Sweeva?

[LP]

I've read here or somewhere about a product called Sweeva? or something like that that is used as an insecticide. I've tried to google, but apparently, I've got the word wrong.

[Caplock50]

Try "Sweeta". It's a artificial sweetener. Most artificial sweeteners have aspertane in them and it's supposed to be deadly to bugs. Wonder what it does to people?

[Carol]

i've read that sweet-n-low will kill/deter ants. My husb. and I are both diabetics; we were drinking "tons" of artificial sweeteners. He has always told me the artificial sweet. caused brain lesions. I was driving my grandau. one evening to look at some horses. I started having visual rainbow flashes of light. I never lost control of the car...but the rainbow colors were very vivid. 'really scared me...threw all the artif. sweet. OUT!!!! 'went back to sugar and stevia. Are you familiar w/stevia??? It's natural..very sweet. It can be purchased at health food stores and most major grocery chains. I live in small town USA and one of the larger grocers here carries it. Have a blessed night

[Animal Lover]

I did look Stevia up on the internet. It apparently is authentic sweetener, but it does mention that it is played with a bit to take the bitterness out. I only wonder what that might be?? I am just sticking with smaller doses of sugar. I tried the other things and broke out in rash. Just ask some questions of the Stevia people and find out what is actually done to it to make it palitable to the U.S. taste buds. AL

[LP]

Gee whiz, I'm SO sorry, but I forgot about this post! Had to go out of town and just forgot, which happens a lot these days. lol

While searching for something else gardening related, I ran across "Sevin", an insecticide, which is what I was asking about (and made me remember this post). I've read a lot of posts that mentioned using that, but I just couldn't remember the name.

Thank you for your help.

[Summerthyme]

LOL! Sevin is Carbaryl... a somewhat toxic insecticide. It's a wide spectrum insecticide, which means it kills most insects... and that includes the good ones, like honeybees.

I do use it on occasion, only if I can't find another solution and I'm going to lose a crop without it. Squash beetles and bugs are one infestation I haven't found an organic solution for, and occasionally they attack in such numbers they wipe out all my vines. So, I do use it on them if needed, but I'm careful to not apply it to plants with blossoms.

It is a cholinesterase inhibitor (like many pesticides) and while it's not one of the most toxic pesticides, it's only prudent to avoid breathing in the dust, and to wear long sleeves, etc so you don't absorb it through your skin.

While I farm and garden *mostly* organically, our gardens feed us, and I keep some pesticides on hand in case of "emergencies" (like finding thousands of large Squash bugs on my vines a couple years ago... they almost totally wiped them out in 24 hours). Sevin is the mainstay of my "emergency" stash.

Summerthyme

[joyce1954]

I did look Stevia up on the internet. It apparently is authentic sweetener, but it does mention that it is played with a bit to take the bitterness out. I only wonder what that might be?? I am just sticking with smaller doses of sugar. I tried the other things and broke out in rash. Just ask some questions of the Stevia people and find out what is actually done to it to make it palitable to the U.S. taste buds. AL

Stevia is great for those of us that must watch our sugar. Has no harmful side effects at all. The processed powdered form is steamed and sun bleached to make it white. It has absolutely no nutritive value other than it sweetens things. The 'Bitter' comes in if you use too much. Stevia is one of those things that requires a light hand in applying. too much and it has a bitter after taste. The dried leaves can be put in tea when brewing, but again a little bit works best. I think the 'playing with' happens in the steaming and bleaching. But I use stevia leaves in my homemade herbal teas with great results.

[LP]

LOL! Sevin is Carbaryl... a somewhat toxic insecticide. It's a wide spectrum insecticide, which means it kills most insects... and that includes the good ones, like honeybees.

I do use it on occasion, only if I can't find another solution and I'm going to lose a crop without it. Squash beetles and bugs are one infestation I haven't found an organic solution for, and occasionally they attack in such numbers they wipe out all my vines. So, I do use it on them if needed, but I'm careful to not apply it to plants with blossoms.

It is a cholinesterase inhibitor (like many pesticides) and while it's not one of the most toxic pesticides, it's only prudent to avoid breathing in the dust, and to wear long sleeves, etc so you don't absorb it through your skin.

While I farm and garden *mostly* organically, our gardens feed us, and I keep some pesticides on hand in case of "emergencies" (like finding thousands of large Squash bugs on my vines a couple years ago... they almost totally wiped them out in 24 hours). Sevin is the mainstay of my "emergency" stash.

Summerthyme

Well, I guess I don't want to use that on my fruit trees then! But I sure thought I'd read about it being used on fruit trees, which was why I was trying to remember what it was.

We sprayed our trees with something before they bloomed this year. But they've still got bugs. The peach trees especially. They are oozing something clear and sugary looking. One of my apple trees, the apples have alot of pin dots that I think must be bugs. (Green fruit with red spots with dark dots in the middle. Don't remember them looking this way before.) The other apple tree's fruit looks fine.

I'm new to gardening, don't know much, as I'm sure you can tell. The trees were here when we moved in 6 yrs ago and we haven't done anything with them before. They produced good a couple of years, and we got a bit from them, but the deer got most of it and bugs on the rest. I was hoping for more this year if I could keep the deer away, but now they're covered with bugs it seems.

If I shouldn't use the sevin, do you have a recommendation?

Thanks, lp

[Summerthyme]

Unfortunately, there just aren't very many EFFECTIVE insecticides for fruit trees which are also "organic". I read an article not long ago in one of my farm specialty papers about a Mennonite farmer down in Lancaster PA who has established an organic apple orchard. Now, this guy has been farming/gardening/growing for decades... he's not a newbie, and if anyone can make organic fruit work, you'd think he could.

NOT.

At the 5 year point, most orchards are producing around 500 bushels an acre (this is from memory, so I might not have the numbers exactly right). He has 10 acres... which are producing a TOTAL of 400 bushels.

Which is why when I hear or read people saying "oh, we can- and should!- go all organic for our food production" and then go on to say that they've seen studies which show HIGHER production with organic, I say "baloney". Sure, in small plots, with lots of labor, you can get amazing yields. But on a commercial scale... not quite so simple.

That said... it's too late this year, but the MOST important factor in growing healthy fruit is dormant spray... and that IS "organic", if you use a plain "dormant oil spray", which is just a light, miscible oil in water suspension. You apply it in late winter/early spring before bud break, and if you do a thorough job- coat every bit of surface you can on the tree- it smothers a ton of insect eggs and overwintering bugs.

There are pherome based traps which can help reduce insect damage on the fruit... they are pretty specific in terms of which insects they target, so it's necessary to know WHAT is affecting your particular trees.

But I didn't mean to say that you can't use Sevin, either... once the fruit is set, bees are no longer visiting the trees, and as long as you're reasonably careful about overspray, it is- as I said in my previous post- one of the safest insecticides.

What I would do, though, is call your local Co-operative Extension folks and ask to talk to someone about fruit trees. They know YOUR area and it's specific problems and needs. Ask if you can take a sample of the affected fruit (and leaves, and anything else you question) to them, and see what they say it is. Tell them you prefer to stay as organic as possible, and ask for suggestions.

What I do on mine is completely different. I use a dormant oil spray, and I prune the trees rather severely (the old measure was "you should be able to throw a cat through the middle of an apple tree without it hitting any branches"! The reasoning is simple- the more air flow, the less disease problems you'll have, and letting light in helps ripen the fruit.). Then... when the apples are the size of marbles, I go through, and hand thin them... pulling off all but one apple in each cluster (that I can reach). I do this after the "June drop", although that does mean I end up with some bug damaged fruit. And then I put a bag (made from nylon tulle- "wedding veil" fabric) over each remaining apple, and secure it (I'm still experimenting... I've tried draw strings, twist ties, and staples. Nothing is perfect, the staple seems to be quickest, but damages the bags when I remove them in the fall at harvest).

This leads to lots of questions from passersby and visitors, but it gives us several bushels of perfect apples every year. I have about 500 of the bags that I made over a period of several years, and I make a few more every year- some to replace damaged/lost bags, and to get a few more to use.

It takes me about 4 hours total to thin and bag 8 trees... but it took longer than that in total to haul out the sprayer every 2 weeks all summer. Hubby is very chemically sensitive, so I do my best to avoid using toxic sprays on our food, when it's possible.

Oh- and this is interesting. One year, my trees were still young and only gave us a couple bushels of fruit. I bought two bushels of commercial apples to supplement ours, and stored them all in our root cellar. For some reason, I didn't go into the root cellar for a week or so, and during that week, we had a massive mouse invasion. They CLEANED OUT my apples- nothing but cores left! And they didn't TOUCH the commercial fruit, except for a nibble here and there. I guess rodents prefer organic!

Summerthyme

[Animal Lover]

Stevia is great for those of us that must watch our sugar. Has no harmful side effects at all. The processed powdered form is steamed and sun bleached to make it white. It has absolutely no nutritive value other than it sweetens things. The 'Bitter' comes in if you use too much. Stevia is one of those things that requires a light hand in applying. too much and it has a bitter after taste. The dried leaves can be put in tea when brewing, but again a little bit works best. I think the 'playing with' happens in the steaming and bleaching. But I use stevia leaves in my homemade herbal teas with great results.
Thanks Joyce. Good to know. I could do with less calories and I can't stand my one cup of coffee in the morning without a teaspoon of sugar. I will look for a small pkg. of it locally and give it a try. Thanks again, AL

[LP]

Summerthyme, thanks for the info. I'll get with the ext. office to see what the problem is. I sure wish I wasn't so late in the game with this. you sound like you've been at it awhile.

That IS interesting about the mice and commercial apples. If they don't want to get near them, then we sure need to give the apples a very good washing before eating. (with soap and a brush.) This kinda makes me not want to eat commercial apples. lol