I recently had an electronic mail exchange with Ryan , who lives in Pflugerville , Texas , near Austin . He was concerned that mustard greens in hisgardenwere being eaten by aphids , and regardless of what mensuration he take on , things were just aim speculative . I thought our conversation might be of interest group to many of you , as what Ryan go through is so common .
Why are my mustard greens turning yellow?
“ I planted leaf mustard greens about a calendar month ago , and they were healthy and nice looking for , and now some leave on the bottom and some on top are turning yellow . Someone enunciate there were aphids on them , and I sprayed them with some hooey . My interrogation is , can mustard Green get aphids on them ? I hump snails like them . And what causes the leaves to turn chickenhearted ? I have water them once a week , and we had rainwater for a few sidereal day so is it too much water or not enough ? ”
Yes , aphids may be the problem , but I doubt that water is . Are you usingcompost in your garden ? What did you spray the cat valium with ?
“ Hi Todd , here are some photograph of the mustard greens . As you could see , they have yellow leafage on them , and they are getting gravel up . I know there are a few snails I found but a lot I have killed as well . I did put topsoilin that spot and miracle - grow shite as well , and I spray them with an organocide – a three - in - one garden spray – and if I ca n’t stop over them from look the way of life they do could I perhaps replant some more as I love mustard greens . ”
It seem that you have a routine of insect problems . At this point , the Indian mustard greens are a lost suit , so I would pull up all of the yellowed and otherwise damaged plants and bag them . Do n’t compost them if you believe they ’re dilute with aphids . But if you ’re overrun with dirt ball your problem is more about HOW you ’re growing your industrial plant than the insects themselves .
Be careful which organic pesticides you use and read the labels before buying
You say that you used Organocide 3 - in-1 spray . While the ingredients in that atomizer are indeed organic , it may have been unnecessary . It ’s an oil - based spray and was probably too heavy for your honey oil in this pillowcase .
Regarding your soil product : Do n’t take for granted any “ organic ” or “ natural ” labels – condition the ingredients list . There are no legal rules on constitutional labeling for soil products , only nutrient and pesticide , so chemical or refutable constituent are in many of these products , especially the ones made by the handsome chemical substance company ( of which Miracle - Gro is a prize offender ) . There are also no legal guidelines whatsoever for the “ natural ” recording label – it ’s purely marketing .
Cultural controls are the best defense against aphids and other pests
For now , the best advice I can give you is this :
Once your filth is in remainder , you wo n’t have insect job , as the good insects prey on the insects we do n’t want , keeping everything in counterpoise . Do n’t panic and resort to chemical substance .
“ give thanks you for the advice . I will pull the greens out then , and I would like to plant more but I am out of room in the garden for the meter being . What would be some safe compost to grease one’s palms , as I buy mine commonly from home terminal or a little nursery by my house ? Where can I buy that sprinkle stuff for the table mustard green to stop the pest from assail them next clock time ? And can buy lady beetle and releasing them in the garden help ? ”
If you ’re out of elbow room in the garden , let the bed eternal sleep ( fallow ) , because if there ’s nothing for the insect to consume , they ’ll move on . For compost , but you do n’t ask anything special – plain old compost is fine as long as it ’s from a reputable source . If you have the budget . you might want to pay a little more for what ’s called “ soil constructor ” , which includesmychorrizal fungiand usually fish products or manures .
Try Diatomaceous Earth or Ladybugs to control insects
Diatomaceous Earth is useable at most independent garden centers and online . Yes , ladybug can be very effective predators of trespassing insect , but they will move out of your garden if they do n’t find their favorite insects there . I ’ve never corrupt any , but I always find a fistful in my garden every twelvemonth – Ladybugs will move in on their own if the conditions are correct .
For now , load up the garden with compost and/or soil builder and let it go to work before your next planting . I ’ll be honest – you wo n’t see clamant results like you do with chemicals . It claim months to see results from soil builder and compost , but be patient because once the garden grease gets balanced , your gardening will be much easier . Gardening instruct us nothing if not patience .
