Merry Microfiber Blog

I have been having problems with a rust on my daylilies, and I when searching for a natural solution, I found this recipe on Mike’s Gardening Tips (@ You Bet Your Garden with Mike McGrath):

The Cornell Formula:

• In one gallon of water, mix
• 1 tablespoon of baking soda
• 1 tablespoon oil (horticultural oil or dormant oil, or in a pinch vegetable oil, No motor oil or WD-40)
• 1 or 2 drops of dishwashing liquid

Directions: For a plant that is already showing signs of disease, first remove all the diseased parts you can reach. Then remove all of the mulch underneath the plant (and get rid of it). Spray the Formula liberally on the cleaned-up plant and apply new mulch. Be sure to cover the undersides of the leaves as well. Spray in early morning or evening.

I have gone through all of my dayliles and removed infected leaves. I just received 2 loads of bulk fresh mulch, so have been cleaning up under the plants as well, and applying new mulch.

I also fertilized my plants, so they would be stronger and healthier, making them more able to withstand an infestation. I had gotten some worm castings from the Jacobsons and applied it before adding the new mulch.

I had fertilized my gardens with Miracle Grow’s 3 month fertilizer pellets this spring, but I am not satisfied with the results. I applied it in April and still find the pellets. The plants also don’t seem to be doing as well this year, not growing as well and some are “yellow”. I think I will go back to using the powered fertilizer or now that I can get worm castings, add them to the flower beds in the spring.

Tags: natural fungicide, rust on daylilies

This entry was posted on Friday, July 10th, 2009 at 3:07 pm and is filed under General, Green Living Ideas. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.