I have been using worm castings as fertilizer and worm tea to deter non-beneficial bugs for a good number of years. Its easy to use & easy to get. You can even buy it on Amazon! I also found that people who are into aquaponics know some other good tricks such as spraying spider mites with diluted kelp. Another idea is to use broken eggshells around figlettes to deters snails.

I would like to know anything else that anyone in the group wants to share. Any organic recipe for figs or plants? I am always looking for help With this. Thanks!

Are we talking about inground trees?  All I do is mulch  heavily, add a little lime to the soil if they start to yellow (which they aren't doing anymore), and water once a week, or sometimes twice when temps are consistently over 105.  I have used a soapy spray to zap some of the bigger nastier bugs we have here in Arizona, but other than that...they seem to thrive without much care once established.

I am referring to in ground or potted. I think most pests plague potted figs due to soil depleation. When the soil is out of balance, it weakens the tree & makes it susceptible to pests, etc. at least thats what I have noticed.

Compost tea is awsome. I use it too. I can suggest adding molasses to your recipe and air pump with stone. Greatly improves the microbes. 3 days with covered lid.

Hi, Richie: yes, molases increases the bacteria. I also add liquid kelp. I know James "Greenfin" also uses his "fish poop" on his plants.

Fish Meal or Fish Fertilizer does wonders for fig growth.

Nothing messes with my figs here.  No need for all that stuff.  Slugs won't touch the leaves; other insects won't either.  Only problem I have is with birds and wasps when the figs start to ripen.  They are so darn sweet the wasps can't help themselves, and bird will peck a hole in any fruit they come across.  Organza bags work reasonably well to limit these types of attacks.

I don't think my potting mix is particularly good.  It's mostly pine bark in various states of decay.  I just think that fig trees are resilient and resistant to pests.  Maybe due to all the latex in the sap.

Frank, I'm with you on that Fish meal & Fish Fertilizer promotes growth.  I add that to my worm tea mix too.  It's amazing!  Of course, my dogs constantly come smell my plants thinking there is fish somewhere...lol.

Also, Rob, my Kadota gets attacked by the Japanese Beetle so at first sight of them I spray worm tea and they stay away.  I know it does not deter birds so organza bags are it.  Maybe it will help with the wasps?

Meg,
what is a worm tea? How do you make it?

First you dry the worms out, then you put them in a tea bag. Steep that in a cup of hot water for 5 minutes and you have worm tea!

Or take worm castings, put them in a bucket with water and an air source and let them brew for a day. Don't drink!

Alfalfa meal.

Frank, for a simple worm tea i just put a good two or three cups of castings into a 5 gallon bucket & let it steep over night then just pour into my potted plants. To keep away bad pests i SPRAY it on my plants. This also stimulates growth.

If i want to make a stronger, more complex brew i add equal parts of molasses, fish fertilizer and liquid kelp as well. I put an air stone at the bottom and let the brew aerate for 24 hours before using it. This REALLY makes figs/plants happy!

You can buy all of the ingrediants at an aquaponics store or Amazon.

Scott...lol. Poor wormies!

Solberi, Alfalfa meal is great too! I found a link with some good detail...http://www.gardeniq.com/alfalfa-meal. I also have a typical composting bin as well as a Bokashi bucket.

I always feel that whatever i or my family eats should be as natural as possible. I cant control everything , of course, but i do my best. And, its really easy once you know what ingrediants to use.

I found that EB STONE has a great assortment of really good organic products if you have thebudget for it.

Meg - you can mix a little alfalfa meal into your vermicompost bin.  The worms will eat it and it will just add some additional diversity to your worm tea.  Just don't put too much in as it does heat up.  

As far as organics go, you might find Howard Garret's show an additional source of information.

https://www.dirtdoctor.com/ 

True story.  I made my mother-in-law some compost tea and put it in an empty juice container and told her to use it as soon as she could while it was still good.  Weeks later I saw the container in her yard.  Come to find out she didn't use it because she thought it was drinkable tea made with compost.  I do make a lot of homemade stuff, but even I wouldn't go that far.

For organics I like what's already been suggested (alfalfa, vermi compost, fish, kelp).  Homemade compost is always good. 

Does anyone have any suggestions of where to get reasonably priced

Thanks for the tip, Solberi!

Cheryl, funny story:-). I just shop everywhere for good prices. I check circular papers for specials and then also compare to Amazon Prime prices, which is great because its free shipping and, the competition keeps prices at an on-line equilibrium.

thank you Meg.

Thanks for sharing your funny story, Cheryl.

Thanks, Meg.  Lots of fun stuff goes on around here.  I meant to add the word kelp at the end of that first post, how to find kelp reasonably priced.  If I lived near an ocean I'd know where to go.

Yes, this is a great forum! Actually, you can find liquid kelp anywhere. I have seen it at Home Depot "Pennington 32 oz. Pure Kelp Plant Food" for $10. But you can look it up on Amazon and find a good deal there too. My plants love it! Let me know how ut works for you.

I make my own compost and also have a work bin. I juice a lot and the worms love the juice pulp, I just make sure to juice citrus separately so that that doesn't go in the worm bin.

Hi, Diane! Yes, worms love pulp! I have been juicing for many years too but my juicer broke (old, old juicer) so i need a new one. Maybe i PM you about brand questions :-)

Yes, citrus, tomato, pineapple all separate. I do give my worms all watermelon remnants, which they love too.

Gosh, so glad you mentioned this!

Yeah, for sure, I've done lots of research on juicers.