The Rusted Garden Blog — Pests and Diseases

Hydrogen Peroxide is H2O2, two hydrogen atoms and 2 oxygen atoms bonded together. It has one more oxygen atom than water, which is H2O. Studies have shown that plants create H2O2 and similar molecules in response to fungal and bacterial attacks. You can keyword search: The Oxidative Burst in Plant Disease Resistance for detailed information.  This an extremely simplified explanation of how Hydrogen Peroxide or H2O2 works to kill fungi and bacteria on your tomato plants. The bonds that form a molecule of hydrogen peroxide are very unstable. When we spray H2O2 onto  tomato leaves, the fungi like 'Leaf Spot' and...

by Gary Pilarchik (The Rusted Gardener) If you don't have room for a garden, try looking locally for a community garden. My plot, as seen in the video, is about 20' x 25' and costs me $40 a year. That is a bargain, as I get an endless supply of wood chips and water and the people there are wonderful.  Visit my YouTube Channel with over 800 gardening videos: The Rusted Garden Community gardens have a beauty, I think on we gardeners can appreciate. The picture, to many, looks like a dump and the whole area of 60 plus plots...

By Gary Pilarchik (The Rusted Garden) Tomatoes use a hormone similar to salicylic acid to trigger a response called 'systemic acquired resistance' or SAR. This response helps a tomato plant fight off bacteria, fungi and other diseases. This defense response is a naturally occurring internal plant process that can be started manually (so to speak) by spraying your tomato plants with aspirin. The salicylic acid in the aspirin will trigger the tomato's defenses, by mimicking the natural hormone, as if it were being attacked. You can preemptively trigger the SAR response in tomatoes. Why is this a good thing? The...

by Gary Pilarchik (The Rusted Garden) Diatomaceous earth or DE is not a poison. It is basically the sharp fossilized remains of microscopic sea creatures made up of silica. It is not harmful to us as it is a fine powder that feels like chalk. You should take precautions not create a lot of floating dust and breath it in as it can be an irritant in the lungs. However it is perfectly safe to handle. For crawling insects, it can be devastating. The microscopic dust or silica is extremely sharp and it will grind an insect's shell and body down over time. The...