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putri_gw

need inty help pls!

18 years ago

Hi all! I've been growing mints these couple of months and they were so gorgeous. unfortunately the leaves started to have these weird light-whitish/green tracks on them. I tried replacing the mints into new pots and soil and cutting it until only a few leaves left, but it didn't work. my mints are growing slower than before and there are still tracks/spots on the leaves.

oh by the way how frequent should we water them?i live in a hot climate so should i water more than once a day? Thank u for ur help!

Comments (11)

  • 18 years ago

    I don't know what kind of bugs you have in Indonesia, but it sounds like some kind of leaf eating bug.
    Do you have any kind of pesticide there? One that you could eat? If not, you could TRY putting a Tablespoon (US) of dishsoap and the same amount of cooking oil and maybe the same amount of ethyl alcohol or any alcohol you have in the house in a bout 3 liters of water and spray it on the plant. I have no idea if this will kill that particular bug, but I wish you luck!

  • 18 years ago

    I'm not acquainted with Indonesian bugs either, but you could try spraying your plants with a garlic spray, which is effective against a large range of bugs - also fungi.

    GARLIC SPRAY:
    Soak 1/2 cup crushed garlic cloves in 1/2 cup vegetable oil for one week. Add a little liquid soap and dilute the mixture - 1 part mixture to 10 parts water. Garlic spay will kill and repel aphids, woolly aphids, bean fly, stink bugs, crickets, grasshoppers, red spider mite, sawfly larvae, scale, snails, slugs, thrips and caterpillars, mosquitoes and ticks, the adult moths of leaf-miners and mealy bugs. It is an effective fungicide when used 3-4 times a week against potato blight and damping off.
    OR
    Crush 100g garlic, 2 chillies and 2 onions and cover with water for 24 hours. Strain and add enough water to make up 2 litres.

    As for watering, don't do it by the clock, do it by the needs of the plant. The soil should be constantly moist, not soggy, and should never be allowed to dry out completely. Poke your finger as far as it will go into the soil. If the tip of your finger feels cold and moist, it doesn't need water. If dry, give it a drink. Do not judge soil moisture by the appearance of the surface of the soil.

    Mint is another plant that does best outside (in hot climates, partial shade is best for mints), where there are predator bugs which prey on the plant-destroying bugs. Let Nature do some of the work for you!

  • 18 years ago

    ok thanks everyone i'll try spraying them!

  • 18 years ago

    If the tracks are in the leaf and not on top it may be leaf miners. For those you should pick off any leaves you notice infected and burn. If you look closely at the end of one of the tracks you will find the leaf miner in the plant tissues.

  • 18 years ago

    i guessed that they're leaf miners too. They're not all tracks though more like blotches but the same color as leaf miner tracks, whitish-green. if it's infected like this are the mints still edible?

  • 18 years ago

    Suspect its leaf miners too. Neem oil spray can get rid of these. Just give the plants a couple of days after a spray of neem, before you use any.

  • 18 years ago

    what do u mean by oil spray? and whats neem?care to explain?
    thanks.

  • 18 years ago

    CANOLA OIL SPRAY:
    Mix 1 part canola oil into 50 parts water (approximately 1 tablespoon oil to 1 litre water). Add a few drops of diswashing detergent and shake well. Spray tops and bottoms of leaves and stems generously to get rid of aphids, mealy bugs, spider mites, soft scale or earwigs. Most cooking oils can be used instead of Canola.

    Neem is an insecticidal herb - a tree, actually. Azadirachta indica, Melia azadirachta. Often called the Wonder Tree, Indian Lilac, Bead Tree, Holy Tree, Margosa Tree, Pride of China. Neem oil, extracted from the seeds, is an effective insecticide when used as a garden spray. It is also used in skin and hair lotions, anti-tartar toothpaste and soaps. Look for the oil in garden centres.

  • 18 years ago

    Suggest that you go onto the web, and do a search of neem oil. Its a product from a tree in India, and is a natural insecticide and prized by India. They also use it in some cosmetics, but there is neem oil also sold by Gardens Alive and the following site, which recommends castile soap added as a surfacent to help it stick to leaves. Its obvious your not aquainted with organic means of pest protection.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Neem oil source

  • 18 years ago

    ksrogers, Putri is in Indonesia, our organic stuff may not be available there. Which is why I think homemade may be the way to go.

  • 18 years ago

    I bet they can get that stuff at the local corner store.. Either that, or find out who ships internationally.