10 replies to this topic

[Hysssss-teria]

Oils have been scientifically proven to be a tremendous asset to the gardener. While the original horticultural oils were petroleum distillates, the organic gardener prefers plant-derived oils. They are highly effective for controlling many insect, fungal and viral pest problems.

Make your own cheap and easy organic insecticide from harmless plant oils from your own kitchen. The process is so simple that it’s almost ridiculous. Soap acts as a surfactant, causing the solution it’s mixed with to become stickier. It improves the mixture’s ability to adhere to other materials. Water facilitates ease of application. Then the oil finishes your victims off by suffocating them.
　
Pour 2 cups of vegetable or mineral oil into the blender. Add ½ cup hand dishwashing liquid soap. Mix on the lowest speed to avoid producing excessive soap lather. Blend thoroughly.

Store the organic insecticidal concentrate in an airtight container in a cool, dark spot indefinitely.
Combine 1 Tablespoon of concentrate with a quart of water in a sprayer. Apply directly to any insects that you see. Coat all of the plant’s foliage and stems thoroughly.

Reapply as needed, particularly following rainfall.

WARNINGS

Don’t apply any oil insecticides during very hot weather conditions.

Don’t use this material on palm plants, cycads, ferns or fuzzy foliage plants, which are easily burned.

Cornell University has this long-winded Material Fact Sheet on Oils
http://web.pppmb.cals.cornell.edu/resourceguide/mfs/09oils.php

[mariaandrea]

I love that. I often have little pests on my plants. I think I would want to be careful what kind of dish soap I used, though. I'm not convinced that spraying even small amounts of Dawn or Joy dish detergent is a good idea. Lots of weird chemicals in there. Maybe Mrs. Meyers or Dr. Bronner's, something like that, would be the best choice. I'm going to try this. Thanks!

[Sarah C.]

This is great information! Thank you for sharing it. I like that it is easy, and good for the environment!

[dconklin]

Great tip, thank you for sharing! It is a good thing you mentioned lowest speed, I could only imagine soap suds!
Last year I had some all natural bug repellent too, massive spiders with webs going across my plants! I don't recommend going out of your way to use the spiders tho, I almost put my hand on a couple trying to pick my tomatoes.  
I did have a problem with the green hornworm tho, they get out of control.

[rbaker_59]

mariaandrea, on 15 March 2012 - 08:29 PM, said:

I love that. I often have little pests on my plants. I think I would want to be careful what kind of dish soap I used, though. I'm not convinced that spraying even small amounts of Dawn or Joy dish detergent is a good idea. Lots of weird chemicals in there. Maybe Mrs. Meyers or Dr. Bronner's, something like that, would be the best choice. I'm going to try this. Thanks!

I agree with you on the chemicals in some dish soaps.  You could also look for the organic soaps, such as Seventh Generation products, that do not have all the chemicals to do the same thing.  Another idea to deter bugs from the garden is to plant garlic bulbs throught the garden as best hate them and repel to other areas.

[Hysssss-teria]

mariaandrea, on 15 March 2012 - 08:29 PM, said:

I love that. I often have little pests on my plants. I think I would want to be careful what kind of dish soap I used, though. I'm not convinced that spraying even small amounts of Dawn or Joy dish detergent is a good idea. Lots of weird chemicals in there. Maybe Mrs. Meyers or Dr. Bronner's, something like that, would be the best choice. I'm going to try this. Thanks!

Yes, thanks for calling me on that, MariaAndrea!

I keep a bottle of Dr. Bonner’s liquid Castille on hand at all times. I use it for making horticultural soap for the garden, and it’s great for making oatmeal shampoo for my sensitive-skinned dog J

My bad about citing dish soap here, though. When I was writing actively, I had to keep my audience in mind. And I was not allowed to “recommend” a brand name.

In fact, I did write one in which I advocated Castille -- which most green-minded folks consider to be a generic term (and I believe that it truly is). The editor kicked it back to me. “Do not recommend products by name. Just say something generic, like dish soap.”

*** sigh ***

[mariaandrea]

rbaker_59, on 16 March 2012 - 08:57 AM, said:

I agree with you on the chemicals in some dish soaps.  You could also look for the organic soaps, such as Seventh Generation products, that do not have all the chemicals to do the same thing.  Another idea to deter bugs from the garden is to plant garlic bulbs throught the garden as best hate them and repel to other areas.

Oh, good idea about the garlic bulbs! I've used a homemade garlic spray in the past to deter bugs, but it's only effective for a short amount of time and they come right back. I think I'll plant some garlic among the veggies this year.

And yeah, I'd stick with Seventh Generation, Mrs. Meyers or Dr. Bronner's for dish soap to use with the spray. They're all natural, biodegradable products. I think it's a bad idea to use the regular commercial dish soaps.

[mariaandrea]

Hysssss-teria, on 16 March 2012 - 09:01 AM, said:

Yes, thanks for calling me on that, MariaAndrea!

I keep a bottle of Dr. Bonner’s liquid Castille on hand at all times. I use it for making horticultural soap for the garden, and it’s great for making oatmeal shampoo for my sensitive-skinned dog J

My bad about citing dish soap here, though. When I was writing actively, I had to keep my audience in mind. And I was not allowed to “recommend” a brand name.

In fact, I did write one in which I advocated Castille -- which most green-minded folks consider to be a generic term (and I believe that it truly is). The editor kicked it back to me. “Do not recommend products by name. Just say something generic, like dish soap.”

*** sigh ***

Oh yeah, totally understand. I have clients like that too. Give 'em what they want and then go write what I want on my blog.   Or here, where we appreciate the little healthy details.

[dconklin]

Where do you buy your Castille soap? We have seen it in a couple homemade cleaner recipes.  My Mom and I were trying to figure out what store may have it.

[Hysssss-teria]

I have searched our entire area, and come up with one little natural food store in a nearby community. They have numerous different “flavors,” so we’ll compare the Baby Mild. They have 8 oz. for $8.95, and 32 oz. for $13.95, and bars for $3.95.

However, Lucky Vitamin online is still cheaper than they are -- even with shipping included. I have no affiliation with this site, but I have purchased from them in the past. This is where I buy castille soap, and they ship very quickly.
http://www.luckyvitamin.com/sb-castille-soap

Lucky has dozens of different castille soaps, both liquid and bar. They have Dr. Bonner’s, Dr. Woods, Kirk’s … I don’t know what all. And they also have Kirk’s 4-oz bars for around $1.29 each.

I know that Amazon.com carries lots of them, too, but at the time of my last purchase the item I wanted was cheaper through Lucky. I always check eBay, too, because you just never know what you’ll find there. I also compared them all today. So far, the shipping charges at those places end up making the item more costly than anywhere else.

So I did a test run at Lucky. I put in a search for Castille Soap 32 oz., and sorted by price low to high.
http://www.luckyvitamin.com/sb-castille-soap-32-oz?search=1&view=&Query=&sort_by_field=Price%3AASC

I found Dr. Wood’s Castille Soap Baby Mild for $6.29. I put it in the Cart and went to Checkout. There’s a Calculate Shipping link there under the item total. Shipping for that item to my zip code is $5.95. So it would cost me $12.34 for that item at Lucky. So they are even cheaper than the local store's prices.

[Nanatracyann]

Excellent tip! I have tried the homemade soaps and they do work fantastic!  And, for your flower garden, if you want your spring bulbs to have bigger, longer-lasting blossoms, save the potash-rich wood ashes from your stove or fireplace. Sprinkle them over the soil at the start of the growing season. Wood ashes increase soil acidity.