The Organic Way to Fight Pests With Diatomaceous Earth

Beth Rosen, RD diatomaceous earth organic garden.jpg

 

This means war.  It’s me against them.  Kamikaze gardener against the critters, pests, and plant jerks.  But this time, I have a weapon of mass destruction: Food-grade diatomaceous earth.  And it’s organic!

Again this year, I am growing cucumbers because I enjoyed both my gardening experience and my harvest last year.  The only downside was a killer war against squash beetles and squash bugs.  I mistakenly thought there were some cute “lady bugs” and harmless grey beetles hanging around my garden.  Little did this newbie gardener know that they were about to inflict some major damage on my crops by completely destroying my squash plants early in the season and then moving on to my cucumber plants.  After some research and trial and error, I learned some ways to combat those beasts. In the end, I had some cucumbers survive the war, and they were turned into delicious pickles that we enjoyed all winter.

One of my arch nemeses:  The Squash Bug.

One of my arch nemeses: The Squash Bug.

This year, armed with some knowledge, I was on the lookout for the squash beetles and bugs so that I could avoid last year’s plant massacre. If there was going to be a massacre, it was going to be the bugs’ turn.  A few weeks into the season, I saw those nasty squash beetle signs; holes in the leaves and little yellow bugs (those are the larvae and they turn into the lady bug-looking beetles).  I got out my trusty gloves and started squishing them – it’s the most organic way to rid your garden of pests!  I was keeping them in check, looking for them in the late afternoon when they were usually out.  I was also on the lookout for their nastier friend, the squash bug – those flat, gray creatures that multiply like crazy and have no shame copulating in broad daylight.  Unfortunately, I started to see a few here and there, so I squished them too.  Most importantly though, I looked on the underside of all of the leaves searching for the tell-tale sign that they did indeed complete the deed; small copper-colored eggs that are laid in clusters.  Once those hatch, you have a squash bug infestation and you may see signs of gooey vines and then you know – your plants are goners.  I never did find them this year (whew!).  I did find them last year and researched the best way to combat them; cut off the leaves that have eggs on them and put them in a trash bag and get them off of your property!  Even if you mulch your garden waste, you don’t want to mulch diseased or bug-infested waste because those pests will find their way back to your garden.

After only finding a few critters every few days, I thought I had the cucumber pests under control and the rest of my gardening season would be a breeze.  Not the case.  I have a third bug in my cucumber garden!  It’s called a flea beetle.  Again, I was fooled by the cuteness of these unassuming, bouncy little bugs.  I thought they might be baby spiders and, if you know me, I never kill a spider.  We’re on the same team!  Once I started to see yellowish brown circles on my cucumber leaves, I knew I was in trouble.  Flea beetles eat the leaves.  Once 25% of the leaf is damaged, the leaf dies.  If they are allowed to live on, they could damage every leaf, leaving no mechanism for the plant to make chlorophyll and support the cucumbers.

Look at those nibbles!

Look at those nibbles! Those yellow spots can kill the whole plant if the flea beetles are not controlled.

Flea beetles are too bouncy (think toddler on a candy binge) so squishing them wouldn’t work because I couldn’t catch them.  It was time to research another bug and another way to kill them…organically of course.  What I discovered was that food-grade diatomaceous earth (DE), a finely ground powder made up of a type of fossilized algae, was the answer I was looking for.  I had heard about it last year, but I didn’t purchase it and I have since learned my lesson.  When DE is mixed with water in a spray bottle (1tablespoon to 1 quart of water) and sprayed on the leaves (top and underside) of the cucumber plant, the beetles and bugs die.  Once the diatomaceous earth solution dries on the leaves, the microscopic particles act like shards of glass and penetrate the bodies of the critters, causing them to dehydrate and die.  Food-grade DE is safe for human consumption, so I can still eat the cucumbers off the vine, but I plan to wash them, in case any dead bugs crawled up and died under them.  And because it is fit for human consumption and a natural organism (some people even use it as part of a cleanse), it is organic!  When purchasing, make sure to look for food-grade diatomaceous earth. Do not use filter-grade diatomaceous earth; it has larger particles and could destroy the plant and possibly hurt you if ingested.

In hindsight, after learning about diatomaceous earth last year, I should have used it for all of its bug-fighting uses.   In addition to adding it to water and spraying it on the plant, DE can be spooned around the base of the plant in its dry form (be careful not to put it directly onto the plant’s stem) to deter crawling critters like snails, slugs and even squash bugs.  Once the season is over, pulling out all of the dead plants helps to deter the critters from having something to feed on and coming back even stronger the next season.  To destroy those garden stow-aways even after the plants have been pulled, add diatomaceous earth to the soil and give it a good mix.

Every year, I learn more and more about organic gardening.  With food-grade diatomaceous earth and these three steps, I plan to be pest-free:

1.  Till the soil in the fall with food-grade DE.  The amount needed depends on the size of your garden.

2.  Spoon dry DE around the base of the plants to deter the creepy crawlers from creeping and crawling.

3.  Spray a mixture of DE (1 tablespoon to 1 quart of water in a spray bottle and mix well) on the tops and undersides of the leaves.  Only a light layer is needed; we don’t want it to act as sunblock for the leaves.

At this rate, I will have such healthy plants that I can start my own pickle business!  Tell me, how’s your garden going?

 

xo

B

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Beth Rosen

Eating Attitudes™ & Gut Expert

Beth Rosen, MS, RD, CDN is a Registered Dietitian and owner of Beth Rosen Nutrition. She practices a non-diet philosophy and is a Health at Every Size" practitioner. Her goal is to end the pain of diet culture, one person at a time. Beth's techniques and programs empower chronic dieters, and those who consider themselves emotional and /or stress eaters, to ditch the vicious cycle of dieting, eat fearlessly by removing Food and diet rules, and mend their relationship with food and their bodies. Beth's works face-to-face with clients in Southbury, CT, and virtually with clients, worldwide.

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