Can you make bug spray for your garden??

Think I will take some of the suckers - when they need to come off - and maybe a few leaves from the bottom and make this. Could be used on any plant - correct?

went back and reread. does "steep" mean bring to a boil and then let stand?????

Pepper wrote:went back and reread. does "steep" mean bring to a boil and then let stand?????

Sort of... you use the water after it comes to a boil, or a cold infusion, which will take a bit longer.


steep   [steep]
verb (used with object)
1.
to soak in water or other liquid, as to soften, cleanse, or extract some constituent: to steep tea in boiling-hot water; to steep reeds for basket weaving.
2.
to wet thoroughly in or with a liquid; drench; saturate; imbue.
3.
to immerse in or saturate or imbue with some pervading, absorbing, or stupefying influence or agency: an incident steeped in mystery.
verb (used without object)
4.
to lie soaking in a liquid.
noun
5.
the act or process of steeping or the state of being steeped.
6.
a liquid in which something is steeped.
Origin:
1350–1400; (v.) Middle English stepen < ?; compare Swedish stöpa; (noun) late Middle English stepe, derivative of the v.

Related forms
steep·er, noun
un·steeped, adjective

Synonyms
1. infuse. 2. permeate. 3. bury, engulf.

Camprn. I boiled the same leaves I cold processed yesterday, will let steep overnight then use tomorrow. I used up the last of what I had made yesterday.

Brilliant

rowena___. wrote:we use chopsticks to pull caterpillars off the plants, then we put the caterpillars on the fence posts for the birds to find. we've been doing this for so long that the birds now swoop down to the fence to wait while i'm in the garden.

I had a problem with cabbage worms which was successfully (apparently) dealt with by spraying Neem Oil (4 tbsp/gallon of water with a cap full of castile soap). I don't see any cabbage worms now, but something is still munching on my kale. What should I be looking for in the way of pests? I don't see anything in the garden but parasitic wasps, ants and the occasional small frog or snake (which has taken up residence under my Queen of Sheba Basil).

Anybody have a good recipe for potato beetles - haven't had them before but they are making a strong showing this year!

Thanks!

kensadams wrote:Anybody have a good recipe for potato beetles - ...
Thanks!

8 oz. Potato beetles
1/2 C minced onions
1 C shredded carrots
1 C thin sliced celery
2 TSP EVOO divided
1/4 C flour or corn starch

Pre-heat oven to 350°.  While oven is warming up, take the    
        then put in  
          being careful not to      
  
without     and remove from heat.  Serves 2.

Yum.

ROTFLMAO Boffer .. I like it   .

Me too!  I am still sore from laughing!

          

Good one boffer!

Boffer, that was priceless.  I got a good laugh.  Thanks for that!

 

The question reminded me of a TV show I saw last week where they went to various countries to visit insect farms.  Rather than raising cows or pigs for food, they're raising insects.  Apparently the facility and feed costs for raising insects are miniscule compared to that of cows and pigs in order to get comparable amounts of edible protein.

You youngsters better get used to the idea...cricket pâté is on the way!


Sorry for the derailment; here's a recipe for potato beetle repellent from here.

Homemade Sprays

Some organic gardeners rely on a broad-spectrum homemade spray to repel insects, notes the Rodale encyclopedia. Consider creating your own garlic oil, which involves soaking a dozen chopped garlic cloves in 1 pint of mineral oil, then strain and bottle. Alternatively, blend one part chopped hot pepper with four parts hot water, strain and bottle. Nonsqueamish organic gardeners capture several potato beetles or other problematic insects, puree them with soapy water, strain and bottle as a kind of olfactory “scare tactic” against future pests.

As I've never seen a potato beetle, I haven't tried it

Boffer, Thanks for the good laugh!