An interesting opportunity has presented itself to test some of the organic techniques that I have been using in my garden. With this batch of Okra and Talong I have been using a pesticide called EM5, which is really less of a pesticide and is more an organic cocktail that makes my garden a less appealing place to live. I would try and spray once a week given rain conditions and whatnot. When I missed I week I believed that I saw an increase in the amount of individual insects in my garden as well as an increase in the amount of visible damage done to leaves and stalks. Recently, I have been away from site for about 3 weeks and as a result the garden has not been sprayed in 4 weeks and now the effectiveness of EM5 is no longer really in doubt. When I left my garden my talong plant it had been producing heavily and I actually had a surplus that I gave away to the local suki store, I mean how much eggplant can two people really eat. (fyi, suki means regular or frequent customer) However, when I checked my garden earlier today, there were only two pitiful sized eggplants, leaves that looked like some crazy person had taken a hole punch to them and stalks that were weak and withered because of a burrowing worm that eats the center. There were also a variety of insects and even grasshoppers in the garden which I rarely see. Later today I will go out and begin reapplying EM5 and if the the talong plants are able to bounce back it either means that EM5 is a critical tool in garden production or it means that the eggplant season has passed and the visible damage is a natural decline before the next season. Will have to talk to the other organic growers to really find out but until then we will wait and see...
Below are pictures of the damage and the burrowing eggplant worm.
3 comments:
Huh, Interesting about the worm... You must be getting enough rain so that it wasn't parched while you were gone? I always plant marigolds amongst my tomato plants, and the marigold keep ALL the insects away, even the Japanese beetles and tomato hornworms. I have used Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis)in the past, but the marigolds really work. Is EM5 part of the Bokashi composting system? Do you make it yourself? Do you spray it on the plants? LoveMom
The EM5 does use EM which is also used in Bokashi but it is a different mix. I have heard alot of marigolds as well and I see them often I just haven't any or come across seeds. You do spray it on the plants as well as on the soil around the plants
If you see some marigolds, just ask the owners if you can have some of the dried up flowers. The seeds are like little arrows and the flower breaks up easily in your palm. They grow easy and fast! Interesting about the EM5 - how are the talong now? What about the okra?
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