TO THE GARDENER
Whether you are an experienced gardener or just starting out...
Whether you want to create beautiful landscapes or grow a bounty of fresh, wholesome produce...
Whether you have a small plot or wish to create a backyard oasis...
Whether gardening is your hobby, your passion, or your livelihood...
This information is for you!!
Essential Oils are very effective at keeping the garden, pest and chemical free. Based on the pest you are trying to control or eliminate, choose one or more essential oils from the list below and apply according to one of the following application methods:
ESSENTIAL OIL SPRAY:
- Best to deter insects.
- Add 8 - 10 drops of desired essential oil to a gallon of water and spray directly on plants or the soil around them. This is the best method to use as a deterrent, treating for disease, and to encourage plant growth.
COTTON BALLS:
- Best to deter ground-moving insects, mice, squirrels, cats, and dogs.
- Add 4-5 drops of essential oil to cotton balls and scatter around the area or place in burrows or nests. You can also place the cotton balls in small containers and bury the container in the ground keeping the top level with the soil.
HANGING STRIPS OF CLOTH:
- Best to dissuade cats, dogs, and other animals from entering the garden. This method can also be used to attract pollinators and beneficial insects.
- Spray a solution of water and essential oils on cloth strips and hang from stakes, dowels, or other structures.
STRING:
- Best to deter flying insects.
- Soak a string in a solution of water and essential oils,, and string between rows of plants.
COMMON GARDEN PESTS;
Ants - While ants do not cause harm to plants, they do encourage aphids by protecting the aphids from beneficial predators. fire ant can pose a hazard simply because of their painful bite.
Essential Oils: Peppermint, Spearmint, citronella, Orange, Cedarwood
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Aphids - This colonizing pests attack to plants and feed on the nutrent-rich sap, especially the young, tender growth. They also carry harmful viruses and attract mold and other pests with their own sweet secretions.
Look for: clusters of rice-sized insects which can be pink, green, black or yellow, located on the underside of tender new growth and flower buds. They prefer ornamental plants including roses.
Essential Oils:Peppermint, Speramint, Tea Tree, Eucalyptus, Hyssop, Cedarwood, Orange, Balsam Fir
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Beetles - There area variety of beetles that feed on fruits, vegetables, flowers, stems, and even roots of opalnts.
Look for:Large, irregularly-shaped holes in leaves, stems, flowers, and fruits of plants.
Essential Ols: Peppermint, Thyme, Lemongrass, Cedarwood
Cabbage Loopers - These caterpillars chew ragged holes in the leaves ad bore into developing heads of cabbages, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower.
Look for: inchworm-like, pale green caterpillars; irregular holes in the leaves of plants or holes red into heads of vegetables.
Essential Oil: Rosemary
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Caterpillars - Various types feed on leaves, stems, and fruit of plants.
Look for: large holes chewed in leaves of plants. Some caterpillars, like the tomato hornworm, can strip all the laves from a a plat in a shot amount of time. also look for the presence of small black droppings on leaves.
Essential oils: Peppermint, Spearmint
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Cutworms - emerge at night and curl around plant stalks, especially those of seedlings, and chew stalks until they are cut through.
Look for: caterpillars curled around the stem of plants, especially after dusk. During the day, cutworms hide in the soil near the plants upon which they feed. Adult cutworms are dark-colored moths that are active at night.
Essentail Oils: Thyme, Sage
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Slugs and Snails - Actually mollusks, snails and slugs will feast on just about any plant. They seem to prefer young, tender transplants, leafy vegetables, and succulent plants. They are active mostly at night and during wet weather. Slugs and snails are very prolific and can lay up to 500 eggs per year.
Look for: large, irregularly-shaped holes in leaves and shiny slime trails.
Essential oils for slugs: Patchouli, Balsam Fir, Pine, Cederwood
Essential oils for snails: Patchouli, Balsam Fir, Pine, Cedarwood
Squash Bugs - Ofte referred to as “leaf bugs” because they resemble dried leaves, squash bugs will feed on many vegetables plants, with a strong preference for pumpkin and other squash plants. They suck juices from leaves, causing them to dry up and turn black.
Look for: leaf-shaped and colored bugs; shriveled, blackened eaves, reduced output of a plant.
Essential Oils: Peppermint
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