[6was9]

No not that kind...

I always get white flies on my basil plants and white powdery mildew developing on my rosemarie plant (especially on the new growth.) I always end up getting them.

Right now I simply chuck the basil plants out when white flies appear.

And for the rosemarie plant I cut the mildewy areas off.

Any of you indoor herb growers have good easy solution?

 

[spyderman]

Damn...I was looking for some tips on that.

Yeah, me too... I think it has something to do with really bright lights?

Could it apply to growing other herbs?

 

[Bocephus Jones II]

No not that kind...

Damn...I was looking for some tips on that.

 

[bikeboy389]

No not that kind...

I always get white flies on my basil plants and white powdery mildew developing on my rosemarie plant (especially on the new growth.) I always end up getting them.

Right now I simply chuck the basil plants out when white flies appear.

And for the rosemarie plant I cut the mildewy areas off.

Any of you indoor herb growers have good easy solution?

Don't know from white flies, but as I understand it, powdery mildew is caused by the plants being overgrown/not getting enough light (and maybe getting too much water at the same time). Our privet hedge used to get it a lot, until we started thinning it out. I also had it in a plant I rescued from my boss's kind of dark office--I think the whole thing was aggravated in that case by his over-watering it as soon as it started to look a little sick (Dude, they need light too).

You might try thinning your rosemary before you get the mildew next time. You may ultimately have to put it in a location with better light or rotate the plants every few days to get sun exposure all around. I could see rosemary being a particular problem, given how tightly-packed the leaves can get, even on the same stalk.

 

[MikeBiker]

I gave up on indoor herbs. I jsut wait till spring and plant outdoors.

 

[everydaybike]

I gave up on indoor herbs. I jsut wait till spring and plant outdoors.

Noooo... then you get dried stuff in the winter. Back off the H2O, make sure you have good drainage(finger test... if the soil sticks to you finger and your finger isn't wet it's perfect), increase the light and make sure you check them daily. I have herbs (all kinds) growing and all it takes it TLC and the right conditions and they will do fine. Ain't nothing like cooking (aaheem) with fresh plant material.

Experience from years of growing indoors, FWIW!

 

[rogger]

Yeah, me too... I think it has something to do with really bright lights?

Could it apply to growing other herbs?

Gentlemen, for your information: http://www.growshop-highfive.com/

 

[QuiQuaeQuod]

Throw away your old dirt. Wash the pots with a mild bleach solution and rinse well. Start with fresh, sterile dirt. Add lights, a one or two shop lights above will help a lot, and are easily raised and lowered as the plants grow. That gives you a good 3 linear feet of growing space, which is plenty for a few herbs. Healthy plants fight disease better, and healthy plants need lots of light in the winter especially in northern climes.

Oh, if you have other house plants the whiteflies are probably in those too.

FWIW, chives grow even in low light conditions. If my cats did not eat them, we would do so all winter long.

 

[Cory]

Grandma's remedy for whiteflies...

I grow rosemary and basil outdoors, where they've been absolutely pest-free and bulletproof in my garden--even the deer don't eat them.
My grandmother used to get whiteflies on her plants pretty badly, though, and she hated to spray. She had a non-toxic remedy which I've also read about once or twice.
Get a piece of bright yellow or yellow-orange plastic, paper or whatever. She used a plastic wastebasket because she happened to have it, but paper or a plastic sheet would work fine.
Coat one side of it with something sticky. Doesn't have to be poisonous; she used vegetable oil. Hold the yellow thing near the plant, preferably in the sun or bright light, and shake, stir, brush the plants to get the whiteflies in the air. A certain percentage of them will be attracted to the plastic, where they'll stick in the Wesson Oil and die painful deaths, which is no more than they deserve. It won't eliminate them, but over a few days you can really cut down on their numbers.
Sounds sort of metaphysical, but I've seen her walk away with jillions of whiteflies stuck to her wastebasket. Then just wash 'em down the drain.

 

[6was9]

So basically kill as many as you can and tolerate them...?

Okay, then can I eat/ use whitefly egg, larvae/ nymphs infested basil after washing them off? They look rather nasty (they are usually on the underside of the leaves)... the idea doesn't appeal to me....Besides the littl suckers fly around everywhere and I swear I've inhale them before...

The same goes for the rosemarie... I hate to toss out a bunch of otherwise good except slightly mildewy branches that I cut off but the idea of eating them (even after washing them off as well as I can) doesn't wash well with me thus out they go...

 

[rogger]

I don't know about whitefly, but I know something that kills off lice. Pick 6 to 8 tops of stinging nettle (12") and put them in a watering can along with some water. Let it brew for a day or five until it develops a right whiff. Douse plant with this (outside, moreon) and the lice die. Rinse with clean water before consumption.