Cultivation - Ants keep stealing SWIMs seeds!

[Jonro]

So every time SWIM goes and lays down a layer of seeds on his garden bed he comes back the next day to see the last of them being carried away by ants. This happens every time and SWIM has had to resort to sprouting them in little pots. SWIM is like WTF how can ants eat these and not OD? And What can SWIM do to ward off these little bastards? This may sound like BS but this is %100 true. ??

[samuraigecko]

Unsure about ants, but one knows that birds are not affected by it. Insects may not have the right NS set up or perhaps the correct receptors to even use opiates and therefor would not be bothered by them.

Sprinkle a thin layer of dirt over the seeds (make sure its only thin) this will perhaps stop the ants from finding the seeds. Change the position, ants get used to going back to the same spot.

Peace

[fnord]

try putting out another source of food,might distract them form the seeds. or use ant poison,boric acid is found in alot of pharmacy's OTC,and i believe kills ants.

[Potter]

Boric Acid, or Borax, should not be applied to the soil willy nilly, it's very toxic and will wipe out beneficial insects as well. If it's birds that are eating your seeds, it could very well kill them too. Use traps to hold the poison.

You would be better off making a tea out of cloves, chili peppers, and tobacco (unless you have other nightshades in the garden, you don't want TMV tobacco mosaic virus), to spray over the seeds. This will make them unpalatable. Diatomaceous earth, used in pool filters can also be used as an effective ant barrier, just make sure to use proper safety equipment, you do not want to breath that stuff in.

Sugar water with yeast can be an excellent means of ant control. They take the yeast back to the colony where it grows and the infection wipes them out.

You could also get your seeds sprouted indoors and transfer the seedling once they've gotten some leaves on them.

Honestly, insecticides rarely benefit your garden, they may remove one pest, but they fail to resolve the underlying issues. Lack of plant diversity, proper airflow and light levels, poor soil, and lack of beneficial are all major contributions to pest infestation.

Of course if there's a big old fire ant nest in the middle of your garden, you're well with in your rights to wipe it out, but for the most part, ants are not a threat to your garden and should be left alone.

How many seeds are you laying out? Nobody would assume if you put out enough of them, that what ever is eating them will eventually miss a few. Nobody has been planting poppy seeds in half pound batches them self.

Are you sure you aren't simply not seeing itty bitty poppy seeds mixed in with the soil? They are easy to overlook.

[samuraigecko]

Originally Posted by Potter

You could also get your seeds sprouted indoors and transfer the seedling once they've gotten some leaves on them.

One would advise against doing this. Papaver Somniferum does not transplant well. Even though it is achieved sometimes by some avid green thumb people, the majority of people report and experience failure here.

Peace

[fnord]

i would suggest these for transplanting poppy's if you line the bottom with plastic the tap root should stay inside the peat starter and should cause no damage when translating.

This works for grandma but granny's one of those avid Gardner types..

[samuraigecko]

Peat pellets work good for an initial transplantation, although even changes of temp and light conditions when younger can cause losses.

For already existing plants transplanting is pretty much a no no.