Please post your homemade recipes for Disease and Insect remedies

I can't afford to buy plant food and or pest/disease killers.
Plus I like to keep things sort of natural.
Do I have things at home I can just mix up and spray my plants with?
Like for roses,veggies,ect.
I hope to get lots of great recipes.
Thanks,Jody

Hmmmm, my favorite one is Dawn Dish Detergent. Sticky on the leaves and the bugs don't like it - I even put a drop in my house plant water once a month or so. I am sure I will think of something else after I hit send....

Nicole

OH and as always squash the Japanese beetles! You can also pick them off and drop them in a cup of soapy water. I have heard cayenne pepper although not had much luck myself.

What's the ratio of Dawn to Water?

Hmmmm, good question! I am sure that someone will know a better answer to this... I do this SQUIRT - that's a good sized squirt... Enough to see soap suds on the leaves. I don't think you can do damage if you use too much but don't quote me. I've never killed anything (Japanese beetles don't count! LOL) with Dawn so far.. There is a man Jerry somebody I got that idea from, he wrote a book and I have some pamplets at home. I will get them out and see what else I can find too!

Thanks

Try some of these:

http://www.ghorganics.com/page9.html

And the Organic Gardening Forum is another great place to post your request :-)

Well Jody, of course I forgot to get my bookkssss.... AM writing myself a note today so I won't forget again!!

Grr....

TamaraFaye,
That's a great link.Thanks,Jody

Aphid Spray:
1 cup listerine mouthwash
1 tsp Dish soap
1 quart fresh water
spray plants everyother day till aphids disappear. Works great!

Spider Mite Spray:
Disolve 1/2 bar of Naptha soap (old fashion laundry soap) in 1 gal of water.
Use 1 cup of soap water to 1 quart of fresh water and spray away.

Powdery Mildew:
2 cups milk (skim/NonFat)
1 quart fresh water
Spray daily till mildew is gone

Leaf Miner Spray:
soak 1/4 cup of chewing tabacco in 1 gal of fresh water for 24 hours. Dilute water 1/2 with fresh water and spray plants. Smells terrible!, but works great! :-)

Hope these help.

Marc

Wow Thanks-These are great.Jody

Jody this is an interesting question. I just read in Garden Gate Magazine to use 1 tablespoon each of dish soap and baking soda per gallon of water for powdery mildew. Spray every 10-14 days from spring through flowering. (This was for zinnias, but I assume it applies to anything.)

Well Jody I'm glad you got some good answers! My books are still at home, SIGH - 3 year olds make you forget everything. Jerry Baker was the guy's name though, at least I remembered that much!

I have a 3 year old Grand-daughter,so I know how it goes.heehee Jody
This is Alayna

What a cutie!!!! Mine is a boy, I LOVE him but I just love little girls! The clothes, the hair, playing hair - I wanted to do all of that... Maybe later, hee hee...

I have a real problem with chewing insects. My Sweet Potato flower plants are riddled with holes. Someone recommended Garlic spray which you are able to buy. I decided to make my own and see if it works. I blended several cloves of Garlic, added 1/2 tsp Dawn Det .and added a quart of water. I tasted a bit before I added the detergent and it was Hot and Potent. It does seem to be working but still in the testing stage. Hubby came in the kitchen and wondered what I was cooking. Pretty strong!

LOL.on the DH.Did you tell him it was yummy flavored garlic soap.heehee
Please let me know how it does for you.

jodyc hi! here are some of my favorites:

for ants, esp. the ones "taking care" of the aphids-a good squirt of ivory dishwashing liquid (the original one) to a quart sprayer of water-kills ants instantly. if i see them trailing around a pot i will dump some mix right into the pot.

for scaleand white fly--murphys oil soap(use the cap 1/2) and water. some plants are sensative to oils more than others so maybe test a leaf or two. also, if you can move the plant to shade for a couple of days. if you cant move it, i spray the murphys at dusk and lightly rinse off in the late morning. PAM is another great spray to use for scale right out of the can. try to only do trunks and stems. scale is tough tho-sometimes i resort to store bought.

for mealybugs-alcohol and water (about 1 to 4 ratio) and spray the plant up and down top and bottom.
for caterpillars-i use BT. its safe, fairly cheap and a bottle lasts forever.

for most other un-named foes i use orange spray (409, blast, whatever is cheapest) and water.

just remember with all these sprays, dont do it in the heat of the day in blaring sun. thats hard on any plant!

hope these help! ps. the baking soda suggestion really works on lots of fungal diseases, black spot on roses, etc. pss. i recently heard of the Listerine-havent tried it yet-but i will!!! thanks for these tips and for refreshing my list.
one thing i forgot to add. i really think feeding is so important. depending on the type of gardening you do, you should really try to find the one that has the most bang for the buck. expensive doesnt mean the best. make sure the feed has all the micro nutrients too. if you follow the directions granular feeding doesnt have to be costly and liquids that you mix with water are cost effective. example-peters liquid in the yellow bottle has the micros, miracle gro doesnt. you only mix like half a cap with a gallon of water-great for all potted plants.

This message was edited Jun 26, 2005 11:21 PM

tracinksand,
I would have never thought about murphy's oil,409 and others.
Very interesting,lol,Thanks again for posting,Jody

another note to add: dont spray the tobacco mixture on tomatos. that (i think) could give them tobacco mosaic virus. i know that if you smoke you arent supposed to handle your tomato plants without washing your hands first. i forget where i read that, i think in an ortho pest book. i think someone told me once that they tie a cigar inside of a pantyhose, the knee hi ones, and put the whole thing in the sprayer and let it sit a couple of days, then it cant clog your sprayer.

This message was edited Jun 27, 2005 10:37 AM

Good advice Trackinsand....had forgotten about 'maters' and tobacco.

Tobacco is not a problem.I smoke so I'll give it a try.I've never washed my hands before picking any tomatoes though.Hummmm
Jody

RikerBear, thank you for stirring my brain, had forgotten about milk for powdery mildew.

My pleasure :-)

Cool I'm learning a lot:)
Jody

For those of you who have slugs in your garden or yard and want them outta there..sprinkle them with salt, any kind of salt and they die. I remember this from when I lived in Missouri. Hope this helps.

Oh I think I read somewhere beer in it kills them too.

Where as salt does work, it can also damage your plants, so use it sparingly.
Yes beer works too, but as an attractant and than a drowing medium.
Fill a dish or old can with a few inches of beer, bury it at soil level....when the slugs and snails crawl in after the beer they drown.

This message was edited Jun 27, 2005 1:44 PM

i like diatomaeous earth for slugs, but you have to re apply after it rains. if you have a plant that they really love and its not a plant that copper will hurt, you can take a narrow sheet of copper and ring the plant either on the ground or copper wire around the trunk.

I found something to add for roses!!!
Here it is!
Aphid Antidote
To keep aphids and other pests off your roses and prized perennials, mix up a batch of this amazing antidote:
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 medium gloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp. liquid dish soap
2 cups water
Put all in a blender on high, then strain out the pulp. Pour the liquid into a handheld mist sprayer bottle, and mist spray your flowers at the first sign of trouble.

Another one:
This is how i learned to keep my cat out of places...he would not go where this was sprayed...it is the citris

Rose Aphid Antidote
1 lemon or orange peel, coarsely chopped
1 tsp. baby shampoo
2 cups water
Put all in blender on high for 10-15 seconds. Use a coffee filter to strain pulp. Pour liquid into hand held mist sprayer. Before applying tonic, attach high pressure nozzle to hose to blast plants of aphids. Ten minutes later thotoughly spray buds and young stems with tonic. Repeat after 4 days.

Tea Time for Aphids
The garlic and parsley tea is a natural remedy to rid your roses of aphids.
1/2 cup parsley flakes
2 tbsp. minced garlic
3 cups water
Mix all together, and boil down to 2 cups. Strain and cool. Put 2 cups of the tea in your 20 gallon hose end sprayer, apply to your rose bushes. Here's a short cut. You don't have to make the tea, just plant garlic and parsley between all of your rose bushes. It works too.

Onion Antidote for Aphids
Use onions to discourage aphids from dining on your roses. Chop up a medium size onion, and place it in a blender with a quart of water. Pulverize, then strain off the liquid. Add 1 tsp. liquid dish soap to the onion juice, then liberally apply the mixture to your bushes with a hand held mist sprayer.

Rose Revival Tonics
First, wash bare-root rose bushes, roots and all, in a bucket of warm water with the following added.
1 tbsp. liquid dish soap
1/4 tsp. liquid bleach

Then before planting, soak the bare-roots in a clean bucket filled with 1 gallon of warm water for about 1/2 an hour with the following added to it.
2 tbsp. clear corn syrup
1 tsp. liquid dish soap
1 tsp. ammonia
super thrive,B1

Rose Start-Up Tonic
A perfect meal to get your roses off to a good start.
1 tbsp. liquid dish soap
1 tbsp. hydrogen peroxide
1 tsp. whiskey
1 tsp. Vitamin B1 Plant Starter(suprerthrive@ wallyworld)
When planting your roses pour this mixture around the root zone of each plant.

Rose Ambrosia
This tonic makes roses grow strong and bloom like gangbusters.
1 cup beer
2 tbsp.instant tea granules
1 tsp. Rose/Flower food
1 tsp. fish fertilizer(tuna juice from the can works)
1 tsp. hydrogen peroxide
1 tsp. liquid dish soap
Mix all in 2 gallons warm water, and give each of your roses 1 pint every 3 weeks. Dribble it onto the soil after you've watered, so it will penetrate deep into the root zone. (I use a soda bottle with cap and bottom removed turned upside down near the rose bush for all my fertilizers, this way it saturates the entire root
system) This tonic really works. And don't forget the banana peels, the potassium in the skins will give them a power packed boost that'll help the plants fend off pests and diseases, and deliver up boatloads of blooms.(can blend a few in food processor and dump in compost tea bucket)
One last reminder, don't forget to feed roses Epsom salts, they love it, makes them grow. I usually put a tbsp. in 1 gallon of water when watering the bushes. (I add to my compost tea now is 5 gallons and pour in a whole qt of it)

One more reminder, if you give your roses a bath once a week with 1 tbsp. liquid dish soap in 2 gallons of warm water, chances are you won't need any chemical controls.

My friend said that the solution prepared from powdered seeds of custard apple is a good insect repellant. I have not yet tried it myself.

Dinu

JodyC, Veerryy inteerreesstting! Have you tried any of these recipes? Maybe they would cure gardeners' ills too! :^)

Thanks for starting this thread Jody. I'm always up for newer Disease, Insect/Repellant homemade remedies & recipes.

~* Robin

barbur,
Yep the whiskey/beer might cure our ills or it might make them worse.lol.
NatureWalker,
I hope some of these help you.
Jody

A friend recommended a book, so I checked it out from the library. It had so much info that sounded great, so I bought a used copy on Amazon for less than $6, including shipping. It's called: Great Garden Formulas : The Ultimate Book of Mix-It-Yourself Concoctions.

(It's too late to go get it, but I'll try to find something good and simple to post)

Did more japanese beetle torchings last night myself! (evil grin)

Nicole

konkreteblond,
I looked that book up on e-bay and am watching it.Thanks

Torching Jap. beetles.lol.

Someone asked how to get rid of earwigs on a thread somewhere, maybe Garden Foes. I wish I could remember the name to give credit but I don't. The tip was so easy and so terrific:

Use any straight sided little styrofoam type of container (like the container they sell fresh mushrooms in) and put enough el cheapo oil in it to cover the bottom and a tiny bit more to allow for evaporation. Put it, just like that, where you see earwig damage. The next day you'll have a collection of dead earwigs. They can't get the oil off to escape and they die. Pictures are even posted of 50 dead earwigs in one night.

I remember that thread, pirl, though I certainly can't take credit for the tip. ;)

Here's the earwig specific one; it includes a link to another fabulous thread that TamaraFaye started with all sorts of organic remedies for garden problems: http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/520514/

THANKS FOR THE LINK: giving credit where credit is due to -

TuttiFrutti
Spokane Valley, WA
Zone 5b
Jun 26, 2005
7:09 PM
I tried something from a thread over in the Organic Gardening Forum just last night: [HYPERLINK@davesgarden.com]
Quoted:
A very successful method to get rid of earwigs is to take a shallow, straight-sided container and fill it half full with vegetable oil. Clean out the bodies every day and you may reuse the oil as often as you like.

You wouldn't believe how many earwigs I found this morning! I placed three of those shallow carry-out containers with veggie oil in different areas of my veggie garden; one of them easily had 50 bodies. The other casualties were comprised of one roly-poly, two millipedes, and a few box elder bugs.

Talk about easy!
Donna

TuttiFrutti,

What is a roly-poly?

~* Robin