Heart Broken due to Spinosad

14 years ago

I don't know where to start:

I am a new gardener. I grew up on a farm, but that is completely different. After planting my 600sq ft garden with tomatoes, peppers, squash, herbs, beans etc., I noticed I had caterpillar holes in my pepper leaves. In an effort "to keep things green," I purchased Green Light's Spinosad.

After carefully reading the instructions, I attached the hose and went to spraying. I was supposed to spray 3oz. After one minute I looked at the bottle only to discover that 16oz of pesticide had been sprayed.

A few hours later, ALL of the leaves of every plant are curling up and have turned a beautiful green. A few hours after that, EVERY plant is leaning over. I can tell it is ALL dying.

PLease, please. Somebody help me. I need to know a rememdy. I am sure you all understand why I am so distraught.

Rosson

Comments (5)

lsst
14 years ago
Did you call or email the company to ask what to do?
Did you spray down the area with water immediately after you applied and noticed you had sprayed on too much spinosad in order to dilute it and wash it off the plants?
dottie_in_charlotte
14 years ago
I'm just afraid no matter how much you try to wash it off, the chemical has been brought to the soil and in young plants they just won't survive.
I'm hoping that you only did this to the pepper plants and not the whole garden's worth of growing plants.

Rosson, spend some time in the other forums and you'll learn that Mother Nature exacts her own tax in the form of plant damage in order to feed the insect that feeds the birds. That what you plant, if your soil is good and healthy, has the capacity to withstand a loss of a few leaves to feed the insects and these leaves can be replaced.
Next time, don't be so quick to run to the pesticides. No 'real' garden's worth of plants is perfect. The best gardens are created by gardeners who know the health of the soil is most important and a few insects are well tolerated. (unless it's tomato worm/tobacco worm and then you can pick them off and squish them).
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dottie_in_charlotte
14 years ago
It's kind of sad that your thread title blames the product..
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
14 years ago
Did you purchase the pre-mixed container with the spray attachment? If so, did you check the settings on the hose attachment before spraying?

If you suspect that there has been a malfunction with the equipment, you should certainly call the toll free number on the container. If you worry that YOU misinterpreted directions, then I'd still call and ask for advice.
skinnyhoops
14 years ago
rosson, hate to say it but the affected plants may not survive. just keep an eye on them. perhaps you should invest in a small 1-2 gallon lawn and garden sprayer. They are cheap on Amazon.com for as low as $12, look for the Chapin brandname.

With these garden sprayers, YOU control the amount of product being mixed with the water since you will have to measure it out yourself the water and pesticide. I don't like hose end sprayers, since the water source is unlimited and the mixing is unreliable. Again with the sprayer, you add exactly 1 or 2 gallons of water and exactly 1 or 2 tblspoons of pesticide (read labels, mixing instructions will vary). As long as you read the pesticide label for mixing instructions, the sprayer is basically fool proof. Hope this helps and sorry about your loss, but sometimes you have to lose some to win some. Happy gardening!