Cheat Sheet Tips
For the Dirt Doctor’s Natural Organic Program ( Find more information on all points in the LIBRARY of dirtdoctor.com)
A
Activated charcoal — Commercial – NORIT (norit.com) – best activated charcoal. Fine-textured humates function in a similar way. Found in the commercial versions of Garrett Juice.
Agriculture Research — USDA-ARS 202-512-1800 – agresearchmag.ars.usda.gov
Alfalfa — Best hay mulch — more nutrients and less chance of herbicide contamination. Tablets from SwansonVitamins.com. Alfalfa meal or pellets make excellent organic fertilizer.
Allergy relief — Commercial product “Seasonal Allergy Relief”; dandelion leaf extract; juniper/nettles tea. Eastern red cedar or any native cedar will work — and taste good.
Aloe vera — More flexible and useful than thought. Great in containers for sun or shade, even indoors in pots. Just water less in the shade. Gel in leaves is great for burns. Extremely drought tolerant. Liquid aloe vera can be an effective ingredient in foliar sprays and drenches.
Amaryllis — For re-bloom at Christmas, keep bulbs in 6″ pots, water, and feed lightly each month. On September 1, lay pot over and let completely dry out — usually 4–6 weeks. Repot and resume watering.
Ants — Indoors: baking soda, cinnamon, or cayenne pepper. Outdoors: molasses, cornmeal, grits, and compost tea. Treat fire ant mounds with beneficial nematodes. For carpenter ants, spray wood with orange oil at 3 oz per gallon. Vinegar also effective — even on Texas cut ants.
Aphids — Their presence is a sure indication the plant is in stress. Relieving stress in woody plants with the Sick Tree Treatment is the solution. Avoid even organic “killing” sprays to protect beneficials.
Armadillos — Repel with a mix of 1 cup ammonia, 1 cup urine, 1 gallon water, or hot pepper with castor oil. Dry hot red pepper sometimes works. Trapping and removing is most consistent. Blood meal can also help.
Asparagus — Easy-to-grow perennial food crop that can be used in the landscape. Likes lots of compost and lots of organic fertilizer.
Azomite — Soil re-mineralizer mined in Sanpete County, Utah — formed from volcanic ash deposited into an ancient seabed. The name means “A to Z Of Minerals Including Trace Elements.” Best product for greening chlorotic plants.
B
Bacterial diseases — Spray 3% hydrogen peroxide mixed 50/50 with water or Garrett Juice to control fireblight on pears, curly top on tomatoes, and mosaic virus on squash. Don’t use repeated sprays.
Baking soda — For plant disease control: 4 lbs/100 gallons; 1 pint/10 gallons; 1 rounded tablespoon/gallon. Also used to keep swimming pool water clear.
Ball moss — Spray with 1/2–3/4 cup baking soda or potassium bicarbonate per gallon of water. Add Garrett Juice for better efficacy. Not hurting the tree — just taking advantage of weak, open-canopied trees.
Basic Organic Program — A complete program covering fertilization, trees, shrubs, and pest/disease control.
FERTILIZATION: Fertilize shrubs, ground covers, and flower beds three times a year (Feb., June, Sept.) with organic fertilizer at 20 lbs per 1,000 sq ft. Problem areas: Azomite (granular) at 40 lbs per 1,000 sq ft and lava sand at 40–80 lbs per 1,000 sq ft. Fertilize turf twice a year (Feb., Sept.) at 20 lbs per 1,000 sq ft with Medina Growin Green or other approved organic product. Spray all plants with Garrett Juice monthly during the growing season.
TREES: Shrub/groundcover/flower bed treatments suffice for trees in most cases. Light corrective pruning only — avoid heavy thinning and lifting. Use experienced personnel for pruning. Sterilize tools with hydrogen peroxide between trees if pathogens are present. No line trimmers or edgers within 15″ of any tree. Remove soil, mulch, and plants from tree flares regularly.
SHRUBS & GROUNDCOVERS: Thin to remove dead branches. Selectively prune — do not shear shrubs. Edge, weed, cultivate, and mulch beds as needed. Shear groundcover beds once a year in early spring before the growing season. Maintain 2–3″ mulch depth.
PEST CONTROL: For most insects (aphids, bagworms, borers, caterpillars, chinch bugs, beetles, fire ants, grasshoppers, grubworms, lacebugs, leaf miners, mites, scale, etc.), use targeted treatments — Bt or spinosad for caterpillars; orange oil at 2 oz/gallon for many pests; Garrett Juice + garlic-pepper tea for mites; Sick Tree Treatment for scale and galls; Nolo Bait and beneficial nematodes for grasshoppers; dry molasses at 15–20 lbs/1,000 sq ft plus Garrett Juice + orange oil for fire ants.
DISEASES: Apply Sick Tree Treatment + cornmeal tea for powdery mildew, rust, leaf spot, oak wilt, and most fungal issues. Hydrogen peroxide at 1–2% for bacterial diseases. Whole-ground cornmeal at 20 lbs per 1,000 sq ft prevents most fungal turf diseases (Pythium, Helminthosporium, Take-All, Fusarium, brown patch, gray leaf spot).
BENEFICIAL INSECTS (optional): Ladybugs at 2,000 per 1,000 sq ft on aphid-infested plants. Trichogramma wasps at 10,000 eggs/acre weekly March–May from leaf emergence. Green lacewings at 2,000 eggs/acre weekly in April, then 1,000 eggs/acre every two weeks May–September. See Malcolm Beck and Howard Garrett’s Texas Bug Book for more.
Basil — ‘Obsession’ is a variety with disease immunity. African Blue Basil (Ocimum kilimandscharicum x basilicum ‘Dark Opal’).
Bats — Bat Conservation International – batcon.org. Bat World Sanctuary, Weatherford, TX – 940-325-3404.
Bees — Honeybees are helpful for pollination, but bumble bees are even better for crops such as squash. Mason bees and carpenter bees are also excellent pollinators. Go organic and they will be there.
Beets — Don’t like acid soil. Seedlings must be thinned for good production. Treat seeds before planting and soil after planting with Garrett Juice for greatly improved germination.
Beneficial nematodes — Steinernema carpocapsae (most commonly available). Heterorhabditis is the genus used on fire ants and grubworms. See also: Nematodes.
Bermudagrass — Tough turfgrass that thrives on ample fertilizer. Not as drought tolerant as Buffalograss, but one of the toughest weeds for gardeners to control.
Birds — Hummingbirds: 3–4 parts water to 1 part sugar, no red coloring, change every 3–4 days. Purple martins: arrive Feb., 1.5″ opening, 6×6 inside. Bluebirds: 1.5″ hole, 10″ high, 4.5–5″ wide. Mockingbirds: peanut butter, whole-grain breads, chile pequin peppers.
Black buckets — Available from Uline mail-order company.
Blackberries — Recommended varieties: Kiowa, Rosborough, Apache, Ohiwa, Brazos. Those with thorns usually have more flavor.
Books recommended — The Earth Moved; Seeing Trees (Hugo); An Agricultural Testament & Soil and Health (Howard); Bread from Stones (Hensel); The Garden-Ville Method (Beck); Holistic Resource Management (Savory); Ruth Stout’s gardening trilogy; Teaming with Microbes (Lowenfels & Lewis); Wheat Belly (Davis); The Art of Fermentation (Katz). Full list at dirtdoctor.com.
Boxwood — ‘Baby Gem’ is a good dwarf form.
BRIT — Botanical Research Institute of Texas — plant identification — 817-332-4441 — brit.org.
Broadleaf herbicides — Usually refers to dangerous chemicals like 2,4-D. Organic gardeners kill these weeds with vinegar, cinnamon products, and hoes.
Brown patch — Fungal disease of St. Augustinegrass — easy to control with whole-ground cornmeal if you stop watering too often and stop using synthetic fertilizer.
Brown recluse spider — Treat bites as early as possible with comfrey juice.
Bud drop — Spray foliage and drench with Garrett Juice.
Buffalo gnats — (Bull gnats) Vanilla is an effective repellent. Treat water with Bti product.
Buffalograss — Our only native grass and by far the most drought-tolerant and carefree choice. Water and fertilize less, buffalo has the advantage. Water and fertilize more, Bermuda has the advantage.
C
Cabbage loopers — Medium-sized owlet moth larvae with distinctive looping behavior. Treat with Bt or spinosad products. Molasses at 1 oz/gallon makes sprays more effective. Trichogramma wasps released in spring will prevent.
Cankerworms — Little caterpillars that hang from trees by silk threads. Easy to control with trichogramma wasps released in spring.
Casebearers in pecans — Pecan nut-infesting pests found in all pecan-growing regions of Texas and southeastern New Mexico. Larvae tunnel into nutlets shortly after pollination. Spring release of trichogramma wasps to prevent.
Cat repellent — Lava gravel as a mulch or groundcover. Orange peelings and orange oil spray will help.
Caterpillars – beneficial nematodes as a preventative. Bt, Spinosad of Spinosad Soap to treat infestation.
Cats — For fleas: use herb oils — rosemary, lavender, citronella, eucalyptus, cedar (not pennyroyal). Formula for health: raw meats, bones and grain; clean filtered water; regular brushing; regular exercise.
Cavities in trees — Do not fill with foam, concrete, or anything else — even if they hold water. Filling or drain lines will damage the protective barriers trees create to keep decay from advancing.
Cedar-apple rust — Red fungal disease on both apples and cedars. Use the Sick Tree Treatment. [
Chiggers — Cedar oil spray.
Chinese pistache — Female trees should be removed because of invasive spread. Male trees are OK, but you won’t know until it’s too late. Now listed as invasive in Texas.
Christmas cactus — Shock with cold, give plenty of light, and treat with Garrett Juice to bloom. No artificial light after sundown.
Citrus — For fleas: grind, cut, and simmer orange skins 15 min., rub on pet fur when cool. For nematode control: freeze, grind into pulp, mix into soil before planting. Cats can be sensitive. Kumquats: easy to bring into bloom repeatedly.
Clopyralid — (clo-PEER-a-lid) One of the common recalcitrant herbicides, along with picloram, still contaminating manure, compost, soils, and gardens.
Comfrey — Useful for poison ivy rash, warts, moles, and compost. Best treatment for brown recluse spider bites. Steeped comfrey tea is good for hot spots on dogs and skin problems.
Compost tea — Start with quality compost full of visible fungal strands. Add to water with molasses and run air through for 12–24 hours. Use immediately after air is shut off, if possible.
Corn gluten meal — For fertilizing and pre-emergent weed control — apply at 20 lbs per 1,000 sq ft on March 15 and Sept. 15, or when daffodils are in bloom.
Cornmeal — Whole-ground cornmeal for disease control at 20 lbs per 1,000 sq ft. Corn gluten meal for fertilizing and pre-emergent weed control at 20 lbs per 1,000 sq ft. Toenail fungus: soak feet in cornmeal and warm water.
Cornmeal tea — Toss 2 handfuls of whole-ground cornmeal into a 5-gallon bucket of water. Soak a couple of hours, strain out solids, and apply the liquid to soil around struggling plants. Spray the liquid “tea” undiluted on plants with fungal disease issues. Use one to monthly treatments as needed.
Crabgrass Killer — Homemade version: 1 lb or 1 qt baking soda (or potassium bicarbonate), optional 1 cup wheat flour, 1–2 tbsp cinnamon, 1 tsp cumin.
Crapemyrtles — Do not cut back tops. Do remove mulch and soil from root flares. Sick Tree Treatment will eliminate white scale and other stress-related maladies.
Crazy Water — Great mineral water from Mineral Wells, Texas. drinkcrzywater.com.
Critter repellent — (Raccoons, possums, armadillos, etc.) 1 cup urine, 1 cup ammonia, 1 gallon water — spray. Use garlic pepper tea for raccoons.
Cut ants — Flood mounds with wettable sulfur at 1 oz per gallon. Drench with cinnamon slurry or hydrogen peroxide mixed 50/50 with water. Strong vinegar also works very well.
D
D.E. (Diatomaceous Earth) — Natural D.E. can be fed to animals at 2% of feed volume. Cattle, sheep, and goats will eat it free choice. Use 2.5 oz daily per gallon bucket of oats for horses. Never use swimming pool or calcined D.E. for animal or plant uses.
Dallisgrass — Place round plastic dishes over the weed clumps after applying molasses. Spot-spray with 20% vinegar product.
David’s Seed — davidsgardenseed.com — mail-order source of non-GMO garden seeds.
Deer repellent — Spray of 1 egg, 1 gallon water, 6 drops Tabasco. 2 days in the sun; use trombone sprayer. Probably won’t work. “Deer Scam.”
Deer-resistant plants — Lantana, iris, verbena — just kidding! Deer will eat anything if hungry enough. A single electric wire at 24″ usually works. Regular spraying with garlic pepper also helps.
Diseases, fungal — Cornmeal, cornmeal tea, garlic (liquid or dry), potassium bicarbonate, hydrogen peroxide.
Diseases, general — Plant diseases are basically microbiotic activity out of balance. The natural organic program keeps biological activity living and functioning properly so beneficial microbes overpower and control pathogens.
Dog pill for fleas — Comfortis, which is a spinosad product.
Dog treats — “Crunchy bears” (Charlee Bear Grain-Free Crunch). Our dog’s favorite.
Dogs — Formula for health: raw meats, bones and grain; clean filtered water (option: organic apple cider vinegar at 1 tbsp per gallon); regular brushing; regular exercise. Steeped comfrey tea for hot spots.
Douglas King Seed Co. — San Antonio seed company for grasses and wildflowers. DKSeeds.com – 210-661-4191.
Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics — Distributed by EssentialFormulas.com. See also: EFI / Probiotics.
Dramm irrigation products — dramm.com.
E
Earthworms — Build it and they will come — no need to purchase earthworms.
EFI — Distributors of Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics. To sign up for their newsletter, email newsletter@essentialformulas.com.
EPA — Safe Drinking Water Hotline: 800-426-4791. General switchboard: 202-272-0167.
Expanded shale — Man-made soil amendment. OK, but not great.
F
Fairy ring — Fungal growth in turf producing mushrooms; results from decaying organic matter. Cosmetic rather than destructive in most cases.
Fans — Cordless versions for help in the garden against mosquitoes — Geek Aire, and an even better one in the Uline catalog.
Fireplace ashes — Add to compost at about 10% of pile volume. Use 1 tbsp per gallon of water to feed potted plants. Put a handful in the bottom of tomato planting holes. More helpful in acid soils.
Fleas and heartworms — NexGard and Heartgard on different days. Beneficial nematodes on the site.
Food scraps — Throw in a blender, processor, or grinder, and pour the results between and around vegetable plants or any other plants.
Fruit — Easiest to grow most anywhere: Methley plum, Holland apple, blackberries, figs, jujubes, and pomegranates. See specific crops in dirtdoctor.com and Texas Organic Vegetable Gardening.
Fungus control — Whole-ground cornmeal and cornmeal tea are effective on most fungal pathogens. The beneficial microbe trichoderma controls rhizoctonia (brown patch). White rot fungus on dead tree trunks is a beneficial soil amendment.
G
Garlic Pepper Tea — In a blender with water, liquefy two bulbs of garlic and two very hot peppers. Strain. Pour juice into a one-gallon container and fill with water. Add 1/4 cup concentrate per gallon of water in sprayer. For garlic tea, omit pepper and add another bulb.
Garrett Juice — Ready-to-use: 1 cup compost tea or liquid humate, 1 oz each of molasses, liquid seaweed, and apple cider vinegar per gallon of water. Concentrate: 1 gal compost tea/humate, 1 pt each liquid fish, vinegar, molasses, seaweed. Mix 1.5 cups concentrate per gallon.
Ginger — Chew fresh pieces for motion sickness. Grow at home — cut “hands” into 2″ pieces, plant shallow in potting soil, callus first, then move outdoors in spring. Add granulated ginger to dog food (and your own). Excellent in herb teas.
Gnats — In the sink, use 1 oz full-strength orange oil followed by warm water. Use Summit Bti granules in potting soil. Cut back on watering.
Goat tea — To prevent goats from eating trees, soak goat manure in water for 2 days and spray trees. Must be redone. Use goats to help control poison ivy.
Grafting — Good book: Secrets of Plant Propagation by Lewis Hill, Garden Way Publications.
Grass burrs — Increase carbon in the soil with all-organic products. Apply corn gluten meal in early spring before weed seed germination.
Grasshopper control — 1 quart of kaolin clay (Surround WP) in 2 gallons of water with 1 tbsp liquid soap or yucca extract. A cup of milk per gallon of water is also said to work.
Green lacewings — 2,000 to 4,000 eggs per acre per week after leaf emergence in spring.
Grub song — Groovy Grubworm, Harlow Wilcox and the Oakies, Plantation Records, Nashville, ’69.
Grubs (June bugs) — Use a 50-watt frosted light bulb hung 3–4″ over a bucket of water; add 6 oz soap to the water. Go organic and apply beneficial nematodes.
GUIDES — Contains all the organic programs and recipes. On the Home page of dirtdoctor.com.
H
Hammerhead worms — Strong orange oil treatment. Cutting them up will make the problem worse.
Hawk — Whistle to scare away — but why would you want to?
Hazardous waste collection — Dallas – 214-904-3017. Fort Worth – 817-871-5276. Check your city.
Health info — See Howard’s Health Tip page on dirtdoctor.com.
Heard Museum — 1 Nature Pl, McKinney, TX 75069 – 972-562-5566. (Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary.)
Hectare — 2.5 acres.
Herbicides — Best natural organic choices include 20% vinegar and the Crabgrass Killer.
Herbs — See my book Herbs for Texas.
Hori Hori knife – my favorite gardening tool. Excellent quality selections from barebonesliving.com.
Horse apples — Bois d’Arc fruit can be cut into pieces and distributed to repel roaches, scorpions, slugs, and snails.
Horseherb — (Calyptocarpus vialis) Best native groundcover, especially in shade.
Horses — Natural DE or Azomite at 2.5 oz (twice per day) in 1-gallon bucket of oats.
Hoses — Colorite – Gro Green – medical-grade vinyl. Red for hot water. Water Right hoses are thin, flexible, strong, don’t kink, non-toxic, and a top pick.
House plants — Fertilize with earthworm castings or coffee grounds and lava sand. Add 1 tbsp of natural apple cider vinegar per gallon at each watering. Occasionally fertilize with Garrett Juice.
Household hazardous waste — 214-630-9160 in Dallas. Check the rules in your city.
Hyacinth bean — Beautiful and super-easy vine to grow from seed.
Hydrogen peroxide — See dirtdoctor.com for all mixing rates and uses. Great for disease control and starting the loosening of soil.
I
Iron chlorosis — Mineral deficiency causing yellow leaves — a lack of availability of several trace minerals. Azomite is best for quick control, greensand is second. The organic program is the long-term fix.
Irrigation — Water heavily and wait as long as possible before watering again. Short, frequent cycles of watering is the worst technique.
J
Japanese maples — Red-leaf types: Bloodgood, Fireglow, Red Emperor. Lacy-leaf types: Orangeola, Crimson Queen. See dirtdoctor.com for a garden review.
Johnsongrass — Control by mowing or grazing regularly. Avoid spraying Roundup (glyphosate) — a ridiculous waste of money and source of toxic contamination.
Jujubes — Easy to grow and very healthy fruit — two issues: thorns and spreads underground.
K
Kaolin clay — Use fine-textured kaolin clay or Surround WP at 1/4 to 1/2 lb per gallon of water (1/2 lb is approximately 3 cups). For hard-to-shake sprayers, premix in a 5-gallon bucket first. See also: Grasshoppers.
Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture — Hwy. 271 S., P.O. Box 588, Poteau, OK 74953 – 918-647-9123.
L
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center — 4801 La Crosse Ave., Austin, TX 78739 – 512-232-0100. (Formerly the National Wildflower Research Center — verify before publishing.)
Lava — Lava sand helps with soil moisture retention and paramagnetism. Volcanic materials are why land around volcanoes is so productive. With organic matter, volcanic rock forms the yin and yang of soil production.
Lava sand paramagnetism — Centimeters/gram/sec — the measurement of magnetic flux density (gauss) in soils and amendments. Well, you asked for more.
Lemon Joy soap — Use 1 oz per gallon of water for a spray for common insect pests. Especially good for greenhouse use.
Lice — Rinse hair with vinegar after showering. Works beautifully.
Lightning strike damage — If bark is stripped off in a line down the outside, apply hydrogen peroxide, then Tree Trunk Goop, then Sick Tree Treatment. If lightning blows bark completely off, the tree is a goner.
Live oak pruning — Very little needed other than dead wood and weak “V”-crotch conditions.
M
Mice & rats — Peppermint oil on cotton balls. Dry hot pepper will usually repel mice.
Milk — For fungus control — 10%, or 1 cup per gallon of water.
Molasses, dry — Cane is best, 42% sugar. Dry — 10 lbs per 100 sq ft for nutgrass. Liquid — 1/2 cup per gallon for nutgrass drench. Repeated applications needed.
Molasses, liquid — 1–2 gallons per acre in 25 gallons of mix, as a minimum.
Moles — Treat with Mole Scram or products that contain similar repellents.
Mosquito repellent — 1 pt vanilla, 1 pt orange oil, 1 pt baby oil — or 8 oz water, 2 tsp vanilla extract, 1 tsp orange oil. Favorite commercial product: Murphy’s Lemon Eucalyptus.
Mosquito traps — Fill 5-gallon buckets with water and plant material waste to attract female mosquitoes. Add Bti (Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis). Use 1 bucket every 50 feet or so.
Mosquitoes — Instead of DEET, use oil of lemon eucalyptus. Treat site alternately with garlic, cedar, plant oils, and liquid Bti. Summit products — summitchemical.com.
Moths — Buckets of water with a little orange oil can attract and kill them.
Mulches — Worst mulches: ground-up rubber, dyed wood products, pine bark. Best mulches: shredded tree-trimmings products.
N
Native American Seed Co. — seedsource.com.
Native plant society chapters — Texas state office – 512-238-0695 – will ID plants free.
Nature’s Control Insectary — naturescontrol.com.
Nematodes — Root knot nematodes are pests. Beneficial nematodes are helpful. Available from Nature’s Control (naturescontrol.com). See dirtdoctor.com for a list of insectaries. See also: Beneficial nematodes.
Noble Foundation — 2510 State Hwy. 199 East, Ardmore, OK 73402. Free deer management book at noble.org/imagegallery.
NORIT activated carbon — Fine-textured detox carbon product for use in the detox program – 800-641-9245.
O
Oak wilt — Ceratocystis fagacearum. Very similar to Dutch elm disease (Ophiostoma/Ceratocystis ulmi). Prevention and cure is the complete Sick Tree Treatment.
Organiphobes — People who don’t believe that organics can work.
Oxblood lilies — Verify with current bulb growers such as The Southern Bulb Co. Original supplier appears to be defunct.
P
Paint (Go Away Green) — “Go Away Green” is a grayish-green paint developed by Disney. Its dull, neutral formulation lacks visual contrast, so eyes overlook it. Used to camouflage utility boxes, fences, and large show buildings, allowing them to blend in. The color has gray and brown undertones. Disney’s exact paint formula is a secret, but popular matches include: Sherwin-Williams Evergreen Fog (SW 9130) or Escape Gray (SW 6185); Benjamin Moore Winchester Sage (628) or Weeping Willow (629). Lambert Green, invented by Joe Lambert of Lambert Landscape Co., is similar and may be the original. I’ve always used black, but the unusual green may be better.
Paint brushes — Rinse brushes used with acrylic or water-based paint. Freeze those with oil-based paint.
Paint preservative — Minwax Polycrylic Water-Based Protective Finish — best product for protecting paint.
Palms — Monocots — don’t heal the same as other trees. Exposed flares are not important. Transplant in the heat of summer.
Peaches — Recommended varieties: Spring Gold, Ranger, Redskin, Loring, Harvester.
Pears — Good: Kieffer, Orient, Warren. Bad: Bartlett.
Pecans — Small nuts: Kanza, Caddo, Sioux, natives. See the Organic Fruit and Pecan Tree Program.
Pennyroyal — 3 drops on nylon collar for dog. Not for cats.
Pepper — Good ornamental: ‘Sangria.’
Pesticide network — National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC): 800-858-7378.
Plums — Methley, Bruce, Ozark, Premiere, Santa Rosa.
Poinsettia — Rejuvenation — 14 hours dark, then 10 hours of full sun, October 1 until full bloom Thanksgiving through Christmas. By the way — too much trouble. Buy some new ones.
Poison Control Center — 1-800-222-1222 (national).
Poison ivy — For the rash: soak in a tub with 1 box of baking soda; then dust baking soda on the body. Urushiol is the oily substance spread by contact. Control: physically remove, then spray tender regrowth with 20% vinegar plus 1 oz orange oil and molasses per gallon.
Possums — Apply the Possum Scram product.
Potting soil — The latest: 80% compost and coconut fiber; 20% lava sand, Azomite, cornmeal, and dry molasses.
Probiotics — EFI — distributors of Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics. To sign up for their newsletter, email newsletter@essentialformulas.com.
Propagation — Secrets of Plant Propagation by Lewis Hill.
R
Raccoons — Spray cans and plants being attacked with garlic pepper tea.
Rat traps — Best bait is pieces of Payday candy bars.
Red ripper peas — Southern Exposure Seed Exchange — southernexposure.com.
Robinson, Jo — Why Grassfed Is Best — 206-463-4156 — eatwild.com.
Roses — HG’s easiest-to-grow list: ‘Belinda’s Dream’ (pink); ‘Mutabilis’ (yellow/pink/crimson); ‘Caldwell Pink’ (lilac pink); ‘Easy Going’ (yellow); ‘Katy Road Pink’; ‘The Fairy’; ‘Old Blush’ (pink); ‘Ducher’ (white); ‘Dortmund’ (red); ‘Julia Child’ (yellow). To treat rose rosette and other rose diseases, use the Sick Tree Treatment.
S
Saltpeter — Potassium nitrate product used in holes drilled in stumps to speed up death and decomposition.
SAR, SIR, and ISR — Systemic acquired resistance, systemic induced resistance, and induced systemic resistance — terms for natural pest protection in plants resulting under a natural organic program.
Saturated soil — Spray or drench soil with hydrogen peroxide mixed 50/50 with water or Garrett Juice.
Scalping lawns — Almost never needed in organically maintained lawns. Beneficial microbes, due to the natural organic program, keep thatch from developing. The only good time to scalp is prior to overseeding with winter grasses.
Sealant for painted items — Minwax Polycrylic Water-Based. Used it on my art with excellent results.
Seed sources — Douglas King Seeds — San Antonio seed company for grasses and wildflowers — DKSeeds.com; Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds (rareseeds.com); Turner Seed Co.; David’s Garden Seed; fireflyfarmandmercantile.com.
Seeds — Treat all seed with Garrett Juice spray formula before planting. Lay seeds on paper or board and spritz with a small sprayer. Treat the soil after planting for even better germination. Especially important for seeds with hard seed coats like Texas mountain laurel, Mexican buckeye, saw palmetto, etc.
Sick Tree Treatment — Step 1: Stop ALL high-nitrogen fertilizers and toxic pesticides. Step 2: Remove excess soil and mulch from trunk flare. Step 3: Aerate root zone heavily, or spray hydrogen peroxide. Step 4: Apply organic amendments. Step 5: Spray trees and soil with Garrett Juice.
Sink gnats — Ounce of full-strength orange oil, followed by warm water.
Skunk odor on dogs — 1 qt hydrogen peroxide, 1/4 cup baking soda, 1 tsp soap — rub into fur. Don’t store; might blow up.
Soil probes — Great homemade probe: saw the head off a golf club (drivers are best — longer and solid shafts). Sharpened wooden dowels for big pots; wooden pencils for small pots.
Soil test — Normally don’t recommend but for organic recommendations: Texas Plant and Soil Lab – 956-383-0739.
Spider bites — Treat with juice from comfrey plants. See a doctor for venomous bites. Many people have treated brown recluse bites with comfrey juice applications.
Spinach — Soil must be cool before fall planting — 70 degrees F or below. Last cool-season veggie to plant in fall.
Spinosad — Excellent organic insect control, but will disorient bees. Use carefully, just on infested plants. Spinosad soap is more powerful. Comfortis is a spinosad dog pill for fleas.
Sprayers — Best for organic use: backpacks, trombone, and pump-ups. Not hose-end products.
Squirrel repellent — 1 part cayenne or habanero, 1 part dry mustard, 2 parts flour. Extremely hot pepper by itself also works fairly well.
Stevia — Stevia in the Raw and Red Cap KAL are good products.
Strawberries — Sequoia, Chandler.
Stump removal — Molasses and diesel, or saltpeter, in holes drilled in the stump.
Sulfur — Not typically used. Diseases are better handled with cornmeal tea or hydrogen peroxide for tough problems. If used as a soil treatment, don’t use at more than 2 lbs per 1,000 sq ft.
Summit mosquito products — summitchemical.com.
T
Tatume squash — One of the easiest squashes to grow and delicious. Highly resistant to squash vine borers.
Tea — Favorite herb tea includes nettles and juniper (fruit and foliage).
Thatch — An improper buildup of dead organic matter in turf that doesn’t happen under an organic program.
Ticks — Apply beneficial nematodes in early spring.
Tomato flower and fruit set — Whack the plants with an old tennis racket. Spray Garrett Juice regularly. Insects — spray Bio Wash/Purely Green. Diseases — cornmeal tea.
Tomatoes — Favorites: Celebrity, SuperFantastic, Sun Gold, Wild Currant, Black from Tula, Juliet, Lemon Boy, Early Girl, Arkansas Traveler, Sweet 100. Try steeped tomato leaves as surprisingly effective pest control — use a handful of leaves and stems per quart of water.
Tomatoes – low leaves yellowing: treat with cornmeal tea.
Tree Trunk Goop — Mix compost and lava sand or other rock minerals with enough water to make a muddy slather for damaged limbs and trunks. Adding latex paint helps it stay on longer. See specific formulas at dirtdoctor.com. Best choice is Fine compost, Azomite, lava sand and latex paint. Divide a gallon of latex paint in half using a second container. Into each half add a cup of fine compost, cup of Azomite, 5 -10 oz. (jiggers) of lava sand and 1 – 2 oz. of Garrett Juice concentrate. For cosmetics, buy paint that matches the color of the bark. Apply by with a brush. Reapplication will rarely ever be needed due to the addition of paint.
V
Vine weeds — Tough woody weeds like Carolina snailseed, Virginia creeper, cat’s claw, greenbriar, poison ivy, kudzu, and bindweed — physically remove, then spray the tender regrowth with strong vinegar plus 1 oz orange oil and molasses per gallon.
Vinegar — Organic apple cider 3% for human use (Nonna Pia’s); 3% white for cleaning; 10% white for herbicide mix with orange oil and soap; 20% labeled product for herbicide (add 1 oz orange oil/gallon for more power); 30% OK if handled very carefully.
Violet control — Wild violets can be spot-sprayed with vinegar, but I think they are decorative and leave them alone.
Viral diseases — Spray 3% hydrogen peroxide cut 50/50 with water, or Garrett Juice.
W
Weed-and-feed fertilizers — Chemical versions are among the most destructive products for soil and turf. Corn gluten meal is a natural “weed and feed” that is organic and helps the soil.
Weeds — The organic program keeps weeds to a minimum. Use strong vinegar to spot-spray annual weeds; physically remove perennial weeds and spot-spray the young recurring growth.
Wildflowers — Little secret: plant in the summer rather than fall. That’s when nature throws down the seeds.
Wood preservative — Turpentine and raw linseed oil.
Wooden handles — Protect with turpentine, raw linseed oil, and a light sanding. Better than fiberglass.
Worms – Earthworms are beneficial and a sign of soil health. For pest worms use beneficial nematodes as a preventative. Bt, Spinosad of Spinosad Soap to treat infestations. Use orange oil or Purely Green for flatworms.
Wounds — For scrapes, cuts, and punctures, use Silver Honey (technically for dogs, but works well for people too). Works for burns also, but aloe vera is hard to beat.
X
Xylitol — Very dangerous chemical found in many candies and gums. Extremely dangerous to dogs.
Y
Yews — Taxus densiformis (big); plum yew, Cephalotaxus harringtonia (small).
Yucca extract — Good to use as a surfactant in any of the organic sprays.
Z
Zeolite — Natural rock mineral useful in soil improvement and helpful for tying up toxins and excess fertilizer nutrients, especially too much nitrogen.
Plant varieties in this document are primarily for the Dallas/Fort Worth area. More details on all points at dirtdoctor.com.
Dirt Doctor, Inc. P.O. Box 140650 Dallas, TX 75214
Copyright(c) 2026