Software
Houzz Logo Print
bill1897

Natural Insecticide Burning

14 years ago

Hi All,

I've been using a natural insecticide/foliar-fertilizer/fungicide 2-in-one spray that I made and it seems to be reacting adversely with some of my plants, as a few of the leaves on some of the plants turn brown and crispy and start to wither/fall-off a day or so after spraying. I use 3 tsp of Botanicare's "Organic" Pure Blend Pro Grow (3-2-4), 3 tbsp potassium bicarbonate, 1 tbsp Utra Dishmate natural liquid soap (surfactants derived from coconut oil), and 1-2 tbsp of olive oil. All of these ingredients are mixed into a gallon of water and sprayed onto my beans, sweet peas, kale, swiss chard, collards, basil, black simpson seed lettuce all growing hydroponically.

The plants seem healthy and fine otherwise, but I'd like to find the solution to this problem because after every spray the browning and crisping of some of the leaves is a bit of an eye-sore (not extensive, but noticeable). I do not think it is the combination of the ingredients that overwhelm and "burn" the leaves, but instead the overabundance of one of the ingredients. I think this because I used to spray each ingredient separately and the problem would occur (but not immediately following the spray so that I could descern which spray caused the issue).

The plants are in a south facing window in CT and also receive supplemental lighting through two 32-watt t8 fluorescent lights, and one 400-watt metal halide light. I am thinking that the browning/crisping can be from the oil reacting with the lighting and "cooking" the plants, but could this be possible with a 400-watt light that's about 8"-12" away and two 32 watt lights that are 3" away? (There is less discoloration under the fluorescent lights). Also the sage has what seems to be little black burn dots all over its leaves that literally appeared one day after spraying.

And in case you were wondering, it has proved to be effective in ridding my plants of powdery mildew and aphids as well as make the leaves that don't "burn" appear greener, so I'd like to remedy this issue as soon as possible.

Any help is much appreciated. Thank you!

Comments (11)

  • 14 years ago

    That can happen when two or more chemicals are mixed together. Many times that mixture creates something much more potent then the individual chemicals would be.
    There may also may be plants that just won't tolerate that mix.

  • 14 years ago

    "Many times that mixture creates something much more potent then the individual chemicals would be."

    Name two. Name one.

    There might be an example or two, but I'll bet this is mainly simple myth. The "many" is certainly wrong. The notion is possibly derived from the very real drug interactions in animals. Or else from the rare combinations that have problems for plants but are physiological in origin, not via chemical reaction in the application mix, and would arise if the chemicals were applied separately too soon.

    Making lime-sulfur is one example of making a much more toxic chemical from a mix but of course that is the intent there.

  • 14 years ago

    Try each of your ingredients separately and observe the results. I've had good success with a simple surfactant (dish soap) dealing with aphids on foliage plants, sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) may also help with the PM (so I've read but never tried).

    The little black spots may well be diagnostic, I can't think of anything that would cause them though.

  • 14 years ago

    If I were in this situation, one possible thing I would try is using twice the water so the mix is only half as strong. Then if that still burns, dilute again until there is no burning but apply more often. Just an idea. Good luck on finding an answer to the problem.

  • 14 years ago

    We had several chemical companies here some years ago that dumped the waste from production on the ground and as they moved into the water table they mixed together and produced some very toxic stuff that you and I are still paying to clean up. Those chemicals caused numerous people to stop using their wells and connect to the municipal system because the ground water they were using, from their wells, was too contaminated with these toxic substances to even wash with much less drink.
    The synergistic affect is well known and is why sometimes people have bigger medical problems when combiniing two medicines.

    Here is a link that might be useful: synergistic affect

  • 14 years ago

    I hear mixing fuel oil and ammonium nitrate can lead to a rather hazardous mixture but then again the fuel oil probably wouldn't do plants any good. No point in posting any links, we all know what happened in Okalahoma City.

    I like your idea too rockguy, see if the negative side effect goes away by diluting the mixture that is causing problems and then seeing if the mixture still does what is hoped for.

  • 14 years ago

    I agree that the rates per gallon of water seem high. More is NEVER better when it comes to mixing chemicals to spray on plants....no matter what kind of products.

    Tank mixes need to be done with care. Professionals know to carefully read the label of whatever product(s) they wish to use to learn if a mix is recommended....or not.

    With a home-brewed concoction such as this, Bill will never know (for certain) if it is the dosage or the combination that has caused the problem. Surely, one or the other.

    PM can be controlled by simple sprays of plain water (so can aphids) or a light horticultural oil.

  • 14 years ago

    Soap and oil together can cause burn. Oil alone, even olive oil can easily burn plants in full sun as the oil acts like a magnifying glass. If you treat will oil give the plants some shade for a day after treatment.

  • 12 years ago

    I used dawn dish liquid 1 part with 10 parts water to spray for insects on my tomatoes, squash and peppers. The leaves are brown and crispy. Some fell off. Will the vegetables survive?
    Will the plants revive?

  • 12 years ago

    Dawn dish "soap" is a detergent made from non renewable resources and is not an acceptable organic product. Any Insecticidal Soap, sprayed at the wrong time might also cause the same symptoms, however. Whether the plants will survive depends on many things. What were you spraying for?

  • 12 years ago

    Too many factors to know what is the cause. Sunlight, multiple artificial light sources, and a homebrew concoction that has multiple ingredients, including water.

    Have you tried spraying at a time when the lights are off for a period of time after spray is applied? My first guess would simply be leaf burning due to water/oil spots on the leaf. Then I'd alter the mix one ingredient at a time until I could say for certain that this and not that is what the cause is.

    And I for one am getting to where I don't care what your definition of organic is, and I'm not really certain who you are, or who you think you are. It's all a chemical, used for the purpose of pest control...so do you really think there isn't going to be the risk of something adverse? If you are telling me that the adverse effect is that someone who spends a lot of time on line is going to tell me I'm doing something wrong (according to him/her/it)...bring it.

Sponsored
Whisler Home Improvement
Average rating: 5 out of 5 stars9 Reviews
Franklin County's Committed Home Improvement Professionals