Kirk's Soap - Cheap non toxic alternative for chemical sprays - Long post!

[Marilyn]

I finally found the issue in Florida Gardening (Feb/Mar 2007) about
Kirk's for a spray for bugs. Tried to find a website that worked to
give you the article, but came up empty.

Author John A. Starnes writes:

"We've all had to deal with aphids, mealy bugs, scale, red spider
mites and fungus problems on our garden treasures. Funky-smelling
chemical fungicides and insecticides rarely seem to work for long, if
they do, who wants to eat produce or sniff blommos treated with toxic
chemicals? "

(Now thinking of your "sexy" post Jen!)

"But for over 100 years southern gardeners have relied on a cheap, non-
toxic and very effective natural alternative they bought in gorcery
stores - Kirk's..."

"To make a small batch of soap spray, rub a bar of Kirk's Castile
against a cheese grater, then dissolve 1 to 3 heaping tablespoons of
the soap flakes in a gallon of very hot tap water in an old plastic
milk jug. Let it sit for a couple of days, shaking the jug daily to
dissolve lumps. Then pour it into a trigger-spray bottle ... and
spray the affected plants every 7 to 10 days until they are dripping.
Be sure to apply the spray when you don't plan on watering for a few
days so it can cling to the leaves and do its job. "

"To make a big batch of concentrate for future use, drop a whole bar
into a wide-mouth gallon container. Fill that jug with a gallon of
very hot tap water and let sit for a week, stirring daily. You'll end
up with 1 gallon of a thick soap concentrate that keeps just about
forever in a lidded contrainer."

"To make a batch of spray, dissolve 1 cup of this concentrate in a
gallon of warm water, shake, then pour it into your sprayer. Thus a
cheap bar of soap will make you 16 GALLONS of a very safe and
effective fungicide and insecticide that won't harm the environment
nor make your plants (sic) toxic. For tougher problems, try 1 part
soap concentrate to 10 parts water for a thicker, more potent soap
spray. And don't worry about leaf burn in the harsh summer
sun." (Not that we'd have hoyas in harsh summer sun, but good to
know.)

"How does it work? Powdery mildew, black spot, and sooty mold ...
fungi need an acidic leaf cuticle to grow on, and this soap
alkalinizes the leaf surface. Plus, as a soap, it helps to rinse them
off. Spray UP at the undersides of the leaves if you are after
blackspot fungus."

"The coconut oil in soapy water ... helps suffocate bad bugs by
plugging up their breathing holes and permeating their chitinous
exoskeletons. "

Having squished many a bug, I can certainly relate to permeating their
chitinous exoskeletons. (Just so I don't get in trouble, that came
from me, not the author.)

Back to John... "Aprids...? Spider mites...? Mealy ugs...?
Whitefly...? Just spray the plant thoroughly until it drips. Adding
1 cup of cheap vegetable oil to that soapy gallon and shaking it
thoroughly will let you wipe out vast numbers of scale insects.
(Quite often the wing coverings of our garden allies, ladybugs and
lacewings, seem to spare them by acting as umbrellas.)"

"Chemical sprays are not only expensive, they endanger our children
and pets, kill many unintended and valuable inhabitants of our yards'
ecosystems, and add to the burden of poisons endured by our bodies,
our groundwater, and beautiful state. So why not give this century-
old Kirk's Castile soap a try?"

Jen mentioned that Cracker Barrell carries it and here is the web site
provided (it's current, just checked and liked the FAQs section)
www.kirksnatural.com.

End of long post. Let me know if it was worthy of my typing time or
not. Mom always just said, "Don't waste that dishwater, go through it
on the plants."

[Jennifer]

Wow, thanks Marilyn, that is pretty much everything I need to know. I
really like using stuff that is not harmful, and more often than not, it
works. I am happy that this even seems to work on scale. I know nothing is
as fast acting as the chemicals, but I don't mind it taking a bit longer or
having to do a few applications if it means avoiding using anything
dangerous.

I am definitely going to try this. If anyone else wants to try and you don't
have a Cracker Barrel or other supplier in your area, let me know, I will
mail you a few bars regular mail. The soap is less than $2 a bar, but may
cost more than that in shipping from an online company.

[jen]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imidacloprid_effects_on_bee_population

I know this has been discussed before on other forums, and my opinion
is usually not popular, but just tonight I read on yahoo news that
there are still many scientists saying there is a connection between
imidacloprid and honey bee colony collapse. (among other things) At
some point, a few scientists suggested something else, like bad memory
or bee mites, were causing the bee problems, and everyone jumped on
that as the truth. Imidacloprid is what is in the BATS stuff alot of
people use on their hoyas. I certainly think that when you have alot
of plants at stake, you may need to break out the heavy guns to deal
with bugs, but when you are just battling a few here and there, trying
a more environmentally gentle approach couldn't hurt. It kind of
scares me when someone new on the forums posts about how they found
one mealy bug and 10 people reply telling the poster to run out and
get some BATS, even for indoor use.

Not looking to start an argument or even a discussion - Most people
don't really care about the bees - I just thought that since it's back
in the news, I would take this time to express my opinion..

[Marilyn]

Thanks, Jen. I'm with ya, 100%. And to anyone else who reads this
post, I apologize for the typos. Blommos just went straight through
my brain as I rechecked my typing/spelling, as did aphids and mealy
bugs mispellings. The author said blossoms, so mis-quotes there, and
Mom always told me to "throw", not "through".

And Jen, I it is critical to think about the bees. We'd be fools not
to. If we don't provide future generations with birds and bees,
flowers and trees as our kind forefathers did, shame on us. If bees
go first ... what's next on the list?

I echo Jen's statement about not wanting to argue. Just trying to
articulate a passion for alternative methods. I didn't mention
previously that the title of the article I quoted above was "Kirk's
Works".

[Marilyn]

So I guess it wasn't worth my typing time , good to know.

[jen]

It was worth it to me, Marilyn...I don't even have to use it to know
it will work, and it will be great to have a cheaper but still safe
alternative to the Safer's soap!

[sara]

Marilyn, I too appreciate your taking the time and the effort to re-
type that article. I, like Jen am very concerned about the collapse
of the honey bee population, and have had a lot of friends who garden
mention the lack of produce...esp. the zucchinis, and cucumbers - lack
of bees pollinating they say.

I have quit using the imacloprid and the dysyston. I am just picking
away at the individual mealies, and have every intention of making up
the gallon of soap rather than the grating method. Especially now
that I have found some evidence of mites. Man, they really are a
bugger to get rid of.

I really appreciate the specific amounts that were given in the
article, and have printed out all of your hard work for easy
reference. Thank you so much Marilyn. I have never cared for the
safer's soap, because of the oiliness, I think that harms my plants,
but this doesn't have the oil.

As for the typos...no worries here, I have typos even when I run spell
check. Ha.

Sara

[Marilyn]

Thanks very much, Jen and Sara! Last evening I noticed that a well
loved Anthurium andraeanum on the porch had developed a pretty nasty
case of both spider mites and scale! I decided to try Murphy's Oil
Soap and water in a trigger-spray bottle after discovering that the
rest of my Kirk's concentrate had leeched out of the old crock it was
stored in.

The most strenuous part of this was taking the big pot of Anthurium
outside so that I could douse it really good. I think the Murphys
mix will work, and the aroma from Murphy's was so pleasant compared to
the funky odor from Safer's Fungicide.

Thanks again, Sara and Jen, and good luck with your mealy and mite
battle, Sara! I guess I'll "go plastic" for my next batch of
Kirks...

[jen]

Sara, maybe the Kirks will be the solution to your mite issues. Let
me know if you have any trouble finding it, I can mail you a bar or
two...I go to Cracker Barrel more than I would like to admit, I just
loooove their pancakes, and shopping in the the little general store!

[shanna5]

Marilyn,
I saved your post in my favorites under my plant folder so I could
quick reference it when i needed it. I think it was worth your time.
thank you

shanna