CasaSugar

How-To: Homemade Aphid Spray

CasaSugar — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 09:15:10 -0700

Even if you're not a gardener, you may have encountered plant-killing aphids, or plant lice, on plants near your home — I know I have. It turns out that you needn't be creeped out by these crawlers for long; you can make a simple, organic homemade spray to kick them to the curb. A tomato leaf spray works because the alkaloids in the leaves of the tomato plant, when mixed with water, are toxic to the little buggies, but still safe for you and your plants. You can also make a garlic oil spray, which contains sulfur, which is also toxic to aphids. But, since it kills all types of insects, even good ones (such as natural predators of aphids, like ladybugs), I don't recommend it.

To learn how to make tomato leaf spray, read more.

Supplies:

One to two cups of tomato leaves
Four cups of water
A strainer or cheesecloth
Spray bottle

Here's how, from About.com:

Chop the tomato leaves
Then, steep them in two cups of water overnight.
Strain out the leaves with your strainer or cheescloth.
Add another two cups of water to the liquid you were left with.
Put it in your spray bottle.
Spray the stems and the foliage of your infested plant, particularly the underside.

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Casa Quickie: Slug Safe

CasaSugar — Mon, 12 May 2008 13:00:47 -0700

While flowers gardens may be pretty, and herb gardens yummy, one of the realities of gardening is that bugs are inevitable (and gross). I've shown you before how to make homemade aphid spray, but that's not a solution to all insect problems. One garden annoyance I tend to encounter is slugs. You can keep slugs and snails from intruding on your potted plants by smearing your outdoor planter's outer rim with a bit of Vaseline (petroleum jelly). The household ointment will keep the little guys from slithering by and your plants safe from the slugs! Do you have another effective method for banishing slugs?
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Garden Therapy: Inspiration From the Garden Girl

CasaSugar — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 14:00:42 -0700

Two weekends ago I built a new garden box and planted it, and just this morning, my beet and zinnia seedlings were poking through the soil! It was so nice to see some of my hard work start to pay off. Gardening is an exercise in patience, and setbacks such as aphids or bad weather can sometimes frustrate even the most dedicated new gardener.

When I need outside inspiration, I often look to other gardening heroes for a quick boost of garden happiness. If you're feeling the need for a little inspiration, then check out this video from The Gardening Girl, Patti Moreno. She took a parking lot and turned it into a gorgeous urban farm. If that's not inspiring, I don't know what is!

Plant Therapy: Beware the Whitefly!

CasaSugar — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 11:15:03 -0800

If you have houseplants, you may have had to deal with an infestation of whiteflies. This houseplant enemy is particularly prevalent in Winter, when they shack up in your home waiting out the cold weather. Not an actual fly, these insects are related to scales, aphids, and mealybugs and are on a mission to hurt your houseplants.
When whiteflies hatch, they leave discarded white shells on your houseplant's leaves. If you see these, you likely have a whitefly problem. Investigate further by carefully turning over your houseplants' leaves and seeing if there are yellowish dots on the underside, especially near the veins. These yellow dots are the nymphs. As the nymph feeds, it will turn your plants' leaves yellow. Nymphs also leave droppings that turn into black mold on the underside of the leaves.

So, what should you do? To find out , read more.

First, move the infected plant or plants to a room by itself, where it can't infect other plants. A room that doesn't get much foot traffic is best, as whiteflies can hitch rides on your clothing and reinfect other healthy plants in your house. After you've isolated the infected plants, use a spray to treat the problem. You can use an organic soap, such as Gh Organics Insecticidal Soap, or Safer Insecticidal Soap. Make sure to cover both the tops and bottoms of all of the leaves, and spray directly on the insect for best results.

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