Diatomaceous Earth

[Wren]

Hello,

Does anyone use Diatomaceous Earth in their potting mix? I started to use it in little amounts in the mix.

[DeaC]

Have sprinkled some on top of medium if bush snails appeared on the masdies. But actually a cold coffee bath worked very well,a trick that Ray mentioned in a post some time ago.

[jkofferdahl]

DE is quite effective against insects though I can't see how it'll do much when mixed into the media. I dust it on the media's surface and also the plants,

[Arizona Jeanie]

I don't think it does much once it gets wet.

[dounoharm]

diatomaceous earth is great stuff!! it is best used out in the garden tho....it is rather messy in the greenhouse. indoors, it will kill fleas, I put it on the edges of the floor by the baseboard. you can dust it in the garden with a duster, or you can wet it in a sprayer, with soap....inside, wet is not good, lol...I made a mistake and had some in the garden sprayer spraying aphids, and I just hit a few spots in the greenhouse, but it was nasty to clean up...milky white stuff everywhere!
mixing It with potting mix is relatively futile....it washes right out....

[jkofferdahl]

As an aside, one of my grandmothers mixed a tablespoon of DE into her morning juice each day. Apparently it's also a good digestive aid.

[Dollythehun]

Originally Posted by DeaC

Have sprinkled some on top of medium if bush snails appeared on the masdies. But actually a cold coffee bath worked very well,a trick that Ray mentioned in a post some time ago.

Deac, please elaborate on the cold coffee bath.

[Evendozen]

I agree with Arizona Jean. In the garden it needs reapplied after a rain to be effective , so adding to potting mix most likely won't be of any use . Just my opinion.

[jkofferdahl]

Originally Posted by Evendozen

I agree with Arizona Jean. In the garden it needs reapplied after a rain to be effective , so adding to potting mix most likely won't be of any use . Just my opinion.

The problem isn't that it gets wet - it's essentially silicon and so not water-soluable. The problem is that water washes it away. You can mix it into water and allow it to harden, then once broken back up again it's still effective.