permaculture

[rselder@comcast.net]

Another go about aphids... To me, this says the plant is stressed in it's 
situation OR is the only aphid-edible plant in the enclosed area. 
Using best care practices of course, you could re -research the needs of the 
plant and assess what care it is receiving. Indoor plants often dry out 
severely... Many times the soil is so dry it repels the water around the 
rootball into the catch tray and the plant continues in a stressed situation. 
My favorite "best watering technique" is to soak the plant completely. I 
place said plant in a tub or sink... let it sit for 30 minutes in water at 
least at half-pot depth, then allow it to completely drain. Once a week seems 
to work well for most of my plants. Some plant prefer more water, more often. 
Soil, light, placement indoors, washing leaves (preferably with rain water,) 
exposure... all these aspects can help a plant thrive or be a source of 
stress. Like a limping elk, a stressed plant sends out signals to the aphids 
(wolves) and they all gather 'round. 


If you are in a warm climate, you could place the plant outdoors where 
nature's army will help with the aphids and get a meal at the same time. This 
works for my plants that summer outdoors... nature comes in and does the 
once-over for them. They love it! You could perhaps bring a few local lady 
bugs indoors? (Please don't buy "harvested" aphids!) PUt them on the plant 
and, who knows, maybe they will stay and lay eggs! 


Lastly... if the plant is severely infested and miserable beyond repair... 
Put it outdoors on a sunny afternoon and let it die a natural plant death. 


Love & light & keep the faith! 
Becky Elder 



----- Original Message ----- 
From: gavinraders@gmail.com 
To: "permaculture" <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org> 
Sent: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 9:52:44 AM GMT -07:00 US/Canada Mountain 
Subject: Re: [permaculture] challenge: indoor aphids 

Just check on your plant once or twice a week to spray them off. That will 
keep them under control. 

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry 

-----Original Message----- 
From: paul wheaton <paul@richsoil.com> 
Date: Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:41:28 
To: permaculture<permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org> 
Subject: Re: [permaculture] challenge: indoor aphids 

Yes, that knocks off a good 90%. 

The trick is that the reproduce like gangbusters and will be back quickly! 

On Tue, Nov 10, 2009 at 8:32 AM, <gavinraders@gmail.com> wrote: 
> The easiest and most immediate solution, spray them off with water! 
> Gavin 
> ------Original Message------ 
> From: paul wheaton 
> Sender: permaculture-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org 
> To: permaculture 
> ReplyTo: permaculture 
> Subject: [permaculture] challenge: indoor aphids 
> Sent: Nov 10, 2009 8:23 AM 
> 
> At the permies.com forums, somebody presented a question that has 
> several of us stumped 
> 
> http://www.permies.com/permaculture-forums/2408_0 
> 
> A houseplant with aphids. 
> 
> Outdoors, we can talk about guild plantings and ladybug larva. A soap 
> spray may be of help - but that still seems a bit like simply 
> replacing a chemical pesticide with a less toxic chemical pesticide. 
> 
> I'm hoping that there is some awesome permaculture path that I have 
> overlooked. 
> 
> Anybody have any permaculture suggestions? 
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> 
> Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry 
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