Content
Treating cabbage with vinegar is effective both at the beginning of the season and in the second half of summer. Vinegar is used as an alternative to chemicals. It is safe for plants and humans. The drug is affordable and gives results after the first treatment.
Is it possible to treat cabbage with vinegar against pests?
Vinegar is often used in the practice of gardeners for the treatment and prevention of various pests. It is effective even before the onset of a strong invasion. If you carry out one or more sprays when you first notice aphids and other insects, the chances of them spreading will be significantly reduced.
The drug is relatively safe, very affordable, and therefore is very popular. It is used to destroy the following pests:
- aphid;
- cruciferous flea beetle;
- slugs;
- cabbage leaf beetle;
- caterpillars;
- cabbage fly and others.
The drug can be used to treat cabbage and other insects.Vinegar is especially effective when alternated with other folk remedies, for example, an infusion of garlic cloves or a decoction of onion peels. If there are too many insects, treat with insecticides.
Pros and cons of use
Watering cabbage with vinegar against pests provides quite a few benefits:
- this is an affordable product that can be found in any home;
- effective against a number of pests, including aphids, slugs, fleas;
- gives very fast results;
- safe for plants;
- there are no waiting periods - cabbage can be harvested almost immediately after processing;
- excellent solubility.
But this method also has disadvantages:
- spraying is not effective over large areas, so the product is not used in farming practice;
- if there are too many pests, treatment will also not work;
- Vinegar is relatively dangerous if it comes into contact with the skin or mucous membranes of the eyes.
Therefore, it is recommended to alternate vinegar with other folk remedies, as well as insecticides against aphids and other pests.
Which vinegar is better to choose?
So, we spray the cabbage with vinegar against pests. First you need to decide which drug is best. Experienced summer residents recommend using ordinary table vinegar with a concentration of 9%. If taken in lower concentrations (for example, 5-6%), the product must be diluted in other proportions, adding 1.5-2 times less water.
To process cabbage, use regular 9% vinegar.
70% do not recommend using the essence. It will burn the leaves, shoots and other above-ground parts of the cabbage. In addition, such a concentrated solution during processing can cause damage to the soil.Even if you dilute it with water, you can burn your hands and nasopharyngeal mucosa.
You should not use apple, especially wine, rice, balsamic and other types of food vinegar. They have a specific smell and contain additional components. Therefore, to process cabbage, it is better to choose ordinary food vinegar, which can be bought at any store.
Processing times and frequency
Cabbage processing is usually carried out in spring and summer. There are no clear deadlines - it all depends on when exactly the pests appear:
- aphids become active in June, the peak of the invasion occurs in July;
- slugs and snails appear after the May holidays;
- Cabbage grass is active in the second half of summer until the end of August;
- butterflies (including moths, cutworms) appear from late May to mid-June;
- fleas are already visible in spring, when the daytime temperature rises above +15 °.
Cabbage should be treated at the first appearance of pests. The sooner you start, the better your chances of stopping the invasion. You need to spray 3-4 times a season until the insects are completely destroyed. The minimum interval should be 3-4 days.
The product is used both for the destruction and prevention of pests. Already in May, it is recommended to carefully inspect the plantings and, if necessary, spray them. If the cabbage is of early varieties, chemical preparations cannot be used due to long waiting times. In these cases, vinegar and other folk remedies are irreplaceable.
Preparation of working solution
Before you start spraying or watering cabbage with vinegar, you need to prepare a solution in accordance with the proportions. The sequence of actions is as follows:
- Measure out 200 ml of vinegar (1 standard glass).2
- Dilute in a small volume of water.
- To stir thoroughly.
- Add water to the total volume, for example, a standard 10 liter bucket.
- Mix again.
- Pour into a spray bottle and begin processing.
If you don’t have vinegar on hand, and only have 70% essence, then take it in the amount of 2 tablespoons per 1 bucket of water. The solution should be moderately concentrated so as not to burn the plants.
How to pour vinegar on cabbage to kill pests
The prepared solution can be used both for spraying and watering cabbage. The processing time depends on the pest being controlled. The basic rules are described below.
From aphids
It is recommended to prepare a liquid against aphids based on the ratio of a tablespoon of vinegar to 1 liter of warm water. The components are mixed, poured into a spray bottle and then the cabbage leaves are thoroughly processed. They need to be sprayed both from the outside and from the inside. They act in exactly the same way when destroying cabbage weeds.
From slugs
Slugs are quite dangerous pests that become more active towards the end of May. They spread especially often in humid and warm weather. To repel, it is not enough to use vinegar alone. To prepare a solution for treatment, you need to take several components:
- dry crushed valerian – 2 tbsp. l.;
- vinegar 9% – 1 tbsp. l.;
- water – 2 l.
First, take a glass of boiling water, add dry herbs, cover with a lid and leave for 10-12 hours. Then filter, add 2 liters of water and vinegar. If necessary, prepare a liquid in a volume of 10 liters, increasing the amount of each component by 5 times.
To repel pests, it is necessary to water the leaves with the resulting infusion, and also moisten the soil around the beds, in the rows.It wouldn’t hurt to add dry mustard, ground red pepper, nut shells or eggshells.
From caterpillars
To prepare a solution for caterpillars, take 200 ml of 9% vinegar and dissolve it in 10 liters of water. Pest infestations usually begin in early July. Spraying the leaves is carried out once a week, even if the pests are invisible. If the invasion is severe, then treatments should be carried out 2-3 times a week.
From fleas
To treat cabbage flea beetles, use a standard concentration solution of 200 ml per 10 liters of water.
Spraying is done twice a week (interval 3-4 days)
As a rule, insects stop landing on the surface of heads of cabbage after the first spraying. The drug is especially effective for watering places where insects gather.
From cabbage leaf beetle
Vinegar is also suitable for treating cabbage against the leaf beetle. But in this case, the solution must be especially concentrated - 500 ml per 10 liters. This liquid is sprayed on all leaves, including unaffected plantings. The pest does not tolerate strong odors. Therefore, along with vinegar, it will be useful to use an infusion of garlic cloves, mustard or onion peels to process cabbage.
Precautionary measures
Vinegar is relatively safe, since it is a food product and is not used in large concentrations. But during work you need to observe certain safety measures:
- Wear gloves.
- If you have an individual intolerance, wear a mask so as not to breathe in the fumes.
- Take special care when working with vinegar essence.
- Prevent children from accessing the site.
- Do not take food or water while working.
- If the solution gets on your hands or skin, wash with soap and water.
- When spraying into the eyes, direct the stream with moderate pressure.
- If the composition gets into the stomach, take a solution of soda (a teaspoon per glass), as well as several tablets of activated carbon.
Recommendations from gardeners
Treating cabbage against aphids and other insects is quite simple. In this case, certain rules must be observed:
- Spraying plants in a greenhouse can be carried out in any weather, but preferably in the late evening or early morning.
- If you process cabbage in open ground, you should work only in calm weather without rain. The optimal time for spraying is also late evening or early morning.
- The prepared solution is used immediately, because acetic acid quickly evaporates, and the next day the product loses its effectiveness.
- During watering and processing, personal safety precautions must be observed.
- Alternate vinegar with other folk remedies, for example, with infusions of herbs (celandine, wormwood, dandelions, tomato tops), wood ash, tobacco dust, garlic cloves.
- To prevent pest invasion, you can spread bay leaves, crushed wormwood, calendula or yarrow between the beds.
During the formation of heads of cabbage, folk remedies are used instead of insecticides
Conclusion
Treating cabbage with vinegar is a fairly effective way to protect and prevent aphids, slugs, fleas and other pests. It is best to use the product at the beginning of the season to prevent a severe invasion. It is also used for spraying early ripening varieties that cannot be treated with chemicals due to long waiting times. Spraying is done several times a season, but if there is no result, insecticides are used.
Good afternoon, I burned all the cabbage, burned it with vinegar, did not dilute the acetic acid correctly, what now. Do????
Good afternoon.
Without a photo, it's difficult to say whether your cabbage can be saved. If the plants are severely affected and the center where the head is formed begins to dry out, there is no need to waste time and effort. It will no longer be possible to save cabbage. But if at least the hearts have come to life, then you can leave it.
It is highly undesirable to feed cabbage (provided you left it) for 2-3 weeks. And then - depending on the circumstances.
If you are in doubt whether to leave the cabbage or remove it, send us a close-up photo.