User:JosephCulpi2aV

Organic Vegetable Gardening And The Colorado Potato Beetle

Potatoes taste really good. They are great baked, broiled, grilled, hashed, home fried, deep fried, french friend, and stuffed. I certainly like some potato. They taste even improved when you grow them your self...organically, in your backyard or on your farm. Unfortunately, humans are not the only ones who really like potatoes. There is a pestilence lurking out there that will decimate your potato crop and harsh on your garden.

The Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata, is native to North America. Despite it name, the beetle will also consume your eggplants and tomatoes. You know you have them when you see them - they are yellow convex beetles about a half an inch long and are covered with black stripes and an orange head. Their eggs are bright yellow and are laid on the underside of the leaves. The grubs (grubs look nasty) are plump and red with black spots and a black head. The grown ups and the larvae chew foliage leaving your plants looking like skeletons of plants. The defoliation and skeleton-like look of your plants is the other way to know you have been attacked by the little buggers.

There are countless procedures for controlling the potato beetles. Hand pick the early spring arrivals and squash them like the bugs they are (putting them in a pail of soapy water, whilst much less visceral, is equally helpful) and place down a thick layer of organic mulch. The beetles can't climb out through the thick stuff.

Planting an early crop of black nightshade ten to fifteen feet away from your vegetable crop, will give you early warning of the coming infestation. If the beetles come, wait for your trap crop to turn out to be heavily infested and then pull and destroy the crop along with the beetles. If the beetles get by your defenses, initially manually pluck as a large number of blackhead tool removal as you can so they cannot lay any longer eggs. You are trying to interrupt the generations. Bacillus Thuringiensis (BT) are bacteria that come in powder form and kills leaf consuming caterpillars but there is a new form that does a fine job controlling the potato beetle in its larval stage.

If you sprinkle your plants with bran or cornmeal, the beetles will consume it, the meal will expand in the beetle, and the beetle will explode. Who wouldn't want to see that? Mechanical and nontoxic manage of beetles is cool.

Neem is valuable at controlling the beetles. Mix your neem product according to the directions and apply it to the affected plants at weekly intervals until the beetles are beneath manage. Pyrethrum is also useful at controlling the potato beetles. In general two applications, 3 days apart will get the little guys under control.

If you want to get out in front of the potato beetles and attempt to prevent them in the very first location, you have a couple of solutions that I will discuss right here. You can get resistant potato varieties. The Sequoia and Katahdin are resistant to potato beetles. You can coat your plants with Diatomaceous Earth. Dust your whole plant with the Diatomaceous Earth paying distinct attention to the undersides of the leaves. The preferred time to apply the Diatomaceous Earth is in the evening when the advantageous bugs are less prevalent. Nylon netting or agricultural fleece may possibly be made use of to entirely cover the plants and prevent infestation.

The foregoing is a general discussion of how to control the Colorado Potato Beetle. Don't forget, don't be afraid of the pests. You can control them without petroleum merchandise and without having compromising your wellness. Develop your own organic vegetables and save money!