`lek said:here are my dwarf prik kee nu pepper seedling. i grow it outdoor. i use nothing but warm tea and thin layer of warm casting to repel pest. it seems to be an effective solution. pepper leaves look quite beautiful.
does anyone here use warm casting to repel pest?
`solid7 said:Doesn't work. I use worm castings every year, and every year, I get pests. Where there are pests and food, there are pests on the food. It's worse if your plants are in bad shape, but they don't avoid healthy plants. Doesn't matter if top dressed, sprayed on, etc.
We have a known endemic of these pests where I live. Nobody gets away, worm castings or no.
solid7 said:Doesn't work. I use worm castings every year, and every year, I get pests. Where there are pests and food, there are pests on the food. It's worse if your plants are in bad shape, but they don't avoid healthy plants. Doesn't matter if top dressed, sprayed on, etc.
We have a known endemic of these pests where I live. Nobody gets away, worm castings or no.
Warm tea FTW LOLsolid7 said:I don't tend to have aphid problems. For me, it's Whitely and broad mite. As you know, one flies, and the other hitches a ride on the legs of the first. So, they never touch the castings.
In theory, spraying with worm tea would kill beneficials, also.
solid7 said:So, they never touch the castings.
In theory, spraying with worm tea would kill beneficials, also.
Bicycle808 said:Lek, does it matter what the worms ate to create the castings?
I use red wigglers to compost coffee grinds, tea leaves, and table scraps... but i recall, from earlier threads, that you vermicompost cowshit using crawlers Will either flavor of casting contain chitinase?
solid7 said:So I tried this as an experiment, after reading this topic. Unfortunately, I cannot agree that worm castings repel ants or aphids. See video...
test Chitinase level in your worm casting first.solid7 said:I make good worm castings. Made with a combination of table scraps, rabbit manure, seaweed, and a lot of dead bugs. (Since they are always present in the process)
not Thai earthwormThe_NorthEast_ChileMan said:`
Hey Lek, I'm looking at this from a different angle, what kind of worms you using?> Checklist of Thailand taxa updated from Gates. (1939) "Thai Eartworms"
i don't know whether black soldier fly has bacteria that can produce chitinase or not. chitinase assay kit should give you an answer.solid7 said:I use black soldier fly. They are supposed to be one of the best compost makers, as they refuse almost nothing. They will even cannibalize each other. Between that, and the other insects, I would almost have to be feeding them a pure insect diet to raise chitinase levels any higher...
The_NorthEast_ChileMan said:Hey Lek, I'm looking at this from a different angle, what kind of worms you using?> Checklist of Thailand taxa updated from Gates. (1939) "Thai Eartworms"
`lek said:not Thai earthworm