Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Guys, what is "white oil" exactly?

scotty, I'd love to have my own greenhouse! north facing garden makes this harder... it would need to have LED lights and be totally solar (no power out there). I wonder if there's a good DIY guide for solar aquaponics?

Cheers!

white oil is an emulsion of oil and water, uses a little liquid soap/detergent/ surfactant to keep the two in solution.

https://deepgreenpermaculture.com/diy-i ... en-sprays/

http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s4420335.htm

Thanks a ton, Yavi. That helps. I think my mint's problem is definitely aphids (see pics, seen through magnifying glass) but I'm wondering what's up with the parsley (also attached). It's got these white spots, but no sign of aphids or mold.

Anyhow I'm going to try the white oil this weekend and see if can get the damn aphids under control, since the tomato leaf extract seems ineffective.

its hard to tell, but i think i see some aphids in that first pic in the top third of pic.
but are those white things lower down on the stem whitefly? if so, also white oil them.

the aphids will always be on the underside of the leaf, that is also where the whitefly will feed from.


Ventilate the room as much and often as you can to help with pest problems.
i still think heat and humidity have given your basil mildew, but there are also clearly insect pests.

white oil on pests, potassium bicarb / baking soda spray for mildew, then try and keep room well ventilated.

remove any leaves that are infected by black stuff before spraying bicarb, throw in bin, not compost, etc.

Thanks a lot Yavi-- going to do all this tomorrow. Just got a USB fan+ adapter at Daiso Japan this morning, as well as several $1.50 spray bottles so i can mix up a bunch of sprays to see what works. Thanks for all the help!!! I'll post results soon.

I think Yavimaya's solution is a good one whether it's mildew or not probably isn't that important at this point. I definitely see some aphids in the first photo near where the stem is cut and you also definitely have mold (but I'm not sure what kind). The aphids may have injured the plant enough to give the mold access, the mold may have done this on it's own or the mold could be growing on the sap exuded by the aphids. FYI - Ants farm aphids so look around to see if you have any of these getting on the plants.

I don't have ants that I can see, but I do see little black flies milling around a fair bit (are these mature flying aphids or something else? ive been wondering).

I went to Daiso Japan and got a $4 USB personal fan with an adapter (my LED lights have a plug built in that can be used to string them together) so that's providing airflow. I might get one more fan too. Also got some spray bottles so I'm ready to start with the white oil!!! Cheers!

The black flies arent usually a problem, generally known as fungus gnats, they tend to hang around and lay eggs into house plant dirt which is over watered.

as far as i know they wont really do any damage, but will be annoying as hell.

Thanks again. You guys have any thoughts on what's making the white spots on my parsley?

ive never grown parsley sorry and without seeing IRL i cant tell if the spots are dead thin spots where they have been eaten from underneath, or if the leaf is 100% intact and the chlorophyll is gone.

white oil and baking soda all of the plants in your system, not just the affected ones.
if the white spots clear up (new growth doesnt get them) then it was probably the aphids or similar.
it may be a fungus from the non air circulation.

http://www.container-gardening-for-you. ... eaves.html

beyond spray and wait and see, im not sure.

also, when you spray, wait one to two weeks, then spray again. one spray will almost never get every single aphid / fungus spore. dont forget to spray every part of the plant, especially underside of leaves.

If the white spots are on all the leaves it may be normal for your plant. It's basically areas with less chlorophyll and is called variegation. This sort of thing could also be caused by an infection or insects. Typically there is some variation depending on what caused it. It's more common for the areas to be rounded than the way they are on your parsley which makes me think it may be normal. If it isn't normal then I'd suspect a virus. Other than loss of vigor I'm not sure how you'd know which it is without l lab (viruses usually cause loss of vigor/slower growth). I'd probably use the parsley. Sometimes things like this are considered normal but later discovered to be viruses - Tulip Breaking Virus is a famous example. Check the undersides of the leaves for pests and molds as well but most of these won't cause yellowing with sharp edges this way (many viruses won't either).

Have a look at the leaves on these virus infections - some will look similar but most don't

https://www.google.com/search?q=virus+mottles&biw=1280&bih=638&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwifvOGi993PAhUS02MKHcoMBqUQ_AUIBigB#tbm=isch&q=virus+mottles+and+mosaics+on+leaves

Here are some examples of variegation which is normal but gets selected for by plant breeder (Note there are a lot more than this and mostly you're seeing the keepers with striking foliage not the runts)

https://www.google.com/search?q=variegated+leaves&biw=1280&bih=638&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjE_-u7-N3PAhVGwWMKHVFoCDoQ_AUIBigB

PS - Forgot to mention that you can get sections of a plant that do this and others that do not - If I remember right these are called a sport. If they're neat they get propagated by cuttings and sold on the plant market.