Diatomaceous Earth

[redeyed]

:smokin: :smokin: What's up every body? I just read on a gardening site that Diatomaceous Earth is great for insect control when dusted on the under sides of plants and is also good as a wetting agent when mixed into the soil. Has any body used this before and does any body know if it reacts with the soil PH. I got a whole bag of the shit from my old pool filter and if I get any good feed back here I'll use it, if not maybe I'll use it on a couple of them. Thanx Redeyed:thumbsup:

redeyed Reviewed by redeyed on 02-18-2006. Diatomaceous Earth :smokin: :smokin: What's up every body? I just read on a gardening site that Diatomaceous Earth is great for insect control when dusted on the under sides of plants and is also good as a wetting agent when mixed into the soil. Has any body used this before and does any body know if it reacts with the soil PH. I got a whole bag of the shit from my old pool filter and if I get any good feed back here I'll use it, if not maybe I'll use it on a couple of them. Thanx Redeyed:thumbsup: Rating: 5

[redeyed]

Well I guess no body heard of it. I'll have to do an experiment and let every body know if it's any good.

[the image reaper]

my guess is that diamataceous earth is inert ... I used to haul truckloads of it ... its used to make latex paint , and a filtering medium ... its used to filter city water plants, and no precautions were used by the guys working in clouds of the stuff all day long, so assumedly, its safe enough .... PH ? ... I dunno :stoned:

[harmonicminor]

works great if you sprinkle it onto your soil. shouldnt affect the ph.
slices insects wide open to die but yet you could mix it with water and drink it to cleanse the body of internal parasites also

[redeyed]

no shit! I think i'll stick to useing it for the plants though lol. thanx for the info, another month or so till i can plant, still way to cold, but i think i'm gonna try it out.

[karmaxul]

There is food grade that farmers feed cattle to rid them of worms like harmonicminor said. I hear you should not breath the dust. It has a nutreal ph I dont know if that is the same as inert but I have a feeling it is.

One love
c

[tresmang]

I have a very small infestation in my grow room....sprinkled it around the soil...just enough to cover it.....let sit for a day and then water.......no mas fungi knats!

[trichy]

i was instructed to use a layer of de 1 cm thick on top of soil to kill fungus gnats. worked so so on the gnats but when i watered it in it made the top layer of my pro mix into clay and f'ed with water absorbtion. ill never use it again but perhaps in smaller amounts it would be ok. ph of de is neutral {7ish} to slightly alkaline or so i have read. there are better less messy ways to deal with gnats in my opinion: yellow sticky traps and letting soil get a little crispy between waterings combined with keeping it free of leaf litter. hope this helps someone.