Companion Growing For Organic Pest Control.. Any Thoughts?

I am looking to find an organic pest control solution. Since this will be for outdoor I will be trying to combat mother nature. I will be running GDP, Dirty Dancing and Island Sweet Skunk with everything being organic. I am looking at growing basil, sunflowers, perhaps some lavender and mint as an organic way to try and prevent harmful insects.. I usually use neem oil but this year decided to look at alternatives Now with that being said, I will be growing these so they are spaced out, my thought was i would grow the basil around the outside of the plants, the lavender and mint sprinkled throughout the area, any suggestions?

Also according to the research I've been doing basil,lavender and mint are suppose to help increase flavours, enhance oil productions and possibly yields.. Anyone have any experience with this?

Best defense in organic growing is just getting plant and soil into healthy symbiosis. Focusing on whole nutrient cycle and IPM with beneficial bugs as well organic sprays. Banker crops may play a role. But more as a spotting tool rather than a piece of defensive brick.

Ive used neem oil as a preventive measure but ive never been a fan of this stuff..

Playk328 said:

Also according to the research I've been doing basil,lavender and mint are suppose to help increase flavours, enhance oil productions and possibly yields.. Anyone have any experience with this?

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Ive heard similar, but never implemented it. I've always used neem meal in my soil and hot peppers as a foliar. I grow Carolina reapers and take the ripe pepper, cut it in half and boil it. Strain the liquid and use that to deture critters and some insects. And ONLY OUTDOORS!

McShnutz said:

Ive heard similar, but never implemented it. I've always used neem meal in my soil and hot peppers as a foliar. I grow Carolina reapers and take the ripe pepper, cut it in half and boil it. Strain the liquid and use that to deture critters and some insects. And ONLY OUTDOORS!

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Do you ph your spray when using peppers? I like the idea of incorporating other plants to work together.. I have plenty of space and a daughter who is anxious to grow everything she can.. This years outdoor is setting up to be busy

Playk328 said:

Do you ph your spray when using peppers? I like the idea of incorporating other plants to work together.. I have plenty of space and a daughter who is anxious to grow everything she can.. This years outdoor is setting up to be busy

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I do not adjust pH. I use tap water and where I live it's pH is 7.5
The peppers I'd assume are acidic so it just works out well for me, but for others I'd keep pH in mind. The peppers don't provide any nutritive value and it's a half-assed foliar at that. More like a light misting than a real foliar.
On a side note though, I'd not use the peppers if you have a little one running around. I have 4, all grown now, but I'd definitely err on the side of caution using the Carolina reaper. The Reaper has been measured at more than two million Scoville heat units, the accepted scale for how hot peppers are. Measurements vary, but a really hot habanero might come in at 500,000 Scoville units.

Hi, I companion plant marigold with cannabis for pest management, succession crop with garlic for sulphur fixation, and cover crop with legumes for nitrogen fixation. Banker plants can also work well to help establish indigenous bio predators. An ecological approach is the most effective way to manage outdoor crops. These are observation based systems that require a close understanding of the specific niche you are growing in.

Ive been researching this topic a lot lately, since I have enough land not being used we are looking at growing a variety of things to not only help fill in the space but the extra benefits of organic pest controls and various other uses..

I hear mosquitos hate lemongrass...maybe other fliers hate it too

I've tried the marigold thing. They don't really attract mites anymore than the cannabis plants do.

chrysanthemums is where we get the organic form of pyrethrin. But I am not sure if the bugs eat those if they die without it being some kind of an extract.

warning . this video promotes the use of neem oil .
according to wikipedia , comes the following quote .

Neem oil - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Toxicity[edit]
The ingestion of neem oil is potentially toxic and can cause metabolic acidosis, seizures, kidney failure, encephalopathy and severe brain ischemia in infants and young children.[2][5][6] Neem oil should not be consumed alone without any other solutions, particularly by pregnant women, women trying to conceive, or children.[2] It can also be associated with allergic contact dermatitis.[7]r


video on organic pest control .


here is a video by a scientist explaining why neem oil does not always work .




enjoy

Good worm castings tend to have a lot of bacteria and bugs/nematodes that help with ipm. Outside of that I would recommend spinosad and beauveria bassiana.

Specifically if you're going to buy predators nematodes, and rove beetles are probably the two that I find most beneficial for me as a home grower. Some of the mites like hypoaspis miles(or whatever the new name for them is) and cucumeris mites are good as well but I wouldn't buy them unless you're already dealing with an infestation.

If you have a large room with a constant cycling of plants you can also try mantids or jumping spiders although in a home setting you'd need to be careful about what species you buy to not create situations where they predate each other out of territorialism. Ghost mantis are probably the most communal mantis species and would likely be one of the better species.

MidnightSun72 said:

I've tried the marigold thing. They don't really attract mites anymore than the cannabis plants do.

chrysanthemums is where we get the organic form of pyrethrin. But I am not sure if the bugs eat those if they die without it being some kind of an extract.

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Marigolds are a good companion plant if you have thrips or root eating nematodes, thrips seem to love them so it gives you an easy spot to kill a lot at one time. They also secrete toxins for root eating nematodes from my understanding, Steve Cantwell who runs a large commercial grow in Vegas talked about dealing with them by companion planting marigolds supposedly.