Hi Tatia,
You might consider introducing some companion plants that attract/sustain t=
hrip predators. The trick is going to be finding a beneficial insect that w=
on't eat your caterpillars (that means that planting a sunflower to attract=
damselbugs might be a bad idea, but planting dill to attract lacewings mig=
ht work). There is a lot of free info on this on the interwebz. I see you'r=
e writing from the desert; you might need to order your beneficial insects =
to populate your greenhouse. Alternatively, you can 'start' your companion =
plants where they will pick up the predators, then bring them back to the g=
reenhouse.
As far as soil-based beneficial predators go, some nematodes will attack th=
rips. Unfortunately, they do not propagate very well at all in compost tea.=
http://www.ehow.com/how_7150085_grow-beneficial-nematodes.html
Best of luck to your butterflies!
Brian _at_ Baton Rouge, Louisiana
On Jan 22, 2012, at 13:44, "Tatia Veltkamp" <tatiav_at_comcast.net> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I don’t get to follow everything on these posts and am still very=
much a newbie, but am learning a lot on here. I grow milkweed in 1 gallon=
and 4” pots to feed Monarch caterpillars. I have trouble (LOTS) w=
ith thrips. They also love the milkweed. I found in the summer there are =
plenty of predators that take care of the thrips if I move the plants outsi=
de. But I have to grow almost year round and find the thrips appearing at =
about 6-8 weeks on the plants (I grow from seed) in the greenhouse. I can=
not use chemicals so the plants are safe for the caterpillars, although I=
’ve tried some of them too and they don’t work. I’v=
e done some soaping and that helps (a little), but I’m wondering ab=
out using compost tea as a foliar feed if that would help. Since part of t=
he thrips’ life cycle is in the soil, I’m also wondering if=
I should be adding worm castings or compost to the top layer of the soil t=
o help with any microbes that might attack them there.
>
>
>
> I realize that I am not going to get rid of the thrips. But I’m =
trying to learn how to control them, so they don’t take over. Has =
anyone dealt with thrips successfully in a greenhouse?
>
>
>
> Thanks so much for any insight you might have!
>
>
>
> Tatia
>
> Albuquerque, NM
>
>
Received on Sun Jan 22 2012 - 20:44:40 EST