Posted on Tue Jul 29, 10:02 PM in Food
First time I had to go on the defensive with my tomato plants.
Tonight as I was going through my usual plant inspection, I was surprised to find a boatload of tiny white bugs all over my tomato plants. They were primarily on leaves and stems, and usually at the ends of branches, but they seemed to have arrived overnight (maybe that’s when they hatched?). I’m not sure what they are; if you look close, they almost look like completely white spiders, except they don’t move; it looks like they are parasites, feeding in one location.
I tried to do a quick internet search and didn’t find exactly what I was seeing, but found many references to using insecticidal soap for such things. And, I happen to have a lot of this, because I have been treating two of my larger ficus plants for scale this past year, and that’s what the UW-Extension personnel suggested. So, last night, I mixed up a batch (Safer brand) and doused my tomato plants in this stuff, and I’m really trusting the label when it says “Safe to use up until the day of harvest.” I’ll spray again right before we leave for the trip on Friday night.
To my gardening friends: what is the difference (in performance and ideal use) between insecticidal soap and insecticidal oil? Is there something else more effective than the soap, or is this basically a good choice?
Go ahead, have your say!