I squash them with my 'bare' hands and leave them on the leaves but it doesn't appear to make much difference but saying that with the above damage its hard to tell..
In a suburban garden I'd be squashing the pests using gloves on my hands though. Yecch! The simplest solution by far.
We were writing our posts simultaneously Lissa :-) Peppering is the word I suspect. It's a complex process as is most of Biodynamics but it's reputed to work.
The other theory is to burn the pest and turn them into an ash that you add to water and spray. It has a specific name which I have of course forgotten (Elaine will remember if she sees this post!).
Another way is to just squash them in situ. The smell of dead pest is apparently a deterrent to the other pests (of the same species).
Someone once told me, that if you can catch a few grasshoppers and put them in a pot, can't remember if you have to heat them and then spray over the leaves, it becomes a deterrent. I haven't tried it and hate the feel of grasshoppers, scratchy little things.
I have a grasshopper plague going on here at the moment. Wondering if there will be any green stuff left by the time of the GV :/
I killed a few mature hoppers but they had obviously already laid eggs. I was out this morning and touched some plants and they MOVED there were so many of the little sods on it.
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If anyone wants a finger workout I have lots and lots of grasshoppers they can come and catch - haha
I have no qualms about squashing with my fingers.
I squash them with my 'bare' hands and leave them on the leaves but it doesn't appear to make much difference but saying that with the above damage its hard to tell..
In a suburban garden I'd be squashing the pests using gloves on my hands though. Yecch! The simplest solution by far.
We were writing our posts simultaneously Lissa :-) Peppering is the word I suspect. It's a complex process as is most of Biodynamics but it's reputed to work.
And kill them before cooking them. It's a variation on the 'peppering' that Biodynamic farmers use for pests. They burn the pests at a specific time.
Not sure if any one way is better than any other way. It's a vaguely Homoeopathic system without the potentising.
You've got nothing to lose if you fancy a bit of grasshopper killing then whirring up in a blender then cooking then filtering and spraying.
The other theory is to burn the pest and turn them into an ash that you add to water and spray. It has a specific name which I have of course forgotten (Elaine will remember if she sees this post!).
Another way is to just squash them in situ. The smell of dead pest is apparently a deterrent to the other pests (of the same species).
Don't forget to add a little water to the pot with grasshoppers.
Someone once told me, that if you can catch a few grasshoppers and put them in a pot, can't remember if you have to heat them and then spray over the leaves, it becomes a deterrent. I haven't tried it and hate the feel of grasshoppers, scratchy little things.
I have a grasshopper plague going on here at the moment. Wondering if there will be any green stuff left by the time of the GV :/
I killed a few mature hoppers but they had obviously already laid eggs. I was out this morning and touched some plants and they MOVED there were so many of the little sods on it.