Controlling Pests & Diseases - Talks with the Invisible Gardener

I was sent two questions and since their problems are both related, I decided to do them both together.

While this year in Malibu has been a frigid winter, it has also been very wet. The pests and diseases go wild during the spring of a damp winter with so much food. The same goes for diseases. All diseases of plants are either soil-based or spread by insects born in the soil.

First, the whiteflies and the peach leaf curl are primarily caused by plant trace mineral deficiencies. Too much water destroys the soil biology which reduces trace mineral intake.

Calcium is important as it is a gateway to other minerals.

So is a soil problem.

All your plants (as well as all living things) need these 90 Trace minerals. When plants are missing one or more of these trace minerals, they will be attacked by either pest followed by diseases. Insects are vectors of diseases.

Start feeding plants with a slow-release organic fertilizer with all the micros and microbes and a full range of trace minerals. High nitrogen content will only stress out the plant even more as the high nitrogen will cause rapid green growth and inhibit the plant's ability to absorb minerals.

The higher the Brix, the higher the minerals. It is all about minerals. Plants with low mineral levels will also have low complex carbohydrates and high simple carbohydrates. Most insects cannot digest complex carbohydrates, which is natural protection built into the system. Healthy Plants have low simple carbohydrates and are high in total complex carbohydrates.

Use rock dust to supply the minerals. Earthworm castings make an excellent way to provide minerals to plants. Another mineral source I use is called SEA90 and is available at sea90.com.

It is important to use live compost (compost sold in plastic bags is not alive). Please ensure it is made using animal manure (the manure is the source of living microbes). I always say, "The Good Guys and the Bad Guys do not live in the same space"). It is the function of the soil biology, microbes to digest the minerals and make them available to the plants through their root system; otherwise, the plants will be mineral deficient.

Get into the habit of foliar applications, as this is the best way to ensure high Brix levels. Use compost tea, rock dust tea, liquid seaweed like maxicrop, organic milk (yes, milk is high in calcium. Get the high-fat one), or any other type of organic foliar application available, or hire an organic nutritional spraying company to do this for you.

Spray plants with caffeine for pests (try organic cold brewed coffee for strength). Spray once a week. You can spray compost tea as that will mostly spray microbes onto the eggs, destroying them. Whenever plants have a pest, the first thing is to pay attention to the health of the soil. Remember, healthy soil produces healthy plants. Sick soil produces sick plants.

Overwatering inhibits mineral intake. City water is toxic to the soil biology so get a whole property filter system. High-nitrogen fertilizers are also harmful and reduce minerals. Try using Sea90 as a source of trace minerals.

Turns out that the peach leaf curl can also be treated using cold brew coffee only I would add a cup of organic milk high in fat and spray that mixture on the good leaves. Use 1 part organic milk to 10 parts organic cold brewed coffee. Please only use organic since the chemically grown will be full of pesticides and other chemicals and we don’t want that. Pick off all the bad leaves and do not throw them on the ground but straight into your garbage can for green waste.

The treatment includes treating soil every month. Try adding live compost to your soil. Work it in and not just lay it on top. The sun will bake and the wind will blow away. Use an acid mulch like azalea gardenia mix. This will not only help to keep the soil pH right but also protect the soil from the sun and allow water to stay longer.

Also, winter time is the best time to start treating the plants that you know you will have problems with come spring. This would be spraying compost tea, organic coffee, and organic milk. By spraying the leaves you are not only reintroducing the soil biology back to the lot but also allowing the same biology to attack and control the disease or pest. You need to amend the soil with compost, rock dust, and mulch. Use a drip system that is buried to keep water in the soil. I would get a fertigation unit and use it to apply your kelp and or seaweed through the sprinkler system. A good way to test your plants is to use a refractometer, to measure the Brix levels. While Brix is a measurement of sugar levels, it is also used to determine how many trace minerals it has.

Next week I will go over the refractometer, what it is, and how you can use it.

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Any questions? Email me andylopez@invisiblegardener.com
Please mention all things Malibu in the subject. It will help me find your emails!

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Thanks and Happy Growing, Organically of course.

Andy Lopez
Invisible Gardener
www.invisiblegardener.com