Milky Spore Dispenser - On a Stick!

Everything's better when it's on a stick! Here's a cheap and easy tool you can make your self to spread Milky Spore powder over your lawn.

Last fall when I was renovating my lawn I noticed some, but not a lot of grubs in some areas. Skunks were also digging up some areas to get at the grubs. They like to eat them.

After my lawn started to grow back I purchased some St. Gabriel Organics Milky Spore Powder to spread over the lawn. They also sell a Dispenser tube for Milky Spore and a spreadable Milky Spore that can be applied with your seed spreader but I didn't get either of those and need to come up with something on my own.

My solution was to poke some holes in the bottom of an old coffee can and tape it to a stick.

How Milk Treats Plant Disease

When it comes to organic lawn care and gardening you hear things that sound downright crazy. One of the more odd suggestions is to use a diluted milk spray on your lawn and plants to help treat and prevent fungus and other plant diseases.

Years ago when I first read about using milk in the garden, not much was known about how milk fights plant pathogens but a lot has changed since then.

Some people have had great success with milk sprays and other people, not so much. I'm putting this article together to share what I've learned regarding milk sprays and plant disease to give you a better understanding to increase your chances of success.

Over the years I've been taking a peek at some of the research and it's all starting to make sense so here's a more complete picture on the how and why to use milk in your garden.

Controlling Powdery Mildew with Neem Oil

Neem oil is recommended as an organic insecticide and fungicide. There are a number of studies that show its effectiveness for various insect and disease problems. One of the most observable uses is in the control of powdery mildew on plants such as peonies, zucchinis and cucumbers.

The picture on the left shows a peony beginning to develop powdery mildew. The claim is that neem oil can treat powdery mildew in 24 hours but my experience has been that you will see results immediately.

Powdery mildew is a parasitic fungus that attaches to plants and sends down roots into the plant cells to feed. This eventually causes damage to the foliage that can be seen as yellowing of leaves, curling or black or brown spots.

Organic Lawn Renovation: Results

Last fall I undertook a large lawn renovation using organic products to get a darker, greener lawn that wouldn't require as much effort.

I documented the steps I took and products I used through different posts. Now let's look at the results and my final opinions and thoughts.

But before we do... a little recap.

I started out by neglecting my lawn from around the summer on. It got baked, weedy and diseased as it normally would unless I maintain it.

In the fall I killed the lawn and weeds so I can test 2 different organic herbicides.

When the grass was dead I prepared the soil by amending it with composted manure and did some grading. Followed by seeding with a tall fescue grass seed (Jonathan Green Black Beauty.)

On to the results, but first...

Ultimate Square Foot Garden Bed

I've been thinking about Square Foot Gardening again and even bought the Kindle edition of All New Square Foot Gardening, Second Edition: The Revolutionary Way to Grow More In Less Space and I might actually build the garden beds this fall. Over the years I've been working on the best Square Foot Garden design for me.

I wanted my boxes to be somewhat attractive, easy to maintain and versatile. Additions such as trellises for vines (tomatoes, beans, squash, melons, etc.) and hoops to extend the growing season should be easy to add as should drip irrigation. This is the design I came up with which I'm hoping to build this fall.

In this post I'll discuss the main features of this design. For detailed instructions to build your own see my post on how to build a raised garden bed.