Mini Fogger: Pest Control, Misting, Foliar Feeds
Last week I asked our Instagram followers on the main feed: what is your biggest challenge with growing anemones? Overwhelmingly, people said: aphids.
I’m treating this post as a little bit of a follow-up to the last post about anemones, because I think this tool might be instrumental in helping with this pest problem AND serve you well for other projects, like seed starting, and foliar feeds!
When we’re growing anemone here, we’re “growing cold” by that I mean we are trying to keep our temperatures below 60F. Anemones don’t like heat.
When we’re talking about pest control, and specifically aphids, our minds go first to beneficial insects. I hope yours do, too.
But unfortunately, while anemone grows most effectively at cold temperatures, many beneficial insects perform more effectively at warm temps. And that is true for the aphid predators. At cold temps, they hide away and go into a sort of hibernation. They mostly require temperatures of about 70F or more. Here is some more information. If you are looking to purchase beneficial insects for any crop, make sure your environment will support them.
So what do we do here? It’s too cold in our greenhouse to treat aphids with beneficial insects and if we warm the space, the anemones will go dormant.
We can alternate treating our plants with diatomaceous earth and a plant-derived organic pesticide like neem oil. The two products are alternated because aphids and other pests can develop immunity to pesticides like neem. You could alternate other products if you like.
Fogging machines are the most effective way to disperse a pesticide evenly and efficiently in a space. They help us reach the undersides of leaves. They also help us use the smallest possible amount of pesticide by avoiding excessive run-off. The high dispersal rate is great for targeting small bugs. (If you have a thrip problem in a crop, for example — you’ll want a fogging tool to get into all the petal and leaf folds.)
But our backpack fogger is corded and awkward and it doesn’t fit easily down our narrow aisle between the benches of our greenhouse. I’ve been waiting a few years for an easy-to-use, simple tool for this kind of application and I think I’ve found it.
We recently purchased a Petra Tools Mini Fogger. This tool can run for up to 2 hours at a time, holds about 12oz of fluid, is easy to operate and clean, and plugs right in for charging like a cell phone with a USB C cord (that comes with it).
I freaking love this machine. I told the makers the same thing after buying one and trying it here. Petra Tools offered to share a coupon code for any one of you who wants this tool. Use the code LFFPRO to save 10%. The regular price listed now is $99.
And please know that I am NOT SPONSORED or receiving any benefit for this post or potential sales from it. I told them that I love their tool and that I would share its features with you regardless of whether or not they wanted to offer you a deal. And they were happy to share this discount.
Other practical uses for this small tool:
It can provide a nice, even moisture mist for watering tiny seeds until they germinate.
It can be used to offer your plants a yummy foliar feed of compost tea.
Other Petra Tools Foggers:
Corded Backpack Fogger ($299) Appropriate for larger/more open tunnel spaces and field crops when a larger area needs an application. (We own this tool as well and do like it, aside from the cord, because we have to run and extension cord(s) to use it.)
2 Gallon ULV Corded Fogger ($199) Appropriate for tunnels and field row applications.
Please share your questions and comments. Best of luck to you with all your anemone adventrures!