Your Home, Garden and Travel

By Freda Cameron

In my flower gardens, I use organic products that will not harm beneficials such as butterflies and honeybees. For years, I've used the Espoma® organic products such as Plant-tone®. In addition to being organic, my garden has flourished using the Plant-tone® when I plant and again in the spring. I use it for perennials, annuals, shrubs and trees. The Plant-tone®, Holly-tone®, and Garden-tone® products have recently been enchanced with beneficial microbes. For my upcoming fall bulb planting, I will use Bulb-tone®.

Espoma® has announced new natural pesticides in their Earth-tone® product line:

Earth-tone® Bug & Slug Control
Earth-tone® Horticultural Oil
Earth-tone® Slug & Snail Control

My interest is in the horticultural oil so I asked Espoma to send more information about the suitablility of the oil for organic gardening. Here is the response:

The horticultural oil is approved for organic gardening. It works to effectively control egg stage pests as a dormant spray, and adult stage insects in season. It will also control powdery mildew. You can use the horticultural oil on vegetables, fruits, ornamental and shade trees, flowering foliage and bedding plants. Since it is derived from canola oil rather than petroleum it is a true renewable resource.

The 32 oz. ready-to-spray container offers the ability to spray a wide variety of plants and trees with a flip of a switch. Simply connect the hose, engage the flow switch and use the easy thumb lever to begin spraying. When finished simply turn off and remove the hose. No mixing or mess!

There are many other natural products from Espoma® that are safe for organic gardening. By going organic, we can keep our flower and vegetable gardens safe for ourselves and our pets.