Hi All!
I heard about this 6 hour PBS special about gardening.
To de-bug the garden he uses dish soap, antiseptic mouth wash, tobacco
tea as the base, then adds garlic juice, onion juice, hot sauce, bt, and
another latin word depending on the varmint he's trying to eradicate from
the garden.
My question is about the wisdom of using tobacco tea. When I worked on
an organic farm there was no chewing or smoking allowed because of the
possible spread of tobacco mosaic. Would the above concoction be a no-no
because of the tobacco?
He used Karo syrup, beer and dish soap to feed the plants along with
epsom salt. Is it okay to put salt in the garden? Just wondering.
Would this spoil my *organic* standing with the garden?
Vera in zone 8 - Homeschooling and homesteading in Texas while becoming
more self-sufficient and God-dependent!
__
> My question is about the wisdom of using tobacco tea. When I worked on
> an organic farm there was no chewing or smoking allowed because of the
> possible spread of tobacco mosaic.
Our club does not allow tobacco for exactly this reason, not that I
think everyone complies. I think of the hundred or so people in the
club, only maybe two smoke, and one of them smokes at the garden all the
time. He is, this may amuse everyone, a PROFESSOR OF PLANT SCIENCE.
Anyway, if it were a commercial organic farm, and if he were an
employee, I would fire his butt. But it isn't and he isn't so I don't.
Loren in NJ, USA
Vera said,
> I heard about this 6 hour PBS special about gardening.
Probably Jerry Baker during PBS' recent fundraising month. [Will it ever
end, this constant yammering for cash?]
Some people swear by Jerry's ideas but others think he's a crackpot. The
truth is probably somewhere in between.
> To de-bug the garden he uses dish soap, antiseptic mouth wash, tobacco
> tea as the base, then adds garlic juice, onion juice, hot sauce, bt, and
> another latin word depending on the varmint he's trying to eradicate from
> the garden.
Doesn't work without those Latin words [vbg]. Just kidding. My guess is
the soap's a "sticker" to help the rest adhere to plant surfaces, the
mouthwash is for the mediciny smell as much as germ-killing ability, the
tobacco tea does the real insect-killing (nicotine is hugely toxic), the hot
sauce works as a taste-aversion repellent, the Bt targets the caterpillars,
and who knows what the onions are up to.
> My question is about the wisdom of using tobacco tea. When I worked on
> an organic farm there was no chewing or smoking allowed because of the
> possible spread of tobacco mosaic. Would the above concoction be a no-no
> because of the tobacco?
Absolutely. Tobacco mosaic virus is very bad news to tomatoes and potatoes
and probably lots of other stuff. Tobacco-containing toxicant material
should *not* be sprayed around the garden willy nilly.
> He used Karo syrup, beer and dish soap to feed the plants along with
> epsom salt. Is it okay to put salt in the garden? Just wondering.
Epsom salts is magnesium-, not sodium-containing salt. Said to correct a
mag deficiency in the soil and enhance the growth, particularly, of
tomatoes. I toss a quarter-cup or so into each tomato planting hole when
the sets go into the dirt.
> Would this spoil my *organic* standing with the garden?
Not sure. Perhaps most people view "organic" gardening as cultivation that
incorporates no synthetic chemical fertilizers. Beer and karo don't sound
like natural fertilizers to me....
--Janet
My take on tobacco tea, after much reading and viewing several online
discussions about it, is that I would never use it because of it's
toxicity. Nicotine may be naturally occurring but it is very toxic to
mammals.
sph
-----------------
sandrap@flora.org
http://www.flora.org/sandra
Homeschooling in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
http://www.flora.org/hbln/
[Gil White] SNIP Having just visited a site where beer was considered one
of the 4 major food groups ( chiles, garlic and cigars(?) ) making up the
others, I'd rate beer as a pretty organic item. Of course one could always
just process it and then add it to the compost heap.
> Would this spoil my *organic* standing with the garden?
Not sure. Perhaps most people view "organic" gardening as cultivation that
incorporates no synthetic chemical fertilizers. Beer and karo don't sound
like natural fertilizers to me....
--Janet
Hi Vera,
The old-timers used to use tobacco tea to dip sheep in to rid them of lice.
I think the recipe was one plug (?) 2" by 3" packred chewing stuff to 30
(?) gallons of water. I've considered trying for lice, but not in the
garden.
Sam Noble
zone 3/4
The Northwoods of Wisconsin
Something that we all need to keep in mind is that nicotine is *DEADLY*
poison to humans as well as insects. If you brew up a concoction strong
enough, you can die by absorbing it through your skin. Me, I wouldn't use
it--it's a strong, non-selective insecticide that kills the beneficials as
well as the non-beneficials. I prefer squishing; the feel of squished
aphids really...does something...for me. ;-) (I, however, draw the line at
gastropod slushies. Blechhh! Some day, I'll tell my story about the
slug dance stomp-n-slide.)
Diane Ridout, Instructor, ACP.............................................
Kwantlen University College, "Talk
12666-72 Avenue doesn't
Surrey, BC, Canada V3W 2M8 cook rice," they say.
Tel: (604) 599-2964 Voice mail 9837.......................................
Diane
> Something that we all need to keep in mind is that nicotine is *DEADLY*
> poison to humans as well as insects. If you brew up a concoction strong
> enough, you can die by absorbing it through your skin. Me, I wouldn't use
[...]
They used to sell nicotine sulphate in the gardeners/farmers' supply shops,
right along with all the other nasty chemical concoctions. It was pulled
and made illegal as it's toxicity was found to be too persistant in the
environment. And this was some time back.
Cheers!
--
Bob Carter - bcarter@wkpowerlink.com
Kootenay Bay, BC, Canada - Zone 6b
--
Wow! That lightning sounds clo..zzzzit!" NO CARRIER
