Avoid harmful chemicals in your garden with these pest-ridding solutions.
We have more formulas for safely ridding gardens of pests without having to “nuke” the bugs.
We have already dealt with grasshoppers by using flour from the grocery store and fire ants by using a mixture of molasses, liquid humate (compost tea), citrus (orange) oil and water.
Here are some more ideas from Malcolm Beck and Howard Garrett.
Diatomaceous Earth (DE) is excellent when spread around the garden to control bugs. Use a mask when distributing DE; you don’t want to ingest it.
Garrett Juice can be purchased bottled commercially or you can make it yourself by combining the following ingredients:
• 1 cup of manure-based compost tea
• 1 ounce of molasses
• 1 ounce of natural apple cider vinegar
• 1 ounce of liquid seaweed
Combine with 1 gallon of water, and, if an extra punch is needed, add 2 ounces of orange oil. This will kill fire ants, squash bugs, and the like.
For red spider mites and whiteflies, use 1-2 ounces of liquid seaweed per gallon of water. Apply around dusk and saturate the foliage.
Four ounces of potassium bicarbonate plus 1 teaspoon of liquid soap to a gallon of water is an excellent fungicide for black spot, powdery mildew, brown patch, and other fungal problems.
For killing those weeds in the driveways and sidewalks, etc., use full strength white vinegar (20 percent food-grade concentration). For additional strength, add 1-2 cups of citrus oil and 1-2 cups of molasses per gallon of vinegar.
Hope this helps you keep the harmful chemicals out of your gardens.
LAWN AND PASTURE FOOD
Here is a recipe for feeding our lawns.
Mix up the following in a 10-gallon container:
• 10 ounces of horticultural liquid molasses
• 1 ounce of MicroSoil
• 10 ounces of fish emulsion
Allow to stand for three hours before applying to a moist lawn.
Another application is aerated compost tea, used as a foliar spray for lawns, shrubs, and trees. It will take about 20 gallons per acre (great for pastures as well). Aerated compost tea must be used within 24 hours from the time you make it or purchase it.
There are 43,560 square-feet in an acre, and most yards are a quarter-acre or less, so you city dwellers will only need about 5 gallons of aerated compost tea to really perk up your yard.
All you need to create aerated compost tea is a few tools and materials:
• 5-gallon bucket
• fish aquarium bubbler pump of the same capacity
• string
• paint filter or pantyhose
• water
• compost (either homemade or store-bought)
• 1 tablespoon of molasses
Fill the bucket with water, leaving about 2 inches from the top for overflow from added materials. Suspend your compost in the paint filter/pantyhose halfway down into the water. Place the aquarium bubbler pump in the bottom of the bucket, add the molasses, and turn on pump. Let it brew from 24 hours to three days, depending on your use (as diluted or at full strength for larger areas).
Be sure to use this concoction within 24 hours of being brewed. One gallon will be ideal for up to 7,000 square feet of yard and lawn.
Keep your souls and soles in your garden!
Remember the True Master Gardener: Jesus said, “I am the vine; my Father is the Gardener.” John 15:1 Contact Bill Luedecke at The Luedecke Group Realtors at (512) 577-1463 or email him at bill@texasland.net. Contact Martelle Luedecke at (512) 769-3179 or luedeckephotography@gmail.com.
