Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Natural Garden Recipes for Pest and Disease Control


Earth Day is April 22, and I will be doing some posts with that theme in mind this month.

Many natural mixtures work just as effectively as chemicals in deterring pests and preventing diseases in the garden. Over the years, I have found several recipes that work very well.



Fungicide

Mix one part milk to ten parts water. Use as a fungal preventative or to treat small areas.


Slug and Snail Control

Pour beer in a shallow container and bury into the ground up to the rim, leaving the rim above ground about 1/2 to 3/4 inch above the soil. The slugs/snails are attracted to the beer, fall in, and drown.

Spider Mite Control

Mix 3 tablespoons of dishwashing liquid with 1 gallon water. Spray on affected areas. If necessary, reapply every 5 to 6 days.


General Pest Deterrent

- Garlic Fire Spray - 2 to 3 garlic bulbs, 6 large hot chili peppers or 1 to 2 tablespoons of hot chili powder, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, 3 squirts of dishwashing liquid, and 7 cups of water. Mix all the ingredients in the blender with only some of the water. Strain through a cheesecloth, and add the remaining water. Pour some into a spray bottle and store the remaining mixture in jars.

- Mix one cup of tomato plant leaves with two cups of water in a blender. Let soak overnight, then strain through cheesecloth. Spray on plants.

Deer and Rabbit Deterrents

Mix blood meal with a bit of compost or organic soil and spread around plants.

Sources:

Stanford University
Denison University
Oregon State University

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I am hosting the Earth Day Reading Project blog meme again this year to celebrate Earth Day. The Earth Day Reading Project is a month long blog meme where bloggers are asked to share in a post what books:

- inspired them to live or garden more sustainably - or -
- inspire their love of nature

and then post it to the meme. If you would like to join in, click the image below:

TheSageButterfly


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I have been nominated for the Sunshine Award by Virginia at Tangent Gardening and Holley of Roses and Other Gardening Joys. Virginia writes about her garden so effortlessly and charmingly on her blog. I often feel as if I am along with her as she shops for plants or garden wares or as she sows seeds. Holley makes rose gardening seem so easy, and she shares many of her gardening surprises and tips with us on a regular basis. She also hosts a monthly meme, Garden Book Reviews, on the 20th of each month. I am honored to be nominated for this award from some of my favorite fellow garden bloggers. And Sunshine is so apt for us gardeners and for me on a personal level. Thank you very much!


The rules state that I am to answer 10 questions and nominate 10 bloggers for the award.

Questions

1. What is your favorite color?   - green -
2. What is your favorite animal?   - cat -
3. What is your favorite number?   - nine -
4. What is your favorite non-alcoholic drink?   - hot cocoa -
5. What is your favorite - Facebook or Twitter?   - um...Google+ -
6. What is your passion?   - gardening -
7. Do you prefer giving or receiving presents?   - I am better at giving, but I am trying to create more balance. So, I'll say both.
8. What is your favorite pattern?   - paisley -
9. What is your favorite day of the week?   - Friday -
10. What is your favorite flower?   - This changes from year to year, so I will list some of them. gladiolus, hydrangea, coneflower (echinacea), geranium, gerbera daisy -

Ten Blogs



© copyright 2012 Michelle A. Potter

49 comments:

  1. These are some of the most beautiful flower pictures I've ever seen. Thank you so much for thinking of our blog for the Sunshine Award. I appreciate it so much. What even made me smile more is when I saw the song, "What A Wonderful World" above your comments. I'm not sure if I ever mentioned to you or not, but that is my most favorite song. It reminds me of my dad, who passed away over 20 years ago. Your photos are so vibrant with color and always make me happy. Thank you, again, for thinking of us, and I hope you have a good week. What a wonderful world it is, indeed.
    ~Sheri at Red Rose Alley

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Sheri. I am glad you enjoy the award. And that is one of my favorite songs as well. It always makes me smile.

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  2. I often need the remedies but never know how they work...I wil give a few a try this season..especially the spider mite one..thx

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    Replies
    1. I hope it helps, Donna. These are ones I have tried with some success.

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  3. flowering quince is so pretty...is that cameo? love the color. thank you for nominating my blog for a sunshine award! makes me feel sunshiny whether i am or not! :)

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    1. Yes, Daricia, that is cameo. I love the color. I am glad you are happy about the award. You deserve it!

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  4. Good selection of tips. But the one on slugs drowning in beer never seemed to work here. They would appear dead but really were just drunk. I never found a dead one in the beer. The spider mite mix works great, but HAS to be reapplied. It has to do with the new hatching of mites. The first group will be killed, but replacements are waiting and not affected by the spray. Trees at the nursery are sometimes affected and it really is a chore to get rid of the mites. It takes some patience and multiple applications.

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    1. I find them upside down as if they are dead. They do not come back to life. The container needs to be deep enough so they cannot escape.

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  5. These are great tips! I use the beer on my slugs and it works every time. My slugs are very cheap drunks, fortunately! I've had mites infest my verbena before so I'm going to give those other recipes a try, too. Thanks for all the good info and congrats on the award. It always feels good to be recognized! :o)

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    Replies
    1. Slugs do seem to like their beer. I hope the mite recipe helps.

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  6. Great tips, I wish I could use blood and bone for the rabbits here (I didn't realise you had a problem with them there). Unfortunately, I discovered this week when planting winter veges that he is very attracted to the blood and bone - poor seedlings!

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  7. I always find a couple of slugs and snails lately. When I read your beer recipe, I thought of giving it a try. Thanks for the lovely tips! With kids running around and some pets in the garden, I go for natural pests control.

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  8. Thanks for all the natural pest deterrent recipes!! I've heard of the bear for the slugs, but most of these others are new to me. If I have any of these problems, I'll know EXACTLY where to come back to for solutions (no pun intended).

    And thank so much, Michelle, for nominating Your Gardening Friend!!!

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  9. These are great advising, especially for me that I try to build my garden from scratch. I will refer to your advice very often, it seems :)

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  10. I appreciate these recipes. There are several I'm going to try! I'm glad to see that you listed some 'new to me' blogs. I'll have fun checking them out! :)

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  11. Great tips. Really appreciates you share the 'secret' here ;) Thanks so much for nominate me for the awards ;)

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  12. I am keeping the fungicide in mind. I have problems with fungus on my squash and pumpkin plants to the point where fruit production is really poor.

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  13. Thank you for all the useful information! I had not heard of the milk spray idea. I'll have to give it a try. I'm generally such a lazy gardener that my approach to organic pest and disease control is to just not grow things if they can't be healthy on their own!

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  14. I'm trying to get rid of aphids organically. I tried soapy water last year. It washed them off but didn't stop them coming back. Your general pest deterrent sounds much more potent.

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  15. I'd love to know of something which keeps badgers away. They come in the garden and root around in my neat mulch looking for slugs etc. It looks a right mess then and I have to waste valuable time sorting it out.

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  16. Thanks for the tips. I'd not heard the one about milk as a fungicide before. Might give that a try.

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  17. Thanks for sharing your recipes and tips. Also, congratulations on your Sunshine Award nomination.
    All the best! :-)

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  18. Thanks for these quick and easy recipes. As you show, it is really not necessary to reach for the nasty chemicals.

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  19. Thanks. This is really useful info - the chilli/garlic oil spray sounds horrible!

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  20. I've used the beer one quite a bit for slugs with great success. It's impressive how big those slugs can get! I always try for natural remedies first - I hate having chemicals in the garden with kids and all the wildlife!

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  21. Mmmm....beer. I have to find an alternative I'm willing to part with!! As always, your blog is very helpful and I enjoy it very much.

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  22. Thanks for the excellent tips! I copied the milk recipe from another post last year and plan to try that as a fungicide this year.

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  23. Great tips. Must try the deer and rabbit deterrent. Thank you for nominating me for the Sunshine award. I have every intention of paying it forward, but I'll need about a week to do it. I'm on dial-up. Takes a long time to go hither and yon online. Took me over an hour yesterday just to follow one blogger, so I hop you understand. Thanks again. I enjoy following your posts.
    Lorraine

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  24. I look forward to trying your remedies. Thank you for the sunshine nomination - it was a lovely surprise and I'm so pleased x

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  25. I am so sorry, I've got so much on my plate with my daughter and the whole motherhood thingy that I didn't remember to congratulate you for your Sunshine Award. You truly deserve every bit of it and a lots more :)

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  26. Sorry it took me so long to respond, but my job keeps me so busy that I only have time to check my e-mail and comments on weekends. Oh my goodness! I can't believe you nominated my for a Sunshine Award. After all, I'm just a newbie and I'm hardly worthy, but you certainly are. Thank you so much for thinking of me. I only hope that someday my frugal gardening blog can be as wonderful as yours. Take care and happy gardening! :-)

    Angela

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  27. I always enjoy your recommendations. Thank you.

    I've been having particular issues with slugs and although the beer works, it is a little gross for me and doesn't hold up to lots of rain. Have you seen these little bracelets of copper called slug shields? They look like an organic solution that stays on the whole season.?.?

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  28. I have a terrible problem with rabbits. I have found that placing several rubber or plastic snakes around the garden works great. I sometimes re-arrange them, and drape them from rocks or bushes near my seedlings so that they move around with the breeze. This year I'm using rabbit fence for my winter seedlings; nothing else seemed to work!

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  29. Take control over your garden and get rid of those pets without doing harm to the environment because of the use of harmful chemicals. The presence of grass and plants in your property adds life to the area but you also have to be responsible and do your part in handling pests to avoid problems.

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  31. You don't have to suffer with pests or harm the environment trying to get rid of them just to enjoy all of the outdoor activities of the season. There are many eco-friendly ways to approach pest control, whether the problem is slugs on your patio or a snake in the pool. We no longer have to rely on harsh chemicals to enjoy the summer.

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'I see trees of green, red roses, too
I see 'em bloom for me and for you
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world'
--What a Wonderful World

Thank you for visiting The Sage Butterfly blog. I enjoy reading your charming reflections very much. Have a great day!

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