Thursday, June 3, 2010

Holes in my rose leaves: so far only one rose plant affected

I think they’re rose slugs, which some say are temporary and some say last all summer. I put the issue into my google machine, but it took a little digging, which I enjoy.

But then again, it is nice when the problem floats conveniently to the top with flags waving that announce: Here’s the answer to the problem!!

I don’t like the use of chemicals in my garden, but maybe even occassional Miracle Grow is a bad thing (note to self: google this). Way back when I was still a 20-year-old apartment-dwelling lass with no hope of a garden in my foreseeable future, my dad sent me Organic Gardening magazine and I read every issue. It was something he enjoyed and I guess, Euell Gibbons and wild asparagus joking aside, it rubbed off on me even when I was a kid.

So at least I try.

Not to lecture, but the way I think of it is that using lots of chemicals seems sort of lazy and maybe you shouldn’t be gardening. It doesn't have to be perfection. And if you’ve been reading this blog for more than 10 minutes, you know I do not consider myself much of a gardener.

I'm just saying.

However, my mom did mention recently that she thinks I have some of my great-grandma Kier in me and I think that is a wonderful compliment since they had a farm and all.

OK, so back to the holes in my leaves. It sounds like they are caused by rose slugs. They eat the leaves, but sometimes leave a paper-thin slice behind. That’s what looks like spots. They skeletize the leaves as well. Oops. Microsoft thinks that isn’t a word.

They should read rose forums online. That’s where I learned the word and it is a perfect description of what is left behind. I have found there is a lot Microsoft doesn’t know, but that’s another post for another day, eh?

So you make insecticidal soap, you see. That’s one teaspoon of real soap in one quart of water. Apparently, one teaspoon of real soap is one quarter of a bar. I need to dig out my bar of Kirk’s Castile, which I am never without one stashed away somewhere. I also have Kirk’s liquid soap and maybe that would make life easier. This mixture is a concentrate. You take that and mix one teaspoon of the original mixture into a new quart of water.

I’m thinking that’s a lot of insecticidal soap for one extremely small rose bush. Maybe I will cut the recipe in half or in quarters. An eighth of a bar?

Boogie Woogie.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I wish I could hire you to be my gardener. It does not come naturally to me. Apparently my father never got the Organic Gardening Mag gift idea memo.

Rose said...

Does this really work? Very interested in this.

When I first worked at the orchard, bars of soap were tied here and there to detour the deer...but the deer did not mind them at all. They would eat apples right by the bar of soap.

Caron said...

Juice, do you have a yard to put a garden in? I can't remember much lawn. I can come out and fix it all up for you!

Rose, I don't know for sure, but I think I get the idea. It suffocates them, which makes me sort of ache. Funny about the deer. I wonder anyone would expect soap to deter deer.

Anonymous said...

Interesting comment on Microsoft. They also don't get that when you ask the thesaurus for different words for "information", it comes back with words for "in formation". How annoying!

agreenearth said...

Look forward to sharing your wonderful garden.