Brian,
Thanks you very much for that info.  I actually do not need to be concerned=
 about bugs that may eat my caterpillars because it’s all kept sepa=
rated. So, the plants are not in the same area as the caterpillars.  I only=
 need to worry about the plants in this one case! :)  The problem I=
ve had with the beneficial bugs in the greenhouse, is that they all leav=
e!  I have ordered several different kinds of beneficials to try and help, =
but they go out of the greenhouse as fast as I put them in.  But, I did fin=
d last summer, that the same beneficials that left the greenhouse were on t=
he plants outside the greenhouse, eating the thrips!  That means summer is =
good.  Plants, bugs, everything, is outside and working how it should.
 
I have ordered the nematodes in the past and may just need to do that again=
.  I’m not sure if it helped or not, but my thrips infestation was =
so bad, I think nothing could get on top of it!
 
I’ll check into some more information about companion planting also=
.  That’s a great idea!
Tatia
 
From: compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com [mailto:compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com] On B=
ehalf Of Brian Leslie
Sent: Sunday, January 22, 2012 4:24 PM
To: compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [compost_tea] Thrips
 
  
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 m=
uch a newbie, but am learning a lot on here.  I grow milkweed in 1 gallon a=
nd 4” pots to feed Monarch caterpillars.  I have trouble (LOTS) wit=
h thrips.  They also love the milkweed.  I found in the summer there are pl=
enty of predators that take care of the thrips if I move the plants outside=
.  But I have to grow almost year round and find the thrips appearing at ab=
out 6-8 weeks on the plants (I grow from seed) in the greenhouse.   I canno=
t use chemicals so the plants are safe for the caterpillars, although I=
ve tried some of them too and they don’t work. I’ve d=
one some soaping and that helps (a little), but I’m wondering about=
 using compost tea as a foliar feed if that would help.  Since part of the =
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 to h=
elp with any microbes that might attack them there.
 
I realize that I am not going to get rid of the thrips.  But I’m tr=
ying to learn how to control them, so they don’t take over.  Has an=
yone dealt with thrips successfully in a greenhouse?
 
Thanks so much for any insight you might have!
 
Tatia
Albuquerque, NM
Received on Mon Jan 23 2012 - 04:56:01 EST