Homemade remedies for the garden
The shelves at the garden store bulge with all manner of sprays, pellets, liquids and powders designed to kill any nasties on your veggie patch or encourage your roses to bloom at their most spectacular. But if you want to avoid putting too many chemicals onto your garden or just want to save some money, there are plenty of homemade alternatives that work just as well.
The bad
General insecticide
Mix one teaspoon of natural dishwashing liquid with two teaspoons of vegetable oil. Pour into a spray bottle and shake well. Spray the liquid directly onto bugs (like aphids or mites) until they are covered and the liquid will smother them.
Black spot fungicide
Add three teaspoons of bicarb soda to one litre of water plus a few drops of dishwashing liquid to help the solution adhere to the leaves. Spray directly onto the area affected by the fungus, although, be careful not to over do it.
Snails and slugs
Place a small, shallow dish of beer in the garden. It will attract snails and slugs that will crawl into the liquid, but they won’t be crawling out again.
Powdery mildew
Combine equal parts milk and water in a spray bottle and spray directly onto the affected areas. Three treatments over the course of one week should clear up the mildew.
Cabbage worms
Despite the name, these pesky bugs will eat many types of vegetables and just a couple can do serious damage. Sprinkle self-raising flour or cornmeal over the leaves in the morning when the worms start to eat. It will swell in their gut as the temperature rises.
The good
Coffee grounds
Acid loving plants like tomatoes, blueberries, roses and azaleas love coffee grounds. You can mix them into the soil, sprinkle them on top or create a soil drench by soaking the grounds in a bucket of water for two to three days before pouring it over the garden.
Banana peel
Plants love potassium and banana peels are chock full of it. Put one or two in the bottom of a hole when putting in new plants or bury under mulch for existing gardens. The peels will rot and release potassium that will fertilise the plant and also repels aphids.
Egg shells
Egg shells are 93 per cent calcium carbonate, which is the same ingredient as popular fertiliser lime. You can add the crushed shells straight to the soil or powder them in a blender and add to a spray bottle of water to apply directly to the leaves.
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