Aphids and other leaf eating pests are now my number one nemesis in the garden. The ugly fence pretty much took care of my past rabbit issues. Normally I stock my garden with marigolds and other plants that attract beneficial insects that eat the aphids. That has worked really well in the past. But my finances are not allowing me to go out and purchase anything extra for my garden this year. I’m quite sad about it because I realized that the marigolds are what spared my exposed sunflowers from the rabbits too.
However, I’m not giving up my garden to the aphids. No ma’am/sir. I’m a fighter and will not give up my hard earned food to the little buggies that easy. This year I am exclusively using a homemade spray to keep off the aphids and other leaf eaters. Here’s the recipe:
Ingredients and Instructions:
7 cups filtered water
2-3 Tbsp dishwash liquid
3/4 cup olive oil (original recipe calls for canola but I am not putting that GM crap on my food!)
3-4 cloves of garlic, sliced or minced
1 Tbsp red pepper flakes
Put all ingredients into a half gallon container. Shake well and leave on counter for 24 hours to allow the garlic and pepper to permeate the liquid. Shake periodically. After 24 hours, mix well and place liquid in a spray bottle.
Directions for use:
Lightly mist the tops and ESPECIALLY the undersides of all the leaves in the garden. The aphids hide on the underside of leaves for protection from the sun and rain. So if you don’t spray there you might as well not even bother. Also, you will need to respray after each rain and watering as the residual will get washed away. Oh . . . and because it has garlic in it, do not use around green beans or other plants that do not grow well near or around garlic.
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What a timely post! I actually had to throw away the mint I got from the farmers’ market (still hadn’t repotted) because I woke up one day to find all the leaves completely eaten by a bright green creature that had gotten plump almost overnight by chewing on my leaves! I wish I’d seen this recipe for the bug repellent sooner. What kind of dishwashing liquid do you use? Also, how could the critter have gotten into the pot unless it came in the soil that was already there? Would there have been any way for me to prevent this? Should I have kept the plant?
For the dishwashing soap I would use a biodegradable type. Seventh generation makes one, but i think Tropical Traditions actually has the best because it is plant-based: http://secure.ttpurchase.com/7B1A9158-1E0B-90B3-0EB217A4F5F8F507
I wonder if it was a slug of some sort? Mint is usually pretty hardy so I am surprised that there was a bug that destroyed it. On pinterest I had seen something called a slug barrier. It is a type of lip that is added to pots that slugs can’t cross. If it is a crawling bug like a slug you can use crushed up egg shells too. However, this concoction should work as well because the garlic and soapy suds really do a number on the respiratory system of these little monsters.
Thanks for the response, Jen! I found an image of the critter: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Green_caterpillar_on_basil.jpg It’s a green caterpillar. I’ve saved the TT soap you recommended – I’ll order it as soon as I’m running low on my dishwasher detergent. I’ll also try the crushed egg shells next time. Do you know what the slug barrier is called?
This is the one I remember seeing: http://pinterest.com/pin/171277592048523057/ but then while searching i found this one and it looks like a good option too: http://www.gapphotos.com/imagedetails.asp?imageno=199319
I bet the egg shells will work on the caterpillar too.
I love how direct and to the point you are in your writings. I will not follow a pin if they are wordy. Wordy is fine if it is really saying something. I made a container of your aphid recipe and I am making another one now. The war of the aphids is on. Thanks
Enjoy Rita. I also used it on slugs right after a rain storm. Their little bodies just disintegrated. Poof!
Thanks for this recipe, Jen!
I am battling with aphids this week myself. They are attacking my beet leaves and spinach. Little stinkers.
I also read you can plant some perennials that attract beneficial bugs too. This way you don’t have to buy marigolds every year! I can’t find the original article I read, but this one might help:
http://www.hgtv.com/gardening/plants-to-attract-insects/pictures/index.html
Thanks Carolyn. I will look into it! I worry about perennials taking over the veggies garden, but maybe there are a few that are manageable that I can stick in there if I get some extra funds.
Hope the spray works for you!
Agreed, I am planning to plant some around the perimeter of my garden or just near it so they don’t take over.
Happy gardening to you!
Thank you for this post. I’m going to make some and try it.
Yea! Come back and let me know how it works for you.
Even though I’ve been an organic gardener for 40+ years I still love to read about gardening triumphs and woes and see others sharing their knowledge!
Your spray sounds like a good one! For slugs I usually use diatomaceous earth, also known as DE or fossil shell flour (entirely organic). It’s finely ground little pre-historic diatoms that just feel like powder to us, but it cuts insects’ soft bodies and they ooze all their fluids… ewww. I get it here:
http://www.gardenharvestsupply.com/ProductCart/pc/Diatomaceous-Earth-Food-Grade-p39.htm
Oh, by the way, aphids don’t do all that chewing damage shown in your picture – they don’t chew plants at all, they suck the plant’s juices like miniature vampires. There isn’t really a visible hole or anything like that in the leaves, they like the tender growing tips. A few aphids aren’t going to hurt, it’s only when you have hundreds and hundreds that you have a problem.
Your poor bean plant looks like it’s been gnawed on by a particularly nasty little striped beetle that’s currently attacking my beans too. I haven’t identified it yet – it’s NOT a Mexican bean beetle – and have been keeping my plants well dusted with DE. I’ll be interested in hearing how your spray works for the beans… I may have to whip up a batch!
Sandi, I figured out it is slugs. I caught them red handed lately. The spray works good on them. I don’t want to use DE because that will kill my beneficials too. I seriously thought about it, but decided I wanted to build a balance instead of killing off what I didn’t want. Ideally beneficial plants would be the best, but alas I can’t afford them this year.
Thanks for sharing this! What a great solution to have at hand this summer. I am stopping by from Simple Lives Thursday and I am a new twitter follower. Have a great week and good luck with the pests!
Thanks for stopping by Becky. I just saw your follow on Twitter. I look forward to interacting with you over there.
Thank you sharing such a great recipe. I’ll be sharing a post in the very near future on just how easy it is to plant marigolds year after year. I haven’t purchased a flower for my flower gardens in 3 years! The prices kept going up and up and I just refused to pay that price for flowers or vegetables.
At any rate, I invite you to share your recipe with my hop. It’s not necessarily a ‘foodie’ recipe, but I think my reader’s would appreciate the information you have given ☺ Hope to see you there!
Mary, I hear ya! Prices at the garden center have gotten outrageous. Please post your ideas on our Freaky Friday blog carnival and let us know how you are saving in the garden!
Will do Jen! Thanks for sharing it in our hop. Not everyone may take a look at it but if just one person does, then you have helped someone.
So glad that I came across your site and am following!
I love it! Great garden “recipe”!
[...] Gardening: Controlling Leaf Eating Pests from Real Food Freaks. This is a simple solution to these pests! [...]
Most if not all of my peach and cherry tree leafs are being destroyed,eaten- but I can`t see why,because I can`t find any beatles or aphids.It`s as though they are eaten at night.So whats up?
John I don’t know what that could be. You should have an arborist look at your trees. Maybe they could tell you?
Hi Jen,
We’re having our inaugural Eat Make Grow Blog Hop. We are looking for folks to link up who want to share what they have been eating with their families, growing in their gardens or making with all their creative impulses. If you’re interested, I hope you’ll hop on over and link up a couple of your posts. It’s a way for you to grow your readership and find other like minded mamas.
Hope to see you there,
Foy
http://foyupdate.blogspot.com/2012/08/inaugural-eat-make-grow-blog-hop.html
Thanks for the info. I am still wondering what will take care of the squash (ie. stink) bugs??????
hmmm, squash bugs are different than stink bugs but I am having trouble with both! My first year of gardening the stink bugs were out of control. Now they are there but not so bad. I think they finally have met their match with a local bug that has found them tasty. I have more wolf spiders in my garden now and they are eating them! I know that sounds creepy but they do work.
I still haven’t found an answer to the squash worms. They are a huge pain. It always looks like I am going to get a great supply of squash and then they never fully ripen because those stupid worms get into the vine. I’m still looking. Will let you know what I come up with, but I am guessing the answer will be the marigolds coming back next year!
Marigolds grow great from seed, I spent $1.29 on one seed packet at the beginning of the planting season and had marigolds all season long, still do in fact. I leave to dry on the stem, then just “dead head” and spread all those seeds back into the garden, I still have new plants popping up throughout my veggies.
Lee Anna. That’s a good tip for getting the seed at the end of the season. If I grow marigolds from seed it will have to be in the ground though. I tried to grow them with the rest of my indoor seedlings my first year and it was too overwhelming. I guess in the ground is how most wise gardeners do it anyway. I was just a little to ambitious and got burned out with it and started buying them. I also like that they were already grown and ready to ‘protect’ right when they went in the ground.
I may take your suggestion next summer.
[...] Spray For Controlling Leaf Eating Pestsfrom Real Food Freaks [...]
What can I use that is pet friendly for hostas that are getting eaten by deer and or rabbits?
Do you think it might work on grape vines??? Japanese beetles are destroying the leaves. Tried the bags and all that did was attract MORE beetles. Thanks for any help out there.
My uncle worked at a nursery and they would go out first thing in the morning while the plants still had dew and shaker dust them with hardwood ash. He said they didn’t have many problems with bugs of any kind. They may have done this weekly. Also crushed eggshells will keep slugs off of your plants if you put a circle of them around the base.
Snails and slugs won’t cross copper. There’s a thin copper tape available at some garden centers but it doesn’t last well from season to season, and it’s not inexpensive. Maybe we could string those copper fittings together that some of us have laying around from our household plumbing projects and it would do the same. Be creative!!
ME ENCANTAN SUS CONSEJOS GRACIAS, PERO DIGAME LAS HOJUELAS DEL PIMIENTOS ROJOS ES LAS SEMILLAS O ES PIMIENTAS ROJAS O DE CAYENA, GRACIAS ESTOY CONFUNDIDA.
Puedes verlas aqui:
http://www.amazon.com/Frontier-Peppers-Crushed-Certified-Organic/dp/B001VNKZCS/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1366564699&sr=8-4&keywords=red+pepper+flakes
Thanks to all Gardner’s I’m having a check of a time with the same critters. I’m trying everyone’s tips. I’m a rookie on this site however if I find great stuff like this, I’ll b a pro in no time. Thank you all Kim G, Delaware
I have 2 gallons of marigold seeds I saved. Love to send you a lot.
mcmtmlg@yahoo.com
You can save marigold seeds after the flower has died and dried out. Just pull the seeds from where the flower bud was, they look like long tan and black spikes.