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You want to be an organic gardener, you really do. You've attracted beneficial insectsand birds to watch over your garden. You've planted some marigolds to ward off nematodes. You've even planted gopher purge to, uhm, purge gophers, but you still have whiteflies and aphids everywhere.
You are at wit's end. You're just about to go out and buy pesticides. "Well, wait," I would say if you were actually having this discussion with me. (I am aware that we are not actually speaking.) And you might say. "Okay. I will wait." And then I would tell you this.
You can make all-natural pesticides from the garlic that you are growing in your garden. You'll not have to worry about those horrible chemicals, unless you are Nosferatu. Garlic-based pesticides ward off aphids, cabbage loopers, grasshopper, June bugs, leafhoppers, mite, squash bug, slugs and whiteflies. Garlic also prevents fungus and has antibacterial properties.
How to make Garlic pesticide
From GH Organics:
To make: Combine 3 ounces of minced garlic cloves with 1 ounce of mineral oil.Let soak for 24 hours or longer. Strain.
Next mix 1 teaspoon of fish emulsion with 16 ounces of water. Add 1 tablespoon of castile soap to this.
Now slowly combine the fish emulsion water with the garlic oil. Kept in a sealed glass container this mixturewill stay viable for several months. To use: Mix 2 tablespoons of garlic oil with 1 pint of water and spray.
When working with oil sprays you want to monitor the climate conditions so your plants won't get phytotoxic burn. Use this simple equation: Take the current outdoor Fahrenheit temperature then add to this the percentage of humidity, if the total is more than 140 don't spray.
Example: Temperature of 80 degrees plus humidity of 67 percent equals 147, don't spray. You also do not want to spray when temps are above 80F.
Garlic spray can damage blue spruce, so be warned.
