[greenstan77]

hi all,

         just wondered if any has had much luck with garlic or soap as a pesticide?

                                     thanks for replys

[mumofstig]

I've never tried it but in the Suffolk herbs catalogue it tells you to use 2 cloves of minced garlic to a pint of water as an aphid spray.

[Trillium]

And add a dash of liquid dish soap to it so it sticks to the leaves and such. Some folk alsos toss in a few drops of hot sauce like cayenne, tabasco, etc.

[woodburner]

Soapy water is good for killing aphids, breaks down their waxy covering so they dehydrate IIRC. I think you have to spray the insects themselves rather than the plants.

Another one I heard of recently, is to use tomato or rhubarb leaf tea, and I think potato leaf tea would work too, as they all have anti insect chemicals in them naturally. Then of course there's tobacco tea, but then there's the question of where do you draw the line on what's 'organic' and what 'isn't'.

[greenstan77]

thanks for your interesting replys. im feeling less concerned about growing for first time now, i know u have to have a balance but pests are pests. happy growing all