Monday, October 12, 2009

It Worked, Natural Pesticide


We came back from Europe a few days ago. Everything was frozen. That is to be expected living in Utah at 6,000 feet. The apples and pears are ripe for the picking. They like a little frost.


We do not use pesticides on our property and have had to accept that a certain amount of our produce would be damaged. This year is different. We tried a new recipe, and it worked. Not 100% but we saved more than half of our fruit crop.

Early in Spring make a concoction of: 1/2 c. molasses, 1/4 c. apple cider vinegar, 1 pkg. of dry yeast, 1/2 cup of mashed raisins, 3 cups of water.

Cut a one by two inch hole into the upper part of a milk or juice carton. Leave the bottom part of the hole intact to use as a "landing strip" for the Coddling Moth. Apple worms start as eggs laid ON THE FRUIT by their Moth parents. Hang the carton on a branch very early in the Spring. One for each tree. Replenish with water as needed.
We were concerned that the Bees might also be attracted to this mixture, however, we only found moths and a few other smaller insects inside the traps.

Gina


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