The Pitcher Plant Project

… use Orthene. Seriously.

[Mosaic – Top Left: Orthene in a sealed ceramic container and my Flow Master | Top Right: The smelly stuff. Bottom left: PUMP IT UP!  | Bottom Right: Sucky things, beware!]

I’m just like any other gardener out there that has their struggles with things that SUCK. You know aphids, mealy bugs, scale… things that suck. I try not to use too many chemicals in the garden, but at times, I just have to give into it.

So back to Orthene – It smells nasty but it works. It is a systemic pesticide that the plant absorbs into the leaves, so rain can’t stop the effectiveness.  When directions are followed, it is low in toxicity for people, pets, birds, fish, elephants, giraffes, elk, hippopotamoooooses, tigers, lions, dodo birds, tigers, lions, and tigers. (However, it’s toxic to bees when they come into direct exposure to it, so keep that in mind if you have a bee farm thing going on.) It’s also biodegradable so it won’t build up in the soil.  As far as applying it, as with any chemical you use, make sure you have adequate air circulation. If I spray in the greenhouse, all vents are open, and I spray in the morning or evening to avoid a hot house of vapors.

I find it’s a great way to control pest-suckyness in the garden. I keep the Orthene can that is sealed away in yet another ceramic container to contain the smell. I typically use it in the spring after divisions just as a preventative measure just before new growth starts. I will then  again use the stuff  maybe 2 or 3 months down the road , and then later again in the late summer of fall.  I haven’t had any major break outs of any sucky pests since I try to address the situation by 1.) prevention and 2.) action when I do see stuff startin’ up.

And no, I can’t use ladybugs to control aphids, cuz, well… ladybugs just end up getting eaten by my garden. Really. They do. Neem oil seems to work for other growers, but for some reason I had it burn some leaves. I’ll give Neem another shot down the road probably.

The reason I am bringing this Orthene thing up is because I haven’t really sprayed much this year. So far only once up to this point. When I was sorting my seedlings out, I noticed some aphids on the seedlings. Aphids SUCK.  Deformed pitchers and crud like that. Before it could get any worse, I decided to spray recently (photographed in the 4 piece mosaic above.) I use  about 1 teaspoon per gallon of water.  That’s what my flow master thing is for. It’s a 2 gallon flow master photographed above.

I mix 2 gallons of water and roughly two loose teaspoons of Orthene, pump it up and then go spray. I hit up the leaves with the stuff, but where I concentrate the spray is deep down where the rhizome and new growth is at, as that is the place where most sucky pests like to hide out for some reason, attacking the new growth, hiding in the areas where the pitcher attaches to the rhizome.

So, that’s how I deal with my sucky problems; hope it helps! Would love to hear how you deal with your sucky problems too! 🙂