Can coffee protect your greenhouse from pests?
Pest management by organic methods is quickly learning to be a hot topic for health minded gardeners. Although organic bug control is not as effective as chemical pest management, the benefits of using a natural pesticide over a chemical based pesticide are safer for your plants and for your garden's production. Listed below are some home recipes for creating a natural pesticide.
1) Tobacco or Nicotine Spray: This mix is great for combating many different types of bugs, but especially caterpillars, aphids, and everything those nasty worms. Tobacco/Nicotine spray is really a powerful neurotoxin that can quickly dispose of unwanted visitors. But that Nicotine sprays are for this colony collapse crisis with honey bees, and your garden can quickly begin to smell like an ashtray.
The things you need:
1 cup of tobacco
1 gallon of water
Put the tobacco to the container of water. Permit the mixture to set for approximately 24 hours. After it's stood for a day, look at the color. It should be the tone of weak tea. If it's too dark, just dilute it with water until it's lighter.
*Warning: Don't use this solution on peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, or other member of the solanaceous family. Tobacco chemicals can kill these kind of plants!
2) Suds Spray:
A different way to stop pests has been soapy water. That's right, you can just use your old, dirty dishwater! Collect some of the water in a bowl and pour it in to a watering can and even use a pitcher to pour it over the plants. This works really well on other hardy plants. Many insects don't like their lunch spoiled by a soapy aftertaste! For a stronger solution, mix 3 Tablespoons liquid detergent right into a gallon of water, I favor Dawn, but any can do. Use this weekly.
3) Alcohol Spray:
This spray actually is great for houseplants. This especially deters meal bugs.
1/2 {cup of|cup} alcohol
2-3 tablespoons of dry laundry detergent
1 quart of warm water
Mix all ingredients and spray immediately. You don't really need to let this set, however you can't store it either. This solution should be made fresh for every use.
4) Salt Spray:
This solution is would be good for cabbage worms and spider mites.
Two tablespoons of salt
1 gallon water
Just mix and spray!
5) Garlic Spray:
The following is another recipe for any garlic spray that fights slugs too. Slugs must not like eating Italian. To create this smelly spray, utilize the following list of ingredients:
1 garlic bulb
1 quart of water
1 medium onion
1 Tbsp of cayenne
1 tablespoon liquid dish soap
Crush the garlic, chopping it fine. Add the finely chopped onion to the mixture, while adding the remainder of the ingredients except the soap. Wait an hour or so before adding the soap into the mixture. The spicy ingredients have to stew or steep, similar to tea. After an hour or so, add the soap and your non-toxic spray is prepared to use! This can be stored in the fridge for up to a week.
6) Dead Bug Spray:
Another way to beat the bug concern is by taking some dead carcasses of the insects and mixing them in water. Use one pint of water and 1/2 cup of slug carcasses. Although this is rather unpleasant, it really works. Would you want to be picnicking in that? Most of us wouldn't. Here is how you can make the insect carcass solution:
Blend water and bugs until mixed well then put into a plastic container or glass jar. To make use of this, pour into a sprayer and squirt a couple of drops on the affected plants. You are able to freeze this mixture for storage.
*Beware: Don't use flies, ticks, fleas, or mosquitoes within this solution! These insects carry many communicable human diseases!
7) Spearmint-Hot Pepper-Horseradish Spray:
This works on many different kinds of bugs- way too many to list!
1/2 cup of red pepper (hot)
water (read below)
1/2 cup of fresh spearmint
1/2 cup horseradish (root and leaves)
2 tablespoons of liquid detergent
1/2 cup green onion tops
8 ) Our favorite natural insecticide: Coffee Spray
Many researchers have researched the power of caffeine to fight and kill insects. Caffeine contains stimulants called methylxanthines, which is a naturally occurring defense in plants. Caffeine disrupts the nervous systems of insects and it has been proven to restrict behavior and maturation of many insects and insect larvae. In the event the caffeine does not quickly cause the insect's death, it is additionally known to suppress the bug's appetite, causing less damage.
Coffee sprays can be created by simply using cooled left-over coffee and diluting it towards the color of a weak tea. Spray on your plants weekly to discourage insects.
*It should be noted that gardeners suggest removing the fallen leaves of plants that contain high levels of caffeine, as decomposition slows considerably and does not benefit the plant.
Obviously, using coffee grounds to give your plants will increase the levels of caffeine the flower needs to improve its natural defense systems, and increase levels of Nitrogen, Potassium and many trace elements in the act.
BeanToGreen is a unique, easy to use formula that includes recycled coffee grounds and nourishes your plants with everything else they need to grow strong and beautifully.
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