Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

i heard planting garlic and radishes keeps some bugs away so i already did that, what else? what can we use for those ones that want to eat up our green leafy food?

I use foliar sprays of pyrethrins for beetles (hell on my cucumbers) and Bt for caterpillars (hell on my broccoli). Carefully, of course. Tomato hornworms are my mortal enemy, but luckily they got ravaged by braconid wasps last year. I haven't had much trouble with leafy greens, besides a few slugs. Supposedly copper strips around ground supports help with that.

how about for aphids?

You can try a hot pepper spray. Also, worm compost is supposed to help. I've used Botaniguard from the UVI papers and it seems effective as well.

i've used ladybugs, nematodes, BT and DE - tried various "pepper" sprays without much luck, radishes were the worst hit by aphids, but ladybugs cleared them up pretty quickly

Subd very useful

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So far DE has worked well for me.

We have been using a pepper garlic solution and when it gets bad, a neem and pepper solution. I have seen people,say no neem around the fish, but we direct the spray to the plant leaves and have had no problems so far

Twfffl, I've used neem as well, no issues. I shut pump off and direct at GB's and towers only. It's my last resort after the Botaniguard, and beneficials. Pretty happy now, since I removed the GH covering, most of my whitefly problem has diminished.

I have been told nasturtium helps deter aphids. It is also good that they are water loving plants that would thrive in an AP system

Are you in a greenhouse or covered? Just wondering if neem will wash off the plants and into the GBs after a rain . . .