Thymeguard

Thymeguard --which is some sort of a concentrated oil made from Thyme-- sounds quite good and also rather scary. One thing I read appears to say that it is indiscriminate in what it kills. Do you have experience with Thymeguard? Do you recommend using it? In general, I think that using teas and oils from aromatic herbs should be a good thing. I've currently got buckets of homemade Nettle tea, Comfrey tea and Horsetail tea ready to spray in a few days.

John Bunker, Palermo Maine

Hi John,

I posed this question to the cider forum related specifically to fire blight. Not sure if the discussion is relevant to what you're looking to use Thyme Guard for, but it could be.

Thread:
[groups.google.com]

I didn't end up using Thyme Guard this year as local conditions in Northeast Ohio didn't seem to conducive to fb infection. So far I haven't seen any blossom or shoot blight, so I'm glad I didn't end up spraying it. But I've also learned in complex systems that I can't necessarily use successful outcomes as a validation of my decision-making process!

Matt

I purchased a quart this very spring thinking I might try Thyme Guard for pear blister mite. Toning down use of neem at the time this pest becomes obvious in unfurling leaves coincides with when certain pear varieties exhibit more sensitivity to fatty acids. Getting at blister mites inside the leaf tissue requires something equally systemic as the azadirachtins in neem, and essential oils of thyme seemed worth a trial. Only so far no pear blister mite at all… so apparently merely purchasing Thyme Guard works!

Lost Nation Orchard
Zone 4b in New Hampshire



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/05/2021 02:32PM by Michael Phillips.