rhubarb leaf insectiside

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rhubarb leaf insectiside
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Bugs

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 10744

Posted: Mon Apr 04, 05 10:35 am Post subject:
I've always wondered about that "illegal" pesticides thing. On Gardeners World last week the RHS woman described garlic as "good for insecticides" or something along those lines, and I was thinking....'ang on a minute....

judyofthewoods

Joined: 29 Jan 2005
Posts: 804
Location: Pembrokeshire

Posted: Mon Apr 04, 05 11:19 am Post subject:

ross wrote:

of course, such a home made insecticide would be illegal under EU law....but if you consider it a 'foliar feed' then it's perfectly legal

And long live the revolution

Hedonists

Joined: 13 Jan 2005
Posts: 95
Location: Romford, Essex.

Posted: Mon Apr 04, 05 1:50 pm Post subject:

ross wrote:

of course, such a home made insecticide would be illegal under EU law....but if you consider it a 'foliar feed' then it's perfectly legal

Do you have any more information on this, please? I'm presently steeping some onion & garlic, with the intention of using it as, ahem, a foliar feed.

I recently read an article about a guy who is developing a commercial instecticde from garlic, and thought I'd try and do something similar on a much more home-made scale. I'm hoping it will persuade things such as carrot fly, and especially the blasted slugs, to go elsewhere.

I'm intending to spray the plants with a fine mist, as I don't want the liquid to soak into the soil and alienate the worm population.

For the life of me, I can't imagine a reason why the EU have outlawed it and a quick Google hasn't turned up anything either.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45676
Location: Essex

Posted: Mon Apr 04, 05 1:54 pm Post subject:
The problem is that ALL pesticides must now be regulated, this means testing which costs a lot of money. Untested pesticides are not allowed under current regulations.

ross

Joined: 07 Mar 2005
Posts: 123

Posted: Mon Apr 04, 05 2:15 pm Post subject:

see https://www.pesticides.gov.uk/safe_use.asp?id=493#Evaluated

Quote:

Only approved pesticides can be advertised, sold, supplied, stored or used.

moggins

Joined: 24 Feb 2005
Posts: 942
Location: Gloucester

Posted: Mon Apr 04, 05 3:46 pm Post subject:
so lasts years trick of soaking all fag ends in a bucket of water is out of the question too then?

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45676
Location: Essex

Posted: Mon Apr 04, 05 3:51 pm Post subject:
I thought you'd given up?

moggins

Joined: 24 Feb 2005
Posts: 942
Location: Gloucester

Posted: Mon Apr 04, 05 3:55 pm Post subject:
The other half and eldest daughter haven't though

ross

Joined: 07 Mar 2005
Posts: 123

Posted: Mon Apr 04, 05 4:11 pm Post subject:
moggins, I hope you weren't going to use that tobacco mixture on tomatoes. Aside from general concerns over the chemicals in cigarettes, you could transfer Tobacco Mosaic Virus to tomatoes.

Hedonists

Joined: 13 Jan 2005
Posts: 95
Location: Romford, Essex.

Posted: Mon Apr 04, 05 11:56 pm Post subject:
Ross, thanks very much for the extra info

moggins

Joined: 24 Feb 2005
Posts: 942
Location: Gloucester

Posted: Tue Apr 05, 05 8:50 am Post subject:
No ross, it was for my rose bush, it gets attacked every bleeding year

ross

Joined: 07 Mar 2005
Posts: 123

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 05 9:31 am Post subject:
my roses are covered in aphids, the blighters are surviving sprays of dissolved soap and garlic mixture. I'd forgotten about the rhubarb leaves concotion so will have to give it a try. I've also heard that boiled potato foliage makes an excellent "foliar feed" as well

ButteryHOLsomeness

Joined: 03 Apr 2005
Posts: 770

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 05 2:01 pm Post subject:
i used to use a mixture of garlic and a small bit of soap shavings (disolve the shavings in warm water first) simply mix them both in a water bottle and spray away! it worked very well for me and didn't harm my tomatoes or peppers. this was years ago when i still lived in texas so i couldn't tell you the amount of water, sorry!

hils

Joined: 08 Mar 2005
Posts: 568
Location: Nottingham

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 05 5:30 pm Post subject:
Thats great thanks - I like to hear when these things have worked for someone. I may do a bit of your recipe and add a few rhubarb leaves anyway - just because I've got them!

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 05 5:51 pm Post subject:

The trouble with a rhubarb leaf-based insecticide is that it is going to be non-specific - just like many of the commercial insecticides that you are probably trying to avoid. It is just as likely to kill the ladybird adults and larvae that are tucking into those aphids. That's why the most of the recommended sprays for organic gardeners are soap-based - the soap dissolves the waxy coatings on the aphids, but doesn't harm the ladybirds or other garden goodies.

Also the oxalic acid in rhubarb leaves is pretty toxic to humans too, and you will have no real idea of the concentration in your spray. So I would leave a reasonable gap between spraying and consumption if you are going to use it on edible plants.

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