Earthly Garden

Good Morning!
Yesterday I talked about being safe in the garden and mentioned there were safe, homemade alternatives to commerical pesticides and fungicides. Here are a few recipes.

For a safe and effective spray for pests like aphids, spider mites, etc, fill a spray bottle with lukewarm water and add 1 teaspoon of dishwashing liquid, 1 teaspoon cooking oil, and 1 teaspoon rubbing alcohol. Shake well to mix and spray. The soap makes the water “wetter” and allows it to cling better to the leaves, the oil suffocates the bugs, and the rubbing alcohol dries them out. Spraying in the morning is best.

For mealybugs, rubbing alcohol will do the trick. For light infestations, moisten a cotton swab with it and simply wipe them off. For more severe infestations, add two tablespoons of rubbing alcohol to a spray bottle filled with lukewarm water, shake well, and spray.

For fungal diseases such as powdery mildew, you can mix up a homemade fungicide. Again, fill a spray bottle with lukewarm water and this time add a tablespoon of baking soda, a tablespoon of dishwashing liquid, and a tablespoon of cooking oil. Shake to mix well and spray.

Tomorrow I’ll talk about organic ways to enrich your soil using things from the kitchen!

Gardening Pic of the Day:

organic pesticides,organic fungicides, safe pest control, gardens, gardening

organic pesticides, organic fungicides, safe pest control, gardens, gardening

Something a little more serious this morning….In more than 24 states across the country, bees are disappearing at an alarming rate. According to Ann Johansson of the New York Times and other journalists across the country, this is not only threatening the livelihood of beekeepers, but is also a threat to many of our important crops, such as the almond industry in CA. Not to mention our entire food supply!

Researchers aren’t sure where the bees are going. Some hives have died off, some have simply vanished.

For sure, widespread pesticide spraying of agricultural crops can kill bees, as can small doses of spraying, such as a homeowner might do in their gardens or yards. That’s just another reason that organic gardening is friendly to the environment.

Our entire food supply relies on pollination by bees and other such insects. There are many alternatives to synthetic pesticides on the market today. Next time you’re at your local garden center, look for the natural or organic section…see what’s there, and follow the directions on the label.

dig it!

bobbi c.

disappearing bees, pollination, insects, natural gardening, organic gardening, food supply