Garden Update: Critters and natural/organic pesticides

Enjoying studying outside.

Good Morning All,
I have really enjoyed being in my backyard this week. I have been enjoying the flowers in hanging baskets, the roses blooming (were already here when we moved in), and the birds in the feeder. It has been a nice week.

The garden is sprouting and everything but my peppers have seedlings. Even the pumpkin and potatoes are sprouting. The bush beans are thriving amazingly well.

This container is Cukes, Squash, Bush Beans, and Sunflowers

Potatoes

Pumpkin

I noticed two day ago though that something was eating my sunflower leaves. Some of them were eaten all the way down and I could not find the culprit.

Poor sunflowers

So, I researched a few organic homemade pesticides to try in the garden.

Here are a few I found:

Mineral Oil
Mix 10-30 ml of high-grade oil with one liter of water. Stir and add to a spray bottle. This pesticide works by dehydrating insects and their eggs.

Citrus Oil and/or Cayenne Pepper Mix

Mix 10 drops of citrus essential oil with one teaspoon of cayenne pepper and 1 cup of warm water. Add to a spray bottle, shake well. This is said to work really well on ants.

Soap, Orange Citrus Oil, and Water

Mix 3 tablespoons of liquid soap (choose and organic soap if you want it to be organic) with 1 ounce of Orange Oil to one gallon of water. Shake well. Spray on areas that need it. This is said to be very effective against slugs and can be sprayed directly onto ants and roaches.

Onion and Garlic Spray

Mince one clove of garlic and one medium onion. Add to one quart of water. Wait an hour and then add a teaspoon of cayenne pepper and one tablespoon of liquid soap. It was mentioned that this will hold its potency for one week if stored in the refrigerator.

Chile Pepper and Diatomaceous Earth
Grind two handfuls of dry chiles into a fine powder and mix with 1 cup of Diatomaceous Earth. Add to 2 liters of water and let sit overnight. Shake well before applying.




I tried the orange oil and pepper one since those were the ingredients I had on hand. It worked the first night but it has to be reapplied after a rain. I read that most of the pests eat at night so I did not reapply the next day in order to go out at night to catch the culprit. I found it!

So...YOUR the culprit!

P.s. I don't really know if it is a boy but I chose to deem it so :)

This big boy was caught in the act of eating a sunflower leaf. I have him in a jar and we are going to see what he turns into.





I also purchased some Diatomaceous Earth to apply in the garden. Make sure you use food grade if you go this route. DE is also known as "fossil flour" and has a wide range of uses from pesticide to health benefits for humans but you MUST use food grade. It does not kill chemically. It kills pests because the sharp edges (to pest not humans or pets) do tons of microscopic cuts to the exoskeleton and eventually the pests dehydrate and die. It is not a "humane" method for those worried about that type of thing but any pesticide treatment is not humane to the insects. I am waiting for the DE to come in the mail and I will let you know how it works.

Stay safe out there everyone. We are keeping an eye on this weather out here. Hope you all have a great weekend.