8 results for tag: pest control

Rock Dust Crop Dusting: Pulverized Rock Makes for Effective Pesticide

As long as there has been agriculture, there have been insects, mites, and other creatures eager to share in the bounty. Pests remain an enduring problem for agriculture. Increasingly, communities are seeing even pesticides designed to deter or eliminate pesky insects become a liability as essential pollinator populations decline, unwanted toxins infiltrate crops—endangering farmers and consumers—and insects develop resistance to traditional deterrents and poisons. One possible solution: rocks. Crushed rocks, to be precise. Seeding mineral-poor soils with pulverized rocks not only introduces badly-needed nutrients to the plants they house, it ...

Rock Dust and Pest Control

Among organic methods of pest control, rock dust is one of the safest for people, soil, and plants. (more…)

Remineralizing the Landscape: Creating Fecundity in the Garden

Landscape professionals each year put countless amounts of plants in the ground. Their success and their client’s happiness requires that these plants establish themselves quickly and then grow with vigor. Consequently, any experienced landscape professional attends to each plant’s requirements, working hard to make sure each plant gets exactly what it needs. This usually means focusing on fertilization and pH requirements while locating each plant in a spot where it will get the necessary amounts of moisture and light for it to feel at home. All these considerations are essential for establishing healthy plants. (more…)

Minerals for Aging Soils

By Dr. Lee Klinger, Ph.D. Now that I've passed the half-century mark I feel fortunate to be only slightly worse for the wear as my body copes with getting older. None-the-less, lingering aches in my joints and bones are telling signs that my body is aging. These aches come as no surprise of course. (more…)

How to Remineralize the Earth: Getting vital nutrients back into our soil

We know that "traditionally grown" fruits and vegetables we see in supermarkets are both lacking in vitamins and minerals and have added chemicals from fertilizers and pesticides. These toxic additions in particular fueled the demand for organic produce but did not completely address the lack of nutrients. Going back in time, our soil was rich with minerals, which found their way into our foods in healthy doses. Mineralized soil grew healthier crops providing the vitamins and minerals we now need to take as supplements. Additionally, hardier plants were capable of repelling insects and other pests that are now a constant and costly threat to grower...

How to Remineralize the Earth: Getting vital nutrients back into our soil

How to Remineralize the Earth: Getting vital nutrients back into our soil We know that "traditionally grown" fruits and vegetables we see in supermarkets are both lacking in vitamins and minerals and have added chemicals from fertilizers and pesticides. These toxic additions in particular fueled the demand for organic produce but did not completely address the lack of nutrients. Going back in time, our soil was rich with minerals, which found their way into our foods in healthy doses. Mineralized soil grew healthier crops providing the vitamins and minerals we now need to take as supplements. Additionally, hardier plants were capable of repelling ...

Bill Neu

Lyons, Wisconsin Six years ago, 2001, I started gardening for the sake of improving my ailing health. I was determined to garden organically for the sake of food purity. Setting out with little knowledge and almost zero experience I had two very disappointing years of only fair yield and relentless insect attack. Disillusioned, I then read up on some organic pest control approaches. Armed with a little non-toxic ammo I achieved less damaged produce. However it cost extra money and time and did not improve yield. (more…)

Dan Kittredge

Spencer Brook Farm, Concord, MA10/23/07 Tomatoes in full bloom and lush growth going through third flowering/fruiting cycle in MA. growing on soil that was last year not much more than low pH sand and gravel. A mix of rock powders was used to bring the plants to this state. Locally available granite schist, highly paramagnetic blacksand, high trace element spectrum summa minerals as well as high calcium lime and colloidal soft rock phosphate. None of the traditional fungus or wilt diseases struck or hornworms as can be easily seen by the lush growth and numerous fruiting cycles. Tomatoes grown on nearby soil were struck down by black wilt by mid ...