I am finding aphids (black ones, reddish pink ones) on my tomato plants. Right now I am just scraping them off by hand. (But it seems like they're winning the battle!) Any other organic suggestions?
A sharp water stream will knock the wee buggers off. It does not necessarily need to be from a hose nozzle however, just a 1 quart spray bottle works quite well.
Ladybugs will do the trick too. You can buy them or wait for them to come of their own accord if you have the patience and suitable habitat. If you buy them and you don't have adequate habitat (water source, shelter, etc.--if you have a diverse garden, nearby trees, lots of mulch, you're probably fine) they will still eat your current crop of aphids, and then go elsewhere (and the few surviving aphids will reproduce and soon you'll have to buy or harvest ladybugs again).
But if you have good habitat, most likely they will come of their own accord eventually. They certainly have for me this year and in the past. Then they establish their own equilibrium with the aphids, keeping things in check.
