| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
Gail
garden sage
Australia
7707 Posts |
 Posted - 08/07/2007 : 05:26:40
|
I thought it would be a good idea to start a topic on natural remedies for plant pests and diseases. Tessa might make it a sticky. Other people can add to it as well if they have any hints.
Here are a few hints that I have copied from my notes which I have collected over the years. I also can't credit were they come from as I don't know where I have gotten them from anymore. I haven't used all of them and can't vouch for their effectiveness as well as what works in one place may not work in another. I also have a table I have done up for companion planting but I'll put that as a new topic.
To keep APHIDS and OTHER PESTS off your roses: Finely chop 1 onion and 2 medium cloves of garlic.
Put ingredients into a blender with 2 cups of water and blend on high. Strain out pulp. Pour liquid into spray bottle. Spray a fine mist on rose bushes, making sure to coat both tops and bottoms of leaves.
GARLIC SPRAY. Chop 90 grams of garlic, cover with mineral oil let soak over night, strain, add 1 litre of soapy water and store in a glass jar with a sealed lid. Dilute one part garlic to 50 parts water for use in spraying.
ALUMINUM FOIL "FOILS" APHIDS
Use an aluminum foil much around the base of plants such as tomatoes. The reflection confuses the insects and drives them away.
GENERAL PESTICIDE
3 hot green peppers (canned or fresh)
2 or 3 cloves garlic
3/4 tsp liquid soap
3 cups water
Puree the peppers and garlic cloves in a blender. Pour into a spray bottle and add the liquid soap and water. Let stand 24 hours. Strain out pulp and spray onto infested plants, making sure to coat both tops and bottoms of leaves.
AGAINST INSECT PESTS:
1. Soapy water (NOT detergent). Try to find one based on caustic potash, rather than caustic soda and mix well with water until frothy (you’ll need more soap in hard water areas). For aphids and other soft-shelled insects
2. Oil sprays suffocate insects. Boil 1 kg soap with 8L of oil, stirring until dissolved. Dilute 1:20 with water just before use. Spray on cool days only.
3. Tomato leaf spray (very poisonous). Cover leaves with water, boil and cool. Use immediately as a general insecticide.
4. Pyrethrum spray. Pick almost-open flowers of Tanacetum cinerariifolium and dry in a cool place. Cover a few tablespoons of flowers with cheap sherry, steep overnight and mix with a litre of hot soapy water. Cool and use within a few days as a general insecticide. Store in a dark place.
5. Wormwood spray. Infuse leaves in boiling water and leave for a few hours. Dilute 1:4 and use for sap-sucking insects.
6. Chilli spray – equal volumes chilli and water blended and sprayed fresh onto caterpillars. (Prevent contact with eyes and skin.)
7. Lapsang Souchong tea – a strong brew (1 tbspn in a pot) deters possums from nipping rose tips
8. Many other materials can be used to make insect sprays. Depending on what you have available, try -quassia, garlic, marigolds, melaleuca, parsnips, turnips, eucalyptus, larkspur, elder, white cedar (Melia azaderach) or rhubarb (Please note: larkspur, elder (except for ripe berries) white cedar and rhubarb leaves are all highly toxic to humans.)
AGAINST FUNGAL DISEASES:
The following plants reportedly contain antifungal or antibacterial chemicals that you can extract via infusion to spray onto crops:
Chamomile, chives, sheoak (Allocasuarina), elder, eucalyptus, garlic, horseradish, hyssop, melaleuca (tea-tree), neem (Azadirachta indica), nettle (Urtica dioica), and thyme.
ANTIFUNGALS:
1. Milk spray: a 1:1 mix of milk and water reportedly controls black spot on roses and fungal diseases on other plants
2. Fresh urine (a healthy person’s urine is sterile)
3. Condy’s Crystals: 1gram/L of potassium permanganate. Use immediately.
4. Washing soda: 110g dissolved in 5.5L water. Add 56g soap and use immediately.
5. Bordeaux mixture: In a bucket completely dissolve 90g of copper sulphate in 6.5L water. In another bucket, thoroughly mix 125g brickies lime with 2.5L water and strain into first bucket. Mix well and use immediately.
6. Dusting sulphur
BORDEAUX MIXTURE: This is a standard organic fungicide used to treat a wide range of rots, mildews, and blights. Mix 90g of copper sulphate (bluestone) with 4.5 litres of hot water in a non metallic container and leave overnight. Next day mix 125g slaked lime with 4.5 litres of cold water in a non metallic container. Combine both mixtures by stirring vigorously. Use immediately. An oil like Codacide can be added to increase its effectiveness.
Bordeaux spray may clog nozzles. Also, if over-used, it may lead to a build up of copper in the soil and associated toxicity.
OTHER PEST CONTROL HINTS.
1. Use companion plants that mask the scent or appearance of desirable crops.
Many highly aromatic plants contain chemicals designed to make them unattractive to pests. Camphor, mints, scented pelargoniums, wormwood, southernwood, lavender, balm of Gilead, rosemary, sage and many other herbs have spicy/bitter scents rather than sweet ones. When actively growing amongst desirable crops, these herbs can confuse pest insects by masking attractive scents.
2. Use companion plants that act as trap, sacrifice or indicator crops.
Some plants, including nasturtium, mustard and Chinese cabbage, can be used as decoys so that pests attack them rather than your crop. Roses planted along the edges of vineyards deter human predators but also provide early warning of mildew disease!
3. Use Physical Pest Controls
The good ol’ "see ’em and squash ’em" technique still works a treat for snails and slugs. Attract them with beer in a jar sunk into the ground, or lay a wooden plank a centimetre above the ground – they’ll shelter underneath it and you can squash them in the morning. Yellow boards painted with sticky oil will attract aphids. Control ants to reduce aphid and scale infestations on trees – a band of grease will stop them climbing the trunk. Codling moth can also be reduced by banding trees with corrugated cardboard soaked in derris spray.
ORGANIC SPRAY.
Quarter fill your spray bottle with vinegar, a teaspoon each of molasses (melt down in a cup of hot water) and liquid soap, top up with tap water.
BUG JUICE.
Collect by hand the nuisance pest, bug, grub or snail from your garden. Place the bug(s) into a blender, cover with fresh water and switch on. DON'T FORGET THE LID.
Then strain, dilute 1 part to 20 parts of water into a spray bottle. Spray the juice on the underside of the leaves as well as on top.
MILK.
Milk is effective against a range of mildews on peas, pumpkins and cucumber leaves. Use equal parts milk and water and spray every couple of days until the mildew is under control. If the mildew is out of control remove the affected leaves to avoid the mildew from spreading and do not water at night, try watering in the mornings.
MOLASSES SPRAY
Molasses is a good deterrent sticky spray, ideal for cabbage moths and grubs on the Brassicas.
Blend 1 tablespoon of molasses with 1 litre of hot water until the colour of weak tea, then mix in one tea spoon of detergent, which will help the molasses to stick to the leaves, spray top and under side of the leaves. You could also add vinegar to this brew to make it more potent.
VINEGAR SPRAY for cabbage moths and grubs on the Brassicas.
Blend 1/4 vinegar with 3/4 of water, then mix in one tea spoon of detergent, which will help the vinegar to stick to the grubs, bugs and leaves of the plant, spray top and under side of the leaves. You can also add molasses to this brew.
VEGETABLE OIL.
1 table spoon of dishwashing detergent & 1 cup of vegetable oil. Mix together and store in an air tight bottle. When required add 1 to 2 ½ tea spoons of brew to 1 cup of water in a spray bottle, spray on plants covering all leaf and stem surfaces.
CHAMOMILE TEA is a mild fungicide. Pour boiling water over a chamomile tea bag, leave to steep for ten minutes, when cool use as a spray.
PYRETHRUM. (Harmless to animals and humans) Two heaped tablespoon pyrethrum flowers, stand in one litre of hot soapy water for one hour, strain and use (the soap will help the spray to stick on the plants). Do not inhale the fumes as they are toxic.
CHILLI PEPPER. Blend fresh chillies in water, add pure soap, strain and spray. Acts as a stomach poison and can be used against caterpillars. Spray along ant trails or kitchen shelves as an ant repellent. Used by beekeepers to keep ants from hives.
WORMWOOD. Cover leaves in boiling water, infuse several hours. Dilute 1 part brew 4 parts water, use as a spray. It has very pungent qualities which makes it useful against soft bodied insects. Good aphid and fly spray. General repellent for fleas, flies, housemoth, ants and snakes.
RHUBARB. A spray made from rhubarb leaves is harmless to bees and breaks down quickly, but it is harmful to humans, so be sure to keep it out of the reach of children. Boil 1 kilogram of leaves in 3 litres of water for half an hour, strain, add some soap. Dilute with equal parts of water before spraying.
VEGETABLE OIL spray recipe
Mix 1 tbsp of liquid soap with 1 cup of vegetable oil. Dilute as required using 1-2.5 tsp of the mixture to 1 cup of water.
Oil sprays can cause burning when applied to sensitive plants. If in doubt, test a plant sample first and wait 2-3 days to see if burning results. Oil sprays can also cause burning if applied when shade temperatures exceed 29 degrees celcius or when applied within 4 weeks of a sulfur spray such as wettable sulfur or lime sulfur.
INSECTICIDAL POTASSIUM SOAP.
Insecticidal potassium soap has a high salt content which when sprayed on susceptible insects desiccates and kills them. Being a contact insecticide, the target insect must come into direct contact with the spray, so good coverage is essential for optimum results. Susceptible insects include aphids, mealybug, some mite species, thrip and whitefly. Potassium based soap products available on the home garden market include, 'Moeco Neemtech', 'Yates Green Earth aphid-mite spray', 'Multicrop BugGuard' and 'Spraytech or Yates Naturasoap'.
PURE SOAP
Pure soap when mixed with water can be used as a natural insecticide for the control of some sap-sucking insect pests, including aphids and mealy bugs. It is a contact insecticide and works by breaking down the insect’s exoskeleton, causing it to dehydrate and die.
SULFER
Sulfur is registered as a protectant and erradicant fungicide for the control of powdery mildew on vegetables and ornamentals, rust on vegetables and various fungal diseases on stonefruit.
Sulfur is also registered as an insecticide, for the control of mites on vegetables and ornamentals, grape leaf rust mite and grape leaf blister mite on grapes and white louse scale, citrus rust mite and citrus bud mite on citrus.
Sulfur should not be applied 21 days before or after an oil spray, in combination with an oil spray or when temperatures are expected to exceed 25 degrees celcius.
Sulfur can be purchased as 'Sulfur spray', 'Dusting sulfur', 'Powdered sulfur' or 'Wettable sulfur' and can be found in various other products in combination with 'mancozeb', 'copper oxychloride', 'rotenone' and 'carbaryl'.
LIME SULFER
Lime sulfur is registered to control powdery mildew on ornamentals and various diseases on stonefruit and apples. It is also registered as an insecticide for the control of some scale and mite species on various fruit trees, ornamentals and tomatoes.
Lime sulfur should not be applied when the air temperature is over 32 degrees celsius, after a copper spray in the same season or within 2 weeks of an oil spray.
CONDIES CRYSTALS (potassium permanganate)
Condies crystals can be mixed with water and sprayed onto plant foliage to control powdery mildew. They may also be useful as a contact spray for the control of aphids and slugs.
Condies crystal spray recipe
Mix 30g of condies crystals, 9L of warm water and 30 ml of petroleum oil. Spray undiluted.
MOLASSES
Molasses spray can be used as a feeding deterrent for chewing insects such as caterpillars and grasshoppers.
Molasses spray recipe
Mix 1 tbsp of molasses and 5 g of pure soap flakes in 1 L of water. Apply undiluted as required.
Molasses applied to soil infested with nematodes may reduce root galling and nematode reproduction.
Molasses soil treatment
Apply 38 ml of molasses per litre of water per square metre of soil per week.
MILK
Spraying equal parts full cream milk and water every 2 days may help control the fungal disease powdery mildew. Powdery mildew can be a problem in pea, tomato, capsicum and cucurbit crops.
VINEGAR
Vinegar spray may be useful in controlling caterpillars and sap-sucking insects such as stink bugs, aphids, and mealybugs.
Vinegar spray recipe
Mix 1 part vinegar with 3 parts water and add 5 g of pure soap flakes.
CHILLI SPRAY FOR APHIDS ON ROSES.
5 garlic cloves
3 hot chillies
2 litres of boiling water Steep overnight. Use in all garden sprayers.
GARLIC SPRAY general pest deterrent
10 garlic cloves
5 small hot chillies
3 medium onions
1 litre of water
Mix all ingredients together, bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes.Let stand overnight then add 2 tbsp. of milk. Store in labelled glass jars.Use by diluting 1 cup of the mixture to 9 litres of water. Use in all garden sprayers.
TO ERADICATE MILLIPEDES OR EARWIGS.
10 ml Eucalyptus Oil
10 ml Biodegradable Hair Shampoo
80 ml water
Mix all ingredients together and spray around on the ground at night.
POSSUM DETERRENT
300 grams of Quassia Chips, (Surinam Tree:- wood, bark or root of this and other trees yielding bitter medicinal decoction) to 1 litre of water.
Boil chips for 5 minutes. Strain and collect water mixture.
Spray on ground when cool.
SUFFOCATING SPRAYS
Many small insects, especially thrips and aphids, can be suffocated by being sprayed with a weak solution of water soluble glue. Fine clay mixed with water has a similar effect but tends to clog spray nozzles.
LANTANA/WORMWOOD SPRAY Boil 500g of lantana leaves in 1 litre of water- for 20 minutes. Cool and strain. Spray liberally on affected plants. Most effective against aphids. A stronger spray can he made by substituting wormwood for lantana.
Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to use it in a fruit salad.
Gail, near Gympie, Qld
|
|
|
tessa
head gardener
Australia
3682 Posts |
Posted - 09/07/2007 : 10:13:05
|
this is a great thread, gail.
there's lots of good stuff here for me to try. but i'll just say that i've not found the milk rememdy helpful in the slightest. i did give a really good try...but lost my cucurbits to powdery mildew all the same. i also tried baking soda and soap as another preventative for PM...but that also didn't do much good.
then i tried neem oil.
*poof*
powdery mildew gone!
cranky people live longer. i'm going to live forever!
perth, wa |
 |
|
|
rosesforme
assistant gardener
Australia
472 Posts |
Posted - 01/03/2008 : 22:46:13
|
I have had a good read ,there is some really good idaes here.
I just have a couple of questions,
Where do you get neem oil?
and how do you apply it?
Thanks
Michelle
Roses for ever.
|
|
|
|
otamot
head gardener
1013 Posts |
Posted - 01/03/2008 : 23:09:12
|
rosesforme, neem oil is available all over the place these days, garden centres will have it and I think bunnings sell it too. It comes in small bottle and a little bit goes a long way! you just dilute it with water in a spray bottle and spray it on. I use it for aphid outbreaks and it is the bees knees for that. It is organic and non toxic so you dont need a biosuit to use it either  |
|
|
|
tessa
head gardener
Australia
3682 Posts |
Posted - 02/03/2008 : 08:31:37
|
in fact...neem oil is used in ayurvedic medicine and is actually *consumed* by humans. safe, safe, safe. one billion people can't be wrong!
i'm glad you posted to this thread, michelle. it's had me read over the remedies again. i simply cannot seem to solve my mite problem. i first used the garlic chili spray, and i thought that worked...but it was short lived.
recently i've been using 'natrasoap'. also not working.
now i'm torn between trying neem or else sulphur. i didn't realize sulphur was considered organic. but these two don't mix...so once i choose one...i'm going to have to stick with it.
hmm.
or else...*lightbulb*...i can treat the front yard plants with one thing...and the backyard plants with another...and hold a competition!
yeah!
cranky people live longer. i'm going to live forever!
perth, wa |
|
|
|
ciunia
dirt-poker
Australia
22 Posts |
Posted - 11/05/2008 : 12:18:14
|
Great advice here, I came accross this article when I decided to read a bit more re a begonia elatior I got for Mother's D.
Milk Eliminate Powdery Mildew In Spectrum Begonias
Powdery Mildew Use Milk Method # 2
Begonia Care: Curing powdery mildew fungus with whole milk; Note: ratio is 9 parts water to 1 part whole milk. Mix well and spray plants 2 times (twice) a week for powdery mildew.
Your begonia plants will thrive and be cured of powdery mildew fungus and it works well on roses and vegetables.
Store unused powdery mildew milk mixture in cool place between applications; works like a champ every time.
Scientists discovered milk is high in calcium and a regular dose of milk protects begonias’ against powdery mildew fungus.
Recipe Curing Powdery Mildew Fungus
1 cup of whole milk
9 cups of water
Article quotes a report that appeared in the New Scientist, Oct 1999; with its high calcium content milk is particularly good for our teeth and bones. Now scientists have discovered that it is good for our begonia, cucumbers and courgette as well. They found that a regular dose of milk can protect the vegetables, and begonia flowers against a destructive form of mildew.
Spraying twice a week with diluted milk is even more effective than the best chemical fungicides. The discovery could solve the problem for the growing number of organic gardeners who refuse to use chemical sprays.
Milk has been used by generations of farmers as a cure for Black Spot on roses. The latest findings show it has far wider applications.
The research centers on a mould called powdery mildew, which appears as a white growth on the leaves of cucumbers and courgettes. It damages the begonia plants, causing their leaves to shrivel and stunting the growth of the vegetable and begonia flowers.
Until now the only cure for the fungal growth has been chemical fungicides. The discovery was made by Brazilian scientists looking for cheap ways to kill common pests, the magazine the 'New Scientist' reports.
Upon noticing how the by products of milk processing factories killed powdery mildew on courgettes they tried it out with real milk. To their surprise it worked just as well.
Spraying heavily infected begonia plants twice a week with a mixture of one part cow's milk and nine parts of water was as good at stopping mildew as chemical fungicides, they found. In many cases the milk worked faster and was more effective according to Dr Wagner Bettiol from the environmental laboratory of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation.
The process is now being used by Brazilian farmers as a cheaper and organic alternative to chemicals. It could be adopted by organic farmers and gardeners in the UK. Rob Hayward of the Soil Association, the body that regulates organic farming, said: "If this works, it could be very useful indeed.”
The scientists have yet to pinpoint the natural chemicals in milk which wipe out the growth of the mildew. They are now looking to see if milk has any other uses in the garden. Although the scientists have only tested it on courgettes and cucumbers, it might also turn out to be an effective weapon against powdery mildew on other plants.
Patience is avirtue of the Gods |
|
|
|
pitta
head gardener
Australia
1209 Posts |
Posted - 26/11/2008 : 20:51:17
|
White Oil spray...Make it yourself its cheap as chips.
1 Tablespoon dish washing liquid with 1 cup of vegetable cooking oil.
Add 2 teaspoons of this mix to 1 cup of water.
Now its ready to spray over and under leaves.
A spray that is used to soffocate aphids and other pests and is not harmful to birds or pets.Pitta.
|
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
|
|
Natural Remedies