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Friday, June 10, 2011

Pest Control for the Garden from the Kitchen

gardenremedies
Bugs don’t normally bug me when they are outside. But when they eat my plants I am not happy. They are pests. Now as you may know I prefer to garden organically. So how do you control pests in the organic garden? Why with remedies from the kitchen of course.
  • Spray with Soapy Water with a few drops of hot sauce – you can use a safe soap like a castile soap or even Ivory  Dish Detergent.
  • Beer – after you take a sip of that beer, pour some in a shallow dish to combat snails and slugs.
  • Salt – Sprinkle salt on slugs and pour down ant hills, you can also use salt mixed with water to spray on weeds to kill them
  • Potatoes – this tip comes to me via HGTV Bury some in the soil. The potatoes lure all the bad bugs that typically eat root crops. Once all the bad bugs are in one spot remove  potatoes and mash tem. Just take a potato and slice it into smaller sections. Poke a skewer through each section. Bury the potatoes a couple of inches in the soil. Space each slice about a foot or so apart in your root crops. The skewers stick up through the soil to help you find the potatoes later. In a couple of weeks, pull the potatoes up to reveal all kinds of bad bugs that would otherwise be eating your crops. Remove the bugs from the potatoes and squash the little culprits.
  • Use Diluted Vinegar – for acid loving plants
  • Remove them by hand – This is a time tested method for bigger pests like Japanese Beetles. When I was a kid we would remove them to a mason jar filled with water and a little alcohol. We thought it was great fun and I don’t think we were even paid.
  • Chili Powder – this can be sprinkled around the garden, or added to a soapy water solution to spray on the plants. You might not want to use it the day you harvest the vegetables.
  • Garlic Oil Spray –  this is a great one to try. Just  put three to four cloves of minced garlic into two teaspoons of mineral oil. Let the mixture sit overnight, and then strain the garlic out of the oil. Add the oil to one pint of water, and add a teaspoon of biodegradable dish soap. Store in a bottle or jar, and dilute the mixture when you use it by adding two tablespoons of your garlic oil mixture to one pint of water. This mixture works because the compounds in garlic  are irritating or deadly to many insects. The oil and soap help the mixture stick to plant leaves. What insects does garlic oil repel?  Planet Discovery cautions you to not apply this spray on a sunny day, because the oils can cause foliage to burn.
Keep in mind that because a substance is natural does not mean you can abuse it. and that the best defense is a good offense, Having healthy soil and keeping in mulched does a long way.
What are some of your favorite natural pest control methods in the garden?

8 comments:

Holly said...

That beer tip has some potential around here. We have many snails, but I'm not sure we have enough beer to share. ;-D

Lisa - the Granola Catholic said...

Okay Holly you don't need much beer. The snails don't drink much. ;-)

StinkyLittleFeet said...

Thanks for the tips! Our plants always get eated by nasty bugs- especially the tomato plants. I'm always scared of spraying them with chemicals. Hopefully this will do the trick...

Mariah @ FormulaMom.com said...

Stopping by to stalk you from this week's Super Stalker Sunday! Thanks for linking up. I hope you'll join us again next week!

I also stumbled this post! Great ideas!

Stop by and visit Formula Mom when you get a chance!

CentsLessDeals said...

Love this post!! It just proves there's nothing you can't do with a little vinegar and baking soda ;)

I'm a new fan from the blog hop and your newest follower on GFC :) I would love it if you would follow me back

http://www.centslessdeals.com

Thanks!

~JB

Lisa - the Granola Catholic said...

Mariah, thanks for stopping by and double thanks for the stumble.

Unknown said...

Hi! I came over from the blog hop and I am now a new follower of your blog thru GFC and I also followed on Facebook. I would really appreciate a follow back on both of those if you don't mind. No big rush, just when you have some free time. Thanks and have a wonderful day.

Mary@http://www.mmbearcupoftea.com

Emily said...

Hi there!

These are great tips! I'm bookmarking this to reference.

Thanks for linking up with Super Stalker Sunday hop again. There are so many wonderful blogs participating, I hope you've found a few that you enjoy. Be sure to join us again next week!

Your Co-Host,
Emily from Nap Time Is My Time

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