matches

[Gustavo Martins]

I recently read on the internet about a technique where match sticks are stuck head down into the soil of plants. The rationale is that, being made of sulfur and other minerals, this techniques prevents pests... Does any one ever heard or tried this?

If it works, it should be nice. We now can have bonsai pots with tea bags and match sticks. What a wonderful combination for x-mas

 

[RKatzin]

The old stick matches, with big blue heads and a yellow tip, we called them barn burners, might have worked. They had lots of sulfur, you couldn't carry two in your pocket. They would light if you dropped one on a hard surface. Today's safety matches hardly have any sulfur.
The idea reminds me of when I was young and going to pick peaches at an orchard. I saw that they had put tin can lids in the forks of the trees so that the tree engulfed it. I was told the trees absorbed zinc from the tin to prevent leaf curl.

 

[Anthony]

India, still supplies - kaboom matches. Our matches made on the island, destroy the
boxes, but the Indian blue heads, just a sniff and they enflame.

Gustavo,

what has worked for us for years is -
[1] Don't let the plants touch each other.

[2] Keep them mixed up, no two of the same type stand together, unless they are naturally pest free.

[3] Don't over fertilise and get soft growth.

[4] Unless it is raining, no moisture into the night.

[5] As much sun as the plant can handle.

Our only pests are leaf cutters [ some trees have sweet/nutrient rich leaves, like the
Chinese Serissa, ] and occasional grasshoppers.
The leaf cutters get dried orange peels with something special and the grasshoppers
are given a stern warning and then chucked over the bamboo hedge.
The birds and frogs soon find the grasshoppers ------ yummy.

The leaf cutters feed the queen, she passes and the nest is demoralised.
Good Day
Anthony

 

[Stickroot]

I recently read on the internet about a technique where match sticks are stuck head down into the soil of plants. The rationale is that, being made of sulfur and other minerals, this techniques prevents pests... Does any one ever heard or tried this?

If it works, it should be nice. We now can have bonsai pots with tea bags and match sticks. What a wonderful combination for x-mas

Bonide sells 90% pure SULFER for plants. Cheap!
I use it

 

[M. Frary]

We now can have bonsai pots with tea bags

Not if you use miracle grow.

 

[Gustavo Martins]

I'm not saying I'm going to use it. But found the idea was... funny.

Knowing that sulfur is a common component of pest control agents, it could be useful... at least, it would be a cheap solution.

So far, I only got aphids (they love my bougie) that are easy to get rid of, some kind of maggot (especially on my olive) and caterpillers that chew on the leaves. I generally inspect trees everyday and hand pick of these any that I see.

G

 

[Gustavo Martins]

Not if you use miracle grow.

Never seen miracle grow here. I use a generalist (not branded) 10-10-10 + trace elements solid fertilizer that I pour on top of the soil every 1-2 months. I also just bought a organic fertilizer that I will try next year. I don't think that any of them has sulfur though. Need to check.

G

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Bonide sells 90% pure SULFER for plants. Cheap!
I use it

Bonide uses sulfur in its citrus spray concentrate as well (sulfur and pyrethrins) though it is at 10% concentration. My fruit trees - particularly my stone fruits - have fungal issues in the spring if I don't spray while they are dormant. Sulfur and dormant oil is my go-to treatment during the winter.

 

[Gustavo Martins]

Ah. I also got a bottle of lime sulphur which I plan to apply during winter.

 

[miker]

Is there any reason (for those in the north) not to just dormant treat with lime sulfer (or other fungicides or pesticides for that matter) once in spring just before everything wakes up?

 

[Gustavo Martins]

Is there any reason (for those in the north) not to just dormant treat with lime sulfer (or other fungicides or pesticides for that matter) once in spring just before everything wakes up?

Why "for those in the north"?

 

[miker]

Why "for those in the north"?

Because treating one's trees while dormant over the winter might something that just gets done in more northern areas, versus places with mild winters. This is not to say growers in other areas do not treat their trees with preventative pesticides.

 

[M. Frary]

I spray bayer 3 in 1 on my trees after they are in full leaf.
Just to keep flying bugs that eat trees off of them.
Other than that I don't preventative spray.
I think I have needle cast on 1 Scots pine but I don't spray for it. I let it run its course.. When it grows new needles this year they will be fine.

 

[AlainK]

Th main ingredient in safety matches is I think Potassium chlorate, and I don't think it has any use in cultivation of plants (?)

 

[Gustavo Martins]

Because treating one's trees while dormant over the winter might something that just gets done in more northern areas, versus places with mild winters. This is not to say growers in other areas do not treat their trees with preventative pesticides.

This guy uses lime sulphur in all trees (evergreen and deciduous). For those that do not understand Spanish: He applies it twice: once in December and s second time in January. He does not protect anything. Uses a mixture of 25ml per Liter. He is Almeria I think. One of the hottest places in Spain. And judging by his trees, he appears to know one or two things.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Sulfur in addition to being a fungicide with moderate broad activity, it is a required macro nutrient. The sulfur available to the trees should be around 15% of the nitrogen, so a 12-1-4 solution should have 2 for sulfur. Fortunately, most areas get enough sulfur in acid rain that if sulfur is only occasionally supplemented, that is enough. The more air pollution you have, the less likely the need to apply sulfur.

Epsom salts, magnesium sulfate, sold as a bath salt, are a good cheap supply for both sulfur and magnesium, both being macro nutrients. Magnesium should be about 20 to 30% relative to the nitrogen.
I dilute epsom salts one teaspoon per gallon of water (5ml volume per 4 liters is close enough). I apply this once every two or three months. My tap water does contain some magnesium. So I can get away with less frequent use.

 

[miker]

Thank you for the information. I was just trying to say that the spraying of dormant trees in the winter might tend to be a practice of those who live in more northern climates, because the very description of this practice implies that. I am sure there are experts (and novice growers) in subtropical, Mediterranean and tropical areas who treat dormant/semi-dormant trees with preventative pesticides. But it makes sense that this practice might be most common with trees that actually go dormant and stay that way for an appreciable amount of time in a climate that supports such dormancy.

What I was really asking is the following: is there any benefit to dormant spraying trees multiple times during the late fall through early spring versus simply treating once in late winter/early spring shortly before bud break?

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Dormant oil sprays are labeled for use on dormant trees because if a tree still has leaves, there are many species that will have foliage damaged by dormant oils. I have never used dormant oil on any evergreen or fern for this reason.

Some species will tolerate oils, some won't, it is case by case. Different brands or formulas of dormant oils will react differently to foliage of a specific species. You must read the labels, the entire multi page label, if your tree species is not listed as safe for use, it will be at your own risk if you use the oil on a "off label species".

They are called dormant oils because they were not intended for use on anything with green leaves or needles. Caveat Emptor.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

.............snip.............What I was really asking is the following: is there any benefit to dormant spraying trees multiple times during the late fall through early spring versus simply treating once in late winter/early spring shortly before bud break?

It is possible to give the tree too much of a good thing. A little oil may be fine, well tolerated, but apply more often than the label recommends you run the risk of over doing it and damaging your tree. Read the label, do not use more than recommended.

Each manufacturer has their own formula, dormant oils are not all the same. This means one brand might be safe for your tree, another might not be safe, read the labels.