Japanese Beetles beat by pelargonium flowers, Fungus beat by compost beneficial fungus Trichoderma

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says that you can beat the beetle blues with pelargonium type geraniums.

Yes, those fabulous, though a little smelly, geraniums we associate with window boxes in Germany.

Geranium Photo from Maureen Gilmer's MoPlants

article excerpts

- Japanese beetles cost us $450 million a year.
- Within 30 minutes of consuming geranium flower petals, they become paralyzed. Within the 24 hours of paralysis, their predators eat them.

Here's the link to the entire piece.

At the link above, there is a link to another interesting piece of research - "Can the Right Potting Mix Replace Fungicide?"

The answer is yes, if the potting mix has Trichoderma strain 382 beneficial fungus added to it.

It's all about making compost and making your potting mix 20% compost to get those beneficial microbes. Read more in a 2006 article here.