[world_famous_recipes] OT -- GARDENING HINTS -- MAKE YOUR OWN INSECTICIDE & COMPANION PLANTING (Long, but good info.)
This is long, and "Off Topic" for recipes, nutrition, and diets (for humans); but it's something about which many of you are interested, namely gardening, and how to deter pests and/or getting rid of them... Below are a few of our "T-N-T" remedies. I hope this will help those of you who have been asking for help in this area. -- Janet
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GARDENING HINTS -- MAKE YOUR OWN INSECTICIDE
Hot Pepper Spray is a good general insecticide and is especially effective against caterpillars. (ItÂs also said to be effective against deer and other predators...) You'll have to use this homemade spray more often than a chemical spray, but it's much gentler on the environment. For your own safety, wear gloves when handling peppers and pepper spray.
Hot Pepper Spray Concentrate
1 unpeeled onion (The stronger, the better)
1 unpeeled head of garlic
1 Tbsp. cayenne pepper (or use a hotter pepper like the tiny hot Thai pepper...)
3 pints water
1. Chop onion and garlic and combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Simmer 20 minutes.
2. Cool and store in jars in the refrigerator for 6 weeks. (Label the jars so you don't try to use them elsewhere by mistake. Remember this is a concentrate...) ;- o)
3. Strain and store in jars in a cool dark place.
To use, dilute 1 tablespoons of concentrate with 1 pint of
water. Add a squirt of liquid dish soap. This helps it to stay on the plant to discourage insects  and other predators.
Controlling Insects in the Garden & Other Plantings Outside
APHIDS
Aphids are tiny insects that form colonies or clumps on the undersides of leaves, particularly on new growth. They may be green, black or brown with pear-shaped bodies and they excrete a sticky substance called "honeydew."
CONTROLS: Companion Planting & Other Means
Garlic is an excellent companion plant for most garden plantings as it deters the aphids and many other insects from bothering them. Especially effective planted around roses and strawberries.. Even around tall plantings like the hibiscus, etc. It seems that you can never plant too much garlic!!! As an added bonus, it makes an attractive contrast with the leaves of its companions. Choose different varieties for different areas, like elephant garlic amidst larger shrubs, and a small (petite) variety with strawberries and other low growing plantings.
CONTROLS: Companion Planting & Other Means
Garlic is an excellent companion plant for most garden plantings as it deters the aphids and many other insects from bothering them. Especially effective planted around roses and strawberries.. Even around tall plantings like the hibiscus, etc. It seems that you can never plant too much garlic!!! As an added bonus, it makes an attractive contrast with the leaves of its companions. Choose different varieties for different areas, like elephant garlic amidst larger shrubs, and a small (petite) variety with strawberries and other low growing plantings.
èNote: You can also plant garlic for over-winteringÂ& Garlic that you buy at the grocery store will do, but you may want to take a look at some of the specialty garlic in gardening catalogs or your local garden center. Plant the bulbs in a well drained location in full sun. If you are concerned about drainage, build a raised bed. Break the heads into individual cloves and plant the cloves six inches apart so that the tips are showing. Water well and apply a thick mulch after the first freeze if the ground freezes in your area.
èFor More About Growing Garlic: http://www.gardenguides.com/Vegetables/garlic.htm
ANT moths with a 1-1/2-inch wingspan and a few black spots. A drop of mineral oil on the tip of each ear may help to suffocate any resident earworms. Some gardeners swear by mixing the mineral oil with pureed African marigolds or geranium leaves, but in most cases, the mineral oil does the trick without any additives. Do not apply mineral oil until pollination is complete. Fall tilling helps by exposing the pupae, which over-winter in the soil, to wind, weather, and predators. You can avoid earworms altogether by planting early, but the cold, damp weather discourages the corn almost as much as it does the earworms. Corn varieties with tight husks are physically more resistant to earworm damage. Try Country Gentleman or Silver Cross Bantam. Clipping a clothespin on the tip of each ear can help to keep husks tight. Try Wormwood Spray or a spray made from garlic and onion tea. Blacklight traps will destroy earworms ans cosmos, smartweed, and sunflowers are good trap crops.
Flea Beetles: If your tender transplants look like they've been hit by a shotgun blast, the most likely culprit is flea beetles. Diatomaceous earth, rotenone and pyrethrum are all effective
against flea beetles. Here are some additional control measures for flea beetles:
èCultivate frequently to kill the eggs.
èRemove plants after harvest.
èSprinkle wood ashes on  and around  plants.
èUse garlic and hot pepper sprays.
èPlant resistant varieties.
èUse crop covers.
TOMATO HORNWORMS: These distinctive creatures are masters of camouflage. The four-inch larvae are stem green with seven or eight diagonal white stripes down their sides. Each stripe is shadowed by a row of black dots, and punctuated with a huge false eyespot and black tail. They feed in the daytime, nibbling at fruit and consuming tremendous quantities of leaves. Little souvenirs similar in appearance to rabbit pellets are sometimes left behind. Target plants include tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, egg-plant and dill.
Adult hornworms are huge grayish brown moths with wingspans of up to five inches. They are also known as hawk or hummingbird moths, and they are sometimes mistaken for hummingbirds as they hover in front of flowers feeding on the nectar at dusk. Wings are ornamented with a wavy line pattern and the body is marked with orange spots. Pupae hibernate underground in hard, two-inch cases shaped like spindles. Fall tilling helps to destroy the pupae.
CONTROLS: Companion Planting & Other Means
Deterrent plants include borage, opal basil, and marigolds. Dill makes an excellent trap crop. The huge worms are easy to spot on dill plants, and can then be handpicked. Handpicking is the preferred method of control. Although they are huge, they usually aren't numerous. A blast of cold water from the hose will cause them to thrash about and make handpicking easier. If you can't bear to handpick the worms (even with gloves on) spray susceptible plants with Bt.
Links for More Garden Tips :
Recipe for Woodworm Spray: http://www.gardenguides.com/TipsandTechniques/herbal.htm
More about growing corn: http://www.gardenguides.com/Vegetables/corn.htm
More about natural pest control:
http://www.gardenguides.com/TipsandTechniques/naturalpestcontrol/pest-noframe.htm < /a>
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Controlling Insects on Houseplants
Healthy houseplants don't usually have problems with insects. A good organic potting soil, the proper amount of light and water, and regular feedings with a good liquid houseplant food will go fingernail under the insect to lift it off or touch a mealybug with a Q-tip moistened with alcohol to kill it.
è Homemade sprays work well. Choose a recipe that contains rubbing alcohol and spray at intervals of five
to ten days.
è Insecticidal soaps kill mealybugs in a day or two. Spray at five to ten day intervals.
è Diatomaceous earth kills mealybugs.
SPIDER MITES
These very tiny insects are hard to see without a magnifying glass. Leaves may curl and drop, and growth may be stunted. Look for blackened buds, a grayish dusty look on plants, and webs on the undersides of leaves.
Treatment:
èSoap sprays work well before plants become infested -- use at intervals of five to ten days.
èButtermilk spray: mix 1/2 cup buttermilk with 4 cups wheat flour to 5 gallons of water.
èSpray with rhubarb tea.
èAlcohol spray: 4 parts water to 3 parts rubbing alcohol.
èQuarantine the plant. Once plants are infested, mites can be difficult to get rid of.
SCALE
Scale may be white, yellow, brown gray or black. It looks like a hard-shelled lump on stems and leaves. It is so tightly attached that it sometimes appears to be a part of the plant. Foliage will turn yellow and leaves will drop.
Treatment:
èManual removal works well for small populations. Scale may be more difficult to remove than mealybugs.
èTry using a small knife to scrape them off. Rubbing them with a Q-tip soaked in alcohol will kill them.
èInsecticidal soaps kills scale in a day or two. Spray at five to ten day intervals.
èAlcohol spray: 4 parts water to 3 parts rubbing alcohol.
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