The articles in this category are provided by members. Tips on gardening and recipes for garden fertilization and pest management.
Sundry Garden Tips
- Written by: Various Members
Please make a conscious effort to eliminate or minimize the use of toxic pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers in you garden.
Choose organic alternatives. If you take good care of your plants, your garden will be healthier and have fewer problems with insects and disease.
All Purpose Insect Spray: Mix 3 tbsp baking soda, 2 tbsp vinegar and 2 gal warm water. Apply with hand sprayer.
Fungus Spray: Mix 1/2 cup molasses, 1/2 cup powered milk, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 gal water.
Powdery Mildew Spray: Mix 4 tbsp baking soda, 2 tbsp Murphy's Oil Soap, 1 gal water
Slug Spray: Mix 1 1/2 cups ammonia, 1 tbsp Murphy's Oil soap, 1 1/2 cups water. Spray over area where you see signs of slug activity.
White Fly Spray: Mix 1 cup sour milk (leave milk at room temperature for 48 hurs), 2 tbsp flour, 1 quart warm water.
Disease Preventing Spray: Mix 1 cup chamomile tea, 1 tsp liquid dish soap, 1/2 tsp vegetable oil, 1/2 tsp peppermint oil ( or 1 tbsp Dr. Bronner's peppermint soap), 1 gallon water.
Mole Tonic: Mix 1 1/2 tbsp Tabasco sauce, 1 tbsp liquid dishwashing soap, 1 tsp chili powder, 1 quart water. Pour small amount of mixture into mole runways. Or, insert sticks of unwrapped Juicy Fruit gum slit lengthwise into the runs.
Rose Care
Rose Spray: Mix 1 gal water, 1 tbsp baking soda, 1 tsp oil. For aphids, add 1 tsp liquid soap.
Mildew Spray for Roses: Mix 1 tbsp baby shampoo, 1 tbsp hydrogen peroxide, 1 tbsp instant tea granules, 2 cups of water.
Soil Enrichment: Work banana peels into soil near roses; the postassium will help the plants fend-off pests and diseases, and deliver beautiful blossoms.
Other Tips
Every time you use eggs, crush the shell, soak in water overnight and pour the water on your plants to provide them with calcium. Sprinkle cayenne pepper around plants to keep cats, dogs, rabbits and squirrels away. Aspirin keeps plants healthy. With regular dose every two months, indoor and outdoor plants will grow more, bloom better and have fewer fungus and pest problems. Dissolve 1 regular strength uncoated asprin tablet in 1 gallon of water.
Misc. Garden Tips
- Written by: Janet Larkin
Tomato Fertilizer
1/2 cup garden lime
1 tablespoon Epson salt
Put in the bottom of the hold when planting tomatoes. Changes the PH to a sweeter soil and fruit becomes sweeter. This is the fertilizer for tomatoes for the year.
Aphd Control
Take an onion, rough chop, put in 2 liter soda bottle. Fill with water and let sit over night. Strain and spray liquid on aphids. Also acts as a deer repellant.
Corn & Zucchini Tip
Plant corn rows wider apart and plant zucchini in between rows. This controls corn borers and squash borers.
Easier Care Of Potted Plants
For easier care of potted plants use water saver crystals (hydrated) mixed with osmocote (slow release) fertilizer and add to soil. Mix from bottom up to 2" from the top of soil. Add a 2" layer of mulch.
Hypertufa Recipe
- Written by: Mary Ellen Kline
1 part Portland cement
1 part perlite
1 part peat
1 part sand
Mix them together with enough water to make a paste.
[ Adapted from Leonard Buck Garden's hypertufa classes ]
Container Soil Recipe
- Written by: Beverly Wasniewski
Mix 1/4 compost with 3/4 potting soil with moisture pellets or add yur own. Provides more substance to soil holding plants in position and provides the micronutrients which may not be available in commercial mix. Remember that moisture pellets expand with water; if added as top dressing after container is planted and watered, you'll find a gelatinous goo on top; moisture pellets only help when located near roots.
Container hint: Don't froget to mulch your containers to minimize evaporation. Scour the house for little used items, marbles, checkers, seashells (adds cascium) from past vacations; or outside, collect stones (sterilize with hot water).
Soil recipe: Wet cardboard or newspaper, lay between plants (not too close to stems), cover with mulch or shredded leaves in the fall. A yearly activity, but yields enviable, friable, nutrient rich soil that's a haven for worms.
Transplant and weed after a rain. Porous dirt allows transplant roots to spread more easily and weed roots to release more readily.
Compost hint: Bag weeds. When weeding, hide everything, except Stilt Grass, in small piles under or behind plants, cover with leaves or extra mulch. Use all those empty mulch bags to fill with stilt grass.
Fruit Flytrap
- Written by: Mary Ellen Kline
For gardeners enjoying the fruits of their labors in the kitchen - so is the little cloud of fruit flies that always follows the fruit inside:
Fruit Fly Trap Recipe
Put 2 tablespoons of good apple cider vinegar in a mason jar of any size. (Unpasteurized vinegar with live 'mother'of'vinegar' works best but the regular will work, too.)
Add 2 tablespoons of water
Add 2 drops of dish detergent
Place plastic wrap on top held by a rubber band or jar ring. Poke holds in the plastic with a toothpick.