickories, mulberries, and other good trees, never in cottonwoods or green ash!

Water: Earlier I said that I water my lawn once a week. That does not mean that I will not go out and spot treat my perennials and shrubs as needed. Do not forget to water the foundation. Houses with large trees planted near the foundation need more watering to prevent the trees from sucking up the moisture from under the foundation. It is said that a Silver Leaf Maple can uptake 30,000 gallons of water in one day. Imagine what could happen to your foundation if there is no moisture there. If you are one of those who feel like you should have hanging baskets a hanging, then water daily or use Solid Water from Green Sense in the baskets and potted plants. Check to be sure that they do need water and then water thoroughly.

Mulch: Help conserve moisture and keep the soil temperature down by using a three-inch layer of heavy shredded mulch, like Hardwood, Cedar or Cypress bark. Do not use pine bark mulch. That stuff is cheap, but when we start getting rain again it will float away. Shredded mulch will interlock so that heavy winds or rains will not wash them away. I use Pine Straw at my house. I like the long needles and the fact that as they break down they help acidify the soil.

Weeding: If you have used mulch you should have fewer weeds, but you will notice that where the mulch has broken down and the sunlight can reach the soil weeds may have started to germinate or even take over. Do not wait to pull them or spray them, do it now! If spraying is easier use 20 percent Green Sense Vinegar to carefully spray the foliage of the weed, not the surrounding plants. Green Sense Coconut Oil can be used as a spreader sticker that can be added to vinegar to help minimize the use of vinegar.

Spray vinegar on a hot day and you can see the weeds die within minutes. Victory, hurrah!

Re-mulch the beds so that weeds will not germinate and if they do pop up it will be easier to pull the root system from the loose mulch then from the heavy clay.

The Vegetable Garden: Now is a good time to start your fall garden and many nurseries now have transplants in stock.

If birds got more of your tomatoes then you did, try growing some yellow varieties. Birds won't know when they're ripe and won't eat as many.

Carrots, beets, lettuce, spinach, radishes, and over-wintering cauliflower are the most popular vegetables to grow in the winter garden.

Perennials: These plants can be started from seed sown directly into the garden this month or next. The spring flowering perennials can be divided and transplanted this month or next. Be sure to do it during the coolest part of the day and water-in the plants thoroughly after transplanting.

Take a few minutes to pick spent and dead flowers on annuals and perennials; this will make a big difference in the health of the plant. As soon as most plant goes to seed, it will quit producing more flowers. Remove the spent flowers and the plants will flower longer. The garden also looks better without the unsightly spent blooms.

Planting: In late August plant fall chrysanthemums, petunias and dianthus. They will begin to bloom in late September. When selecting plants for your garden, look for a lot of healthy buds. Make sure that they are still tight and are not about to open yet. Apply Green Sense Kelp at time of planting and once a week thereafter.

Preventive Measures: Take time to examine the garden on a weekly basis to see if any bugs are ruining flowers or shrubs. Don't call your local nursery for help over the phone, bring in samples so that they can see what is causing the problem and recommend the appropriate steps correct the problem.

Adding Organic Matter to the Soil

reprint August 2002

There was an article in the Dallas morning News Garden Section dated Friday, October 25^th, 2002 by H.S. Stevens. Mr. Stevens writes in his article about ways to improve your soils. The main concern in his article is the tightly packed soils. His solution is one that most of us have been practicing for a long time: Add organic matter.

The problem with organic matter is that it has the tendency to break down, resulting in the need for more organic matter. Way back in January of 1999 I wrote about "My Teachers". One of my teachers was J.D. Brown, every year he would have me put leaves that were raked from his yard and manure that was gathered from a nearby stable into his garden. Every Year!

Many years have passed and so has Mr. Brown, but with his help I learned how important it is to add good things back to the soil. Clay soils compact easily and this compaction depletes oxygen levels in the soils. As Mr. Stephens says: "Without oxygen plants can not take up water and nutrients properly, and they suffer."

How much rain did we get this year, how warm was the temperatures last summer and the summer before. Why do I ask these questions when we are talking about soils?

Because, warm temperatures help breakdown organic matter and excess amounts of water leech out nutrients leaving very little good stuff in the soil. To make things worse your lawn or your landscaped beds use up organic matter to produce foliage and flowers and for those who grow vegetables the product that you eat. Organic matter gets removed and has to be replenished.

Soil organic matter develops when soil microbes and worms break down plant and animal debris and then mix all the broken down mater as they travel through the soil.

But what if they do not have organic matter to break down?

For years people like Mr. Brown have known about the importance of returning organic matter to the soil in order to maintain soil fertility and plant health. All soils, vegetable gardens, perennial and annual beds and yes even turf areas need to be rich with nutrients, so lets start improving the soil.

Leaves and other lawn waste: Instead of throwing away the leaves and other debris left from fall cleaning we place all this organic matter over the vegetable garden or spread it out evenly between rows of bushes or on top of groundcover and let it feed our soils. If you have more then you need you should compost it or ask your neighbors if they could use some extra leaves this winter. After they laugh at you explain the need for composting.

We actually collect the leaves from gutters and concrete areas and place them on the yard and then go over these with a mulching mower. By the time we come back the next week or at a later date it is hard to find the remains of the mulched leaves from our previous visit. Of course we repeat the process. When we have just to much volume and cannot find areas to leave all the debris at the customers house we do take it to another customers house who has us leave it in his driveway. He has very few trees and needs more organic matter and really likes the variety of plant material that we drop off.

Worm Castings: This manure is an excellent source of bacteria, iron, magnesium, sulfur and over 60 trace elements, because the worms egg casings are so small they can not be removed from the castings at time of packaging so when the soil and moisture temperatures are just right these eggs will hatch and create thousands of aerating machines that in turn will eat other non-living substances in turn creating more digested matter for the soil. As they advance they must eat everything in front of them creating tunnels that will help improve drainage during periods of rainfall and retain moisture in periods of drought. As these tunnels collapse organic matter gets mixed in with clay soil.

It is very important to know what a worm mound looks like. As opposed to a Fire Ant mound the worm mound is normally just a scattering of pellet-sized particles in random.

These mounds can be swept away or left alone to break down quickly on their own. Do not pour citrus oil products on to these mounds, as they will kill the worms.

Composted Manure: Unlike Mr. Brown, I do prefer using composted manure over fresh take your chances and wait and see what pops up from stables manure.

Green Sense Manure is composted and dehydrated seed and odor free manure that has an NPK of 2-1-1. That means that the soils will benefit immediately and will not use up any nitrogen in trying to break down the organic matter. Many times inferior bagged manures will only have a small percentage of manure and larger quantities of sawdust. The nitrogen in the soil will be used to break down the sawdust and in any cases you will see plants turn yellow from nitrogen depletion.

Cotton Bur Compost: My favorite commercial compost is cotton burr compost. There are lots of reasons for that. Cotton is a heavy feeder and depletes the soil of nutrients as it grows. The nutrients wind up in the fleshy seed pod, 'boll' or 'burr' of the cotton plant. In most of the U.S. the burr remains on the plant and is plowed back into the soil after harvest, but on the Texas High Plains the burr winds up in what's called 'gin trash', a by-product of cotton production.

Cotton burr compost is a natural organic fertilizer, does not tie up nitrogen in the soil, is unsurpassed at breaking up tight, clay soils, improves moisture retention and fertility in sands, holds as much moisture as peat, but unlike peat, wets and re-wets easily, lasts for up to two full growing seasons and is economical to use. A quality cotton burr compost will also be free from weeds, insects and pathogens.

Cotton burr compost under several different labels is available commercially through independent garden centers in many parts of the Central, Southwestern and Southeastern United States. At Rohde’s and at a few Texas military base exchanges, we offer a premium grade cotton burr compost under the 'Green Sense' label. Besides being the very best cotton burr compost money can buy, Green Sense Cotton Burr Compost contains sulfur, the longest lasting of the elemental acidifiers and a plant essential micro-nutrient. In my opinion, sulfur is an absolute necessity in our alkaline soils.

I know that I have just mentioned two different types of compost, and I did so for a reason. Compost is becoming recognized for its fungicidal properties through college testing. As a soil amendment it has reduced the need to apply soil fungicides to control fusarium, pythium, and rhizoctonia. These solids break down with water and release or create beneficial microbes and soluble nutrients that can work as mild fungicides and disease controllers. By using a variety of compost you ensure that some of the leeched material produced by watering or rain will activate these fungicidal benefits. At my house I use equal quantities of manure and cotton bur compost when ever I start a new bed or add organic matter to my soils, I have noticed that unlike my neighbors I have no noticeable disease problems.

Humate: This petrified compost is a natural source of trace minerals, carbon and humic acid that acts as an organic chelator and microbial stimulator. Chelates are large organic compounds that encircle and hold trace elements that are normally not available to plants. Chelators help plants to effectively absorb micronutrients that are generally in plant "unavailable" forms.

Microbes: Microbial Lawn & Garden Treatment is a culture of living microbes in a liquid concentration with an extended shelf life requiring no special refrigeration. Microbial Lawn & Garden Treatment will enhance your fertilizer/plant food by making it more available for the plant's use. Microbial Lawn & Garden Treatment loosens soil and improves soil percolation. This improves the absorption of moisture and strengthens the plant’s root system. Flowers and plants in most cases will have larger blooms, larger leaves and longer bloom periods with Microbial Lawn & Garden Treatment.

It Is not Just the Kids that Matter

"As you are now finding out, it is safer to install plants that do not require applications of chemical fungicides or insecticides," was the comment I heard in passing as Karen was on the phone with a customer.

After she got off the phone I asked her what the call was about and she told me that the phone call was from a homeowner that was tired of spraying her photinias with fungicides.

The customer was trying to get away from applications of chemicals, because her granddaughter was coming to visit, and was afraid that she may try putting leaves of recently sprayed plants in her mouth. Karen asked why she was concerned only about her grandchild and not about her pets or her own safety.

After a few seconds of silence Karen reminded the caller that her health and that of her pets and all wildlife, was as important as that of her grandchild.

A few days later a lady came in and identified herself as the caller who wanted to get away from chemicals. She wanted to get a replacement plant for her sick photenias something that would not require constant spraying. But the main reason she came in was to say thanks for the awakening. She said that what she needed was for someone to remind her that chemicals that she was trying to keep her grandchild from could also affect her.

At about the same time that I was writing this article I received an email from a customer who had a footnote to his email that reads:

It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succor of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields we know so that those who live after may have clean earth to till.

It does not happen often enough but, I love it when I receive a phone calls and emails from unknown people who are concerned about the welfare of their offspring's.

The tides, they are changing!

Common Sense Guide to Organic Gardening

by Warren Johnson

Section Two: Soil Amendments

Add compost. It's food for the beneficial organisms that make nutrients available to plants, provide aeration and maintain a balance between beneficial and harmful organisms in the soil. Back To Nature, Inc. offers several specialty products blended for specific needs. Their fine texture blends into the existing landscape or bed areas and is readily assimilated into the soil.

Nature's Blend: Fine screened composted cotton burrs, cattle manure, alfalfa and humate. Excellent as a top dressing on existing beds or turf.

Flower Bed Conditioner: Fine screened composted cotton burrs, cattle manure, feather meal, cottonseed meal, alfalfa and sulfur. Use as a top dressing or work into the soil.

Rose Bed Amendment: Fine screened cotton burrs, cattle manure, feather and cottonseed meal, alfalfa and sulfur. Use as a top dressing or work into the soil.

Cattle Manure: 100% manure, fully composted to eliminate pathogens, chemicals, weed seeds and insects. Low odor.

Chicken Manure: 100% manure, fully composted to eliminate pathogens, chemicals, weed seeds and insects.

Fertilizers

A word about fertilizers: There is a lot of confusion about synthetic and natural fertilizers. Most of the confusion arises because synthetic fertilizers have higher NPK (nitrogen, phosphate, potassium) numbers and are usually priced lower than natural fertilizers. The NPK numbers show the percentage of nutrients in a bag. For example, a 40 pound bag of synthetic (salt) fertilizer with an NPK of 15-5-10 means the bag contains 30%, or 12 lbs. of nutrient. The rest is inert filler material, usually clay.

It's important to realize that plants only uptake as much nutrient as they need for healthy growth. In nature the naturally occurring nutrients in organic matter are made available to plants as a result of the digestion processes of beneficial micro-organisms in the soil.

Synthetic fertilizers provide the nutrients as a salt because to be immediately available to plants they must be soluble in water. The reason there's more NPK in salt fertilizers is to offset their loss to run-off, evaporation and gasification. The run-off from salt fertilizers winds up in our water supply, rivers, lakes and eventually in our oceans where their accumulation can cause an extensive bloom of algae which depletes the oxygen level in the water to a point where sea creatures cannot survive. An additional problem with salt fertilizers is the salt itself. One thing we definitely don't need more of in our soils is salt. The white buildup we've all seen on clay pots that have had synthetic (salt) fertilizer used in them is salt. That same buildup occurs in our soils.

The 'Dead Zone' in the Gulf of Mexico has been traced to excess agricultural nutrient run-off and excess salts are a growing problem in turf management and agricultural areas all over the world.

The reason that natural fertilizers cost more is because they don't contain filler material. The contents of the bag are all food for beneficial micro and macro-organisms in the soil. The NPK numbers in natural fertilizers are low because they represent the actual percentage of nutrients contained in the food that's in the bag. Natural fertilizers feed the bio-mass in the soil that is ultimately responsible for fertility. The nutrients in natural fertilizers are made available to plants naturally, through the digestive processes of beneficial soil micro-organisms. In other words, they are natural, slow release fertilizers and as a result there is no run-off, evaporation or gasification. Using natural fertilizers lays a foundation for soil that is self-sustaining. Natural gardening practices help to maintain that foundation and eventually result in a healthier environment, lower cost and less work for those who use them.

Fertilizing Naturally

Apply a balanced organic fertilizer such as Green Sense 6-2-4 pelletized Lawn & Garden Fertilizer at the recommended rate at least 2 to 3 times per year. While Green Sense makes a powdered fertilizer specifically for vegetables and flowers and also for roses, the Pelletized Lawn & Garden Fertilizers work equally well for all applications. Apply Green Sense Foliar Juice, Green Sense Fish & Kelp or Green Sense 'Aunt Rohde's Compost Tea' as a foliar spray monthly to all plants while they are actively growing.

Other Applications

Add Green Sense lava sand once a year at a rate of 40 to 80 lbs. per 1,000 square feet for the first three years. Green Sense Humate, a source of humic acid and trace minerals and activator for beneficial soil organisms should be added at the rate of 10 to 20 lbs. per 1,000 square feet.

Mulching

Apply two to five inches of cedar mulch to all plantings if available. The next best choice is shredded, native tree trimmings. Mulching protects the soil from the ravages of weather, helps retain moisture and inhibits seed germination. Other mulches may be used effectively. Avoid mulches that may contain traces of synthetic herbicide or pesticides.

Watering

Gardening naturally will reduce the need for watering. Water only as needed.

Mowing

Mow as needed. Except with short bladed grasses keep mower heights at three inches. Use a mulching mower and leave the clippings on the ground. They are a free source of nitrogen. Grass clippings are also an excellent addition to the compost pile. Do not bring in clippings from outside sources.

Weeding

Many weeds are indicators of poor soil health. A healthy lawn will choke out most weeds. Pull weeds by hand. It's good exercise. Apply compost to bare spots and problem areas to encourage grass coverage. Mulch bare areas. Avoid using synthetic weed killers if possible. As a spot weed killer, drench the weed with undiluted Green Sense 20% grain based white vinegar. Note: Vinegar is most effective when applied on a warm, sunny day. You may add 2 oz. of Green Sense Citrus Oil (D-Limonene) and 1 teaspoon liquid soap for a more effective solution. There are a number of pre-mixed natural weed killers on the market. Avoid petroleum based vinegars.

Corn gluten meal is an effective natural pre-emergent weed killer if applied at the proper time in the Spring and Fall. It is also an organic fertilizer. Corn gluten meal is available where organic gardening products are sold.

Insect Control

Harmful insects can be grouped by methods of treatment. Buy a book to help you identify common garden insects in your area.

Prevention: Remove all containers that might hold standing water. Eliminate areas of bare soil. Use products made from natural cedar: mulches, sprays, flakes, etc. Clean up animal droppings. Apply beneficial nematodes and establish natural populations of beneficial insects: ladybugs, praying mantids, green lacewings and trichogramma wasps. Plant and maintain areas that will attract birds and/or bats. Where possible avoid night lights in the landscape. They attract insects.

Repellents:

• For large infestations, spray infested plants with a concentrated stream of water from a hose.
• An effective repellent can be made by liquefying 2 whole bulbs of garlic and 2 cayenne or habanero peppers in a blender with water. Strain off the solids and mix the juice with water in a one gallon container. Sprayer mix is ¼ cup of garlic-pepper concentrate to a gallon of water. A garlic only concentrate can be made by eliminating the peppers and adding an additional garlic bulb. To improve effectiveness and adhesion 1 tbs. each of liquid seaweed and blackstrap molasses may be added. Caution: Shake well before mixing in a sprayer and leave lids loose on the container of concentrate to avoid gas buildup.
• Citronella products.
• Neem products.

Repellent and Insecticide:

• Green Sense Citrus-Nella Repella. A citronella concentrate with citrus oil (D-Limonene)

Insecticides: Spider mites, aphids, whiteflies, fungus gnats and lacebugs:

• Try this first: Spray ½ teaspoon liquid soap mixed into a gallon of water on affected plants.
• For natural control release ladybugs and green lacewings until natural populations are established.
• Mix 1 tsp. Green Sense Citrus Oil (D-Limonene) in a gallon of water and spray.
• Add 1 tsp. Citrus oil to Green Sense or other Foliar Spray.

Insecticides: Soft bodied insects: Caterpillars and bagworms:

• Pick them off by hand.
• Release Trichogramma wasps. These are tiny, almost invisible wasps that are harmless to humans and pets.
• If caterpillars are present, spray affected plants with Bt (bacillus thuringiensis) according to label directions. Bt causes the insect to stop eating and death occurs in days. Bt is harmless to other insects, animals and plants.

Insecticides: Grubworms:

• Apply beneficial nematodes. Available from organic gardening stores.

Insecticides: Mosquitos:

• Apply Green Sense 'Aqua-Bac,' a BTI product.
• BTI (Bacillus thuringiensis 'Israelensis')
• Use citrus oil based sprays such as Green Sense Citrus-Nella Repella.

Insecticides: Ants, Slugs, Snails, Fleas, Chinch Bugs, Roaches and Crickets:

• Natural diatomaceous earth (Diatomaceous earth can be harmful if inhaled. Wear eye protection and a dust mask when applying it).
• Citrus oil based products.

Insecticides: Grasshoppers:

• Citrus oil and diatomaceous earth are effective only if they come in direct contact with the insect.
• A mixture of Green Sense Kaolin clay and water sprayed on plants, while not attractive, will form a film on plants that grasshoppers will not eat. Kaoliin clay is available at organic garden centers.

Insecticides: Fire Ants:

• Drench each mound with Green Sense Soil Drench or similar product or add 2 oz. of Green Sense Citrus Oil to Green Sense Foliar Spray or you can make your own soil drench with 80% compost tea, 20% blackstrap molasses and 20% orange oil. More than one application may be required.
• Apply beneficial nematodes and broadcast diatomaceous earth.

Diseases

Healthy soil is the best prevention for plant and soil diseases. You can maintain the health of your soil by using the methods described herein and by limiting the use of high nitrogen synthetic fertilizers and using proper watering techniques.

Fungal diseases such as brown patch and take all patch in turf may be prevented and treated with a ¼ inch layer of good compost. Fungal diseases on plants such as powdery mildew and black spot may be treated by adding 1 tbs. of apple cider vinegar per gallon of foliar spray. Baking soda or Green Sense Potassium Bicarbonate can also be effective fungicides when dissolved in one gallon of water at the rate of 2 level tbs. Use one or the other, not both. It is also a good idea to alternate fungal treatments on an annual basis: vinegar, baking soda, potassium bicarbonate. Green Sense Corn Meal applied at a rate of 20 lbs. per 1,000 square feet can be an effective preventative. Dry molasses applied at a rate of 10 lbs. per 1,000 square feet can also be effective.