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White Flies can seem to come from everywhere and they do. They just get out of hand sometimes. One thing that can cause and outbreak is too much nitrogen in the soil. This can be caused by over fertilizing and the use of synthetic high nitrogen fertilizers like Miracle Grow etc.. Large green house operations like soluble synthetics because they can mix up big tanks of the stuff up all at once and let it sit there for days at a time for an automated watering system to apply on a schedule every few hours. You can't do this with most liquid organic fertilizers because they can start to rot and stink in a very short time. You have to mix only what you are going to use at any one time and use it all. They work terrific but large green house operations rely on automation to save on labor costs so they avoid things that require human interaction as much as possible.
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There are some organic and natural liquid fertilizers that have come out in the past few years that solve this problem but most green house operations stick with what they know and change comes slowly when you living depends on staying with what you think works and you don't know if change is going to be good or bad for your wallet. These synthetic fertilizers juice the plants up and make them look nice for retail but once you bring them home you have a problem. The plants are sick and weak because they have developed a root system and circulatory system made to deliver the stuff they're used to getting to all parts of the plant and the soil in the pot is mostly devoid of biological action so what you have is a heroin addict for a plant that if transitioned to an organic program too quickly can look really sick or die, so you have to take it slow. Some should be repotted right away into organic potting soil. The other problem they come with is, they are like snickers bars for insects and fungus because of the high nitrogen liquid fertilizers and treatments they've received. White flies are one of these pests that just love greenhouse plants. Another way to treat the problem is to leave them outside, if the weather allows, for a while so natural predators and the weather can work for you. Change the soil they come in and place the old soil far away from the plants. Don't fertilize right away so the plant can a climate to it's new soil and start producing heart roots and stems based on a healthy home life. Most organic potting soils come with mild fertilizers in them already like rock phosphate, greensand and gypsum. Expect some die off. After all, the poor thing has been on a steady diet of cheetos and now it's getting good food. That change in chemistry can be traumatic for a little while! Just take off the dead and dieing leaves as they develop. It will stop. So, if you did all that and you still have this whitefly problem, make up some worm tea. Not only does it make for a great, mild foliar and soil soil drench fertilizer, white flies can't seem to stand it. Spray it on the plants outside at first because the white flies will fly up and try to get away as fast as they can. Drench the whole plant. As always, do this on cloudy, mild days or the early morning or evening, not when it's really hot and sunny. Be careful when you reach for a pesticide to kill white flies, even if it's organic. Sometimes the problem is just so bad you have to but lab tests have shown that there are times when treating white flies with insecticides of any kind can actually make the problem worse. It's the old, those that survive have the genetic material to resist what you did and the spiral down into more and more powerful chemicals to kill future generations begins. (Rachael Carlson-The Silent Spring). The best way to get started if you're buying new plants to bring home is:
*Some fungi are good and necessary in the soil |
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