Garden season is fast approaching up here in NS and I battle flea beetles each year with my radish crop. I must be the only person in the world that can't grow radishes. Last year I tried DE and putting a pot of mint in amongst the plantings but it was a bit late for radishes so I am not positive it worked. This year I started them extra early under cover. Anyone have a non toxic cure for flea beetles?

-- Alison in NS (aproteau@istar.ca), May 06, 2002

Answers

Try garlic, thyme and cayenne, either shake it on or add to water, water with dish soap, and spray.

-- Cindy (S.E.IN) (atilrthehony_1@yahoo.com), May 06, 2002.

Alison, one organic defense against flea beetles is to use wood ashes. Dust the leaves liberally in the morning when they are still wet from dew. If you get rain that washes the dust off, repeat the following morning. The beetles need the sun to warm up on cool spring days and they do their nasty work during the day. I've used this method for about 5 years and have been having great results. Before that, I might have a 10 foot row of tiny beet seedlings in the morning and nothing but bare stubs that evening. Most frustrating! And to make the cure more rewarding, I may have completely broken their cycle as not one has appeared so far this year in WI.

Happy Gardening

-- Martin Longseth (paquebot@merr.com), May 06, 2002.

Thanks I will give it a try!!

-- Alison in NS (aproteau@istar.ca), May 08, 2002.

You know, the USDA gave us bags and bags of those things to put out to eat the leafy spurge! {That is a weed here, for folks like me who had no idea those pretty yellow flowers out in the pasture, won't be eaten by cows, spread fairly quickly, and aparently are the scourge of the region.}

Anyway, I am always skeptical about changing things in nature, like releaseing millions of bugs for instance. I tried to ask what these bugs were and couldn't get an answer. I asked what dameage could be caused if they should run out of weeds or overpopulate due to good eating. Still no answer. It ate the weed. That's all anybody cared about. We are hoping they froze out in our northern climate? We'll see. I wonder what they will get to eat the bugs that ravage the gardens?

-- Novina in ND (homespun@stellarnet.com), May 09, 2002.