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We are trying to grow tomatoes, flowers etc. in pots on the deck. What insecticides are best, or safe to use if small dogs are going to be walking around.
Well, first you need to identify the "pest" and choose one that will take care of that pest. I use insecticidal soap for bugs and Bt for wormy things when I have to, but in containers you may be able to just hand pick, which is by far the safest for everyone but the bugs :)
In containers, you should be using 2-3 inches of mulch which can be pine straw, shredded leaves, etc. just nothing that's dyed black or red. And watering should be in the morning or early afternoon so the leaves have an opportunity to dry off. And when you water, you should be watering the soil, not the plant. Ideally, you shouldn't get any leaves wet when you water the plant.
If after all that, you still get early blight, then you can use Daconil / Ortho Garden Disease Control to prevent further outbreaks. Daconil is a fungal preventative sprayed approximately once per week. Note that daconil is sold under many different names. Look for 29.6% chlorothalonil concentrate and mix it yourself -- the pre-mix spray bottles are very expensive and gloppy.
Late blight is a very fast acting disease which kills the tomato plant in 7-10 days. It turns the whole plant into a blackened stinking mess. You'll know it if you have it. Consistent use of daconil is the only preventative that I am aware of.
Danny wrote;"What about the early and late blight everyone talks about. will the soap do a job on that."
No insecticide will prevent disease, as far as I know. I'm sure someone will know more, but you might post something like "pet safe disease preventatives/solutions" to get more input.
margo
