Phoenix College Took It All!

Happy Thursday Everyone~

Congrats to those who got to participate in poster presentations at Estrella Mt. College this morning. I was apprehensive at first to be surrounded by peers who all had solid research but it turned out to be a great experience and a lot of fun. When the poster presentation seminar started people from the college just walked around and looked at posters and didn't really ask any questions. That was boring! So I started to ask them questions to engage them in some kind of conversation. It worked! After breaking the ice and coming out of my shell it became easier and easier to talk about my project with confidence. I even brought props- the squirt bottle I used to spray pesticide in, diatomaceous earth (in my home application herb bottle), and the most effective pesticide based on my results NEEM OIL. The crowd loved it, they were engaged, asking all kinds of questions, and the fact that they were able to smell who pungent neem oil really is made all the difference! I also had my ipad handy to show off my garden with the pesticides applied to it - similar to the picture I posted a week or two ago. Overall the experience was great and could not have done it alone! I want to thank all my friends in STEM and give thanks to Matt and Josh! Good job everyone and have a great summer.

Peace,
Jenni

Almost Forgot...

Happy Thursday Everyone~

I almost forgot to share my final results of the last trial I did. Matt and I decided to test the pesticides side by side only for direct treatment. We wanted to see if the results were consistent using the same batch of crickets as opposed of one batch of crickets dedicated to one pesticide. I tested Soap and Water, Neem oil and Soap, and Neem oil and Canola oil. I did not conduct an experiment with Neem oil and Canola before this test so I was very excited and had a hunch that it would work the best. Surprise surprise.. it out performed the other 2 solutions by a long shot. I had a 100% death rate after the 6 day trial and needless to say it is the best pest control for my application at home. I have sprayed my pallet beds once a week for the past 2 weeks and added a mixture of diatomaceous earth/cayenne pepper over the top of the soil in each row. So far I have been pest free and feline free (cats apparently hate chili pepper :). Im excited to report that my poster in nearly done and I cannot wait to present it at Estrella Mountain. Hope everyone is keeping on track, have a good weekend.

Peace,

Jenni 

Home Application

Happy Thursday Everyone~

I decided to put my pest test to a REAL test and use all three pesticides for my new garden out front. Instead of trying to keep my dogs out of my garden in the back yard I thought it might be easier to grow non-root veggies out front with the right pest control. By doing this I used less soil/dirt which creates better drainage since water goes directly in the ground without any barriers or deeper soil to penetrate through. I applied neem oil around each pallet and then sprinkled cayenne pepper mixed with diatomaceous earth directly on top of the soil. This will hopefully keep away white flies and other unwanted pests and deter cats. Here are some pics:

Hope Everyone has a great weekend, HAPPY EASTER!!!

Peace,

Jenni

NEEM : The Oil that Kills..

Happy Thursday Everyone~

I discovered that Neem oil is definitely the safest, most effective pest control. Not only did it kill 100% of my cricket population but it also has a very pleasant aroma (kind of nutty). Neem oil, also called neem seed oil or neem tree oil, is the oil pressed from the seed kernels of the neem tree. Neem is a tropical, evergreen tree that originated in India. The Oil is produced by crushing and pressing the kernels, and then purifying the extract. When searching for neem oil you make sure to look for cold pressed oil because heat destroys the active ingredients. There are a variety of recipes for home use, I like to keep things simple so I added 5ml of neem oil to 25ml of veggie oil in a small spray bottle and was able to spray with no complications. You can apply this directly to pests and edibles or even your soil. You can also apply around your home if you have pests like gnats and mosquitos just make sure you mark if spraying on the floor so you don't slip:). I have a small container next to my sink that I fill with compostable throw-aways like egg shells, peelings, coffee grounds, etc..and I have noticed gnats around it. So I started using neem oil inside of it and a few days later... no gnats. 

Peace

Jenni

PESTS CONTROLLED

Happy Thursday Everyone~

I finished up my soap and water pesticide Monday of this week and my results turned out great. It seems that indirect application of the soap and water was a more effective way to administer that pesticide, but I don't think I will be using that on my garden maybe just around the house.

This week I started another trial of pesticides. I am using neem oil mixed with canola oil, neem oil and soap mixed in water (again), and soap mixed in water (again). I do not have a control group, instead I am seeing which pesticide works better on the same batch of crickets. So far after just the first day neem oil/canola oil killed off 75% of my initial cricket population in all 3 containers. The other 2 pesticides produced similar results after day one as the first time I tried them. This is great news, I can use neem oil directly to my garden and not worry about harming the plants health. Looking forward to next semester in STEM!!! Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Peace
Jenni

SOAP AND WATER..

Happy Thursday Everyone~

After the tour of Old World Brewery last week I went back to school to see my results after day 3 of applying neem oil to crickets. Turns out my numbers dropped even lower for direct and indirect application! This week I started a new trial of pesticide - SOAP AND WATER. My results after day 1 were a little scary. I had so many dead crickets that I thought something else may have been accidentally exposed to them but I checked the area and found nothing harmful other than my application of soap and water. I am concerned that my neem oil application may not have been as effective as I thought. I planned to use neem oil in my garden to keep pests out and away but my results are telling me to do something different. Im not sure if a soap and water application is the best route to go if I plan to apply it to edibles. Ill have to do a bit more research. Hope you guys are doing well on your projects!!

Peace
Jenni

NEEM OIL

Happy Thursday Everyone~

So excited to back at school!!. This past tuesday Matt got me another batch of crickets for my next round of natural pesticide experiment. I am using neem oil, which is a naturally occurring pesticide found in seeds from the neem tree. It has been used for hundreds of years to control pests and diseases. I made my neem pesticide in a 32 oz bottle using 5 ml of neem oil, water, and a few drops of liquid soap to emulsify the oil in water. Azadirachtin is the most active component for repelling and killing pests and can be extracted from neem oil. The portion left over is called clarified hydrophobic neem oil. I recorded my population after day one of exposure and my results were as follows:

control group 1 - 20    indirect application group 1 - 14     direct application group 1 - 8
control group 2 - 20    indirect application group 2 - 17     direct application group 2 - 12
control group 3 - 20    indirect application group 3 - 16     direct application group 3 - 12

My results indicate that direct exposure of neem oil is more effective that an indirect exposure. This means that if I were to use this in my garden against pest it would be better for me to apply this pesticide directly to pesty pests. YEY! I cant wait to see what my results yield after day 3. I'll find out tomorrow. . . after beer tour:)

Peace