If you’ve ever tasted an apple or a tomato from an organic garden as opposed to the chemically enhanced and managed produce found in grocery stores, you know there is no comparison. Just as in naturally managing insects and pests around your home or person, herbs can be used successfully in keeping the bad bugs out of the garden as well.

We’re often asked what we use to fertilize the garden and when we say “primarily cow manure,” it usually brings on the “ewww…” response. In actuality, if composted cow manure smells like manure, it’s no good and what they call “hot” and should only be applied well in advance of planting. High-quality composted cow manure smells nothing at all like manure and has been well aged and decomposed into what is called “black gold for the garden.” In fact, it should have a slightly sweet earthy aroma, if any at all. By using natural and organic fertilizer and soil amendments you are also feeding the soil beneficial microbes which in time act to turn clay into loam – something chemical fertilizers cannot do and in some case impede.

There are reams of information available in books, magazines and online for “companion planting,” which is the method of gardening where specific plants are grown together to act in concert to ward off pests and disease. One such combination is to grow chamomile, garlic chives and tansy in your rose bed to keep it free of leaf eaters, Japanese beetles and disease. Tansy, though, is invasive and does better if planted in large pots with the bottoms removed and sunk so the rim is at ground level to prevent root spreading.

Read our intro on Natural & Low Toxic Pest & Animal Control.

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GENERAL INSECT REPELLENT FOR PLANTS
Homemade – in a blender puree 2 garlic bulbs and 2 chili peppers in 2 cups of water; steep in a sealed container overnight then strain through cheesecloth and store liquid in tightly sealed glass container in fridge; use ¼ cup of liquid and 1TBS lemon-scented dish soap to a gallon of water and spray susceptible plants once a week or after heavy rain

Homemade - Add an ounce of wormwood or tansy, lavender and sage leaves to a quart jar and fill with boiling water; seal and steep for several hours then strain; use 1/4 cup of liquid to a quart of water and 1TBS lemon-scented dish soap and spray on plants being munched by insects; have not tried this one yet

Organic Spray for Roses

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DORMANT OIL SPRAY

Homemade – 1TBS canola oil in a gallon of water; spray fruit trees and broad leaved evergreens in late winter to smother over-wintering insects

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JAPANESE BEETLES

Homemade – 2-4TBS lemon-scented dish soap in a gallon of water; sprayed directly on insects, kills on contact;alternatively, carry the mixture in a bucket and shake insects into the bucket

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POWDERY MILDEW, BLACKSPOT

Homemade – in a 1-gallon sprayer filled with water add ¼ cup of baking soda, 1TBS of dish detergent; spray foliage of affected plants once a week or after heavy rain

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FERTILIZER SPRAYS & DRENCHES

Compost Tea – made by brewing 1 gallon of compost to 4 gallons of water and an ounce of molasses in a 5-gallon bucket fitted with an aquarium pump for several days; strained and diluted in water, it can be used as a foliar spray or a soil drench; in addition to feeding plants, compost tea also feeds the soil beneficial microbes and helps to prevent outbreaks of powdery mildew and blackspot on roses

Neptune’sHarvest – a natural fertilizer made from seaweed and marine life; diluted inwater, it can be used as a foliar sprayed or a soil drench

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SOIL AMENDMENTS

Banana Peels – chopped and worked into soil around roses to add potassium

Coffee Grounds – sprinkle over the garden and scratch in lightly a as a very mild balanced fertilizer

Composted Cow Manure – well balanced soil amendment includes aged manure, humus and compost; tip for buying- if it smells, it’s no good

Epsom Salts –sprinkle 1-3 TBS around roses and scratch into soil to promote new canes sprouting from the crown

Plant Tone – mostly all organic plant food

Mulch – all mulch is not created equal; be sure to read your bag carefully as some inferior mulches are made by chipping used pallets which are generally made of pressure treated lumber; if the pallets had not aged sufficiently for out gassing and leaching to occur you could unknowingly be adding trace amounts of arsenic and other harmful chemicals to your garden; most high-quality mulches will state that they are a forestry-based product

Posted in: Healthy Living, Old Wisdom, Gardening