Organic Pest Control for the Garden!

Well, the tiny beasties have found my flowers and vegetables, so here is what I googled and found for a way to get rid of them! Sounds a little dangerous - I will have to remember to label the concoction so that my sweet hubby doesn't accidentally use it as hot sauce to pour on his food! Just posting here so I can find it later - with ease - I do know how to bookmark, but then again, I REALLY know how to bookmark so it REALLY will be less work to just check back here! Click on the heading to go to the webpage because there is a LOT more stuff on it - REALLY, really good stuff. Really - hmmmmmm, must be stuck this morning, really...lol...

pest control solutions

Garlic fire spray is the stuff of legend. There are many recipes, but they consist of some or all of the following: garlic, chilli peppers, soap, vegetable oil, kerosene and water. Don't leave home without a concoction of this. Depending on its strength it will slay dragons and ants (must have dragons if we mention legends)!

The brew I use at the moment is very effective and goes like this:

* 2-3 garlic bulbs (about 6-10 cloves per bulb)
* 6 large or 12 smaller hot chilli peppers (any variety will do, or if unavailable try 1-2 tablespoon hot chilli powder)
* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
* 3 squirts of liquid detergent (approximately 1 dessertspoonful)
* 7 cups water. (Use about 2-3 cups in the blender, and top up with the rest later)

Put the whole lot into a blender and vitamize well, then strain through muslin, a coffee filter or similar. Pour what you need into a spray bottle for use and keep the rest in jars with lids on in a cupboard or on a shelf somewhere, well labeled.

Experiment with it if necessary and check for results or any damage to young plants. If it fixes the problem and your plants are happy, you've got the perfect mix, but if there's still a few biggie pests, albeit struggling, then lower the water dilution rate or change the ingredient quantities slightly.

Lovely garlicky, pongy stuff, but the smell dissipates quickly once it's been sprayed around. This garlic fire mixture needs to be re-sprayed frequently, such as after rain and dew. It's best to spray every few days until there's no sign of pests, then about every week to 10 days for any eggs or larvae that may have hatched out.

Uses for this natural garden pest control are unlimited. Because it has oil and dishwashing liquid in it, it sticks to plants as well as suffocating pests such as scale and mealy bug. It will kill ants, aphids, caterpillars, grubs, bugs and just about anything small. SO BE VERY SELECTIVE — MIND THE LADYBUGS, LACEWINGS, BEES AND OTHER BENEFICIAL FRIENDS.

Spraying this mixture around the edge of your garden will deter pets. Rabbits, gophers, woodchucks and other garden gate crashers will also be discouraged.

Here's another version, if you don't have a blender (really!). Put a whole garlic bulb through a garlic press and let it sit in a glass jar with several ounces of mineral or salad oil. Mix a few spoonfuls with dishwashing liquid, hot pepper sauce and water in a spray bottle.

5 things....

I have seen some blogs lately which use their Saturday posting to share 5 things they are thankful for or made them happy during the week - a great habit I think! So here are my 5 things for this week:

1. The experience of going to a wedding - watching two people begin their lives as one!

2. Wedding music!

3 Seeing old friends and catching up!

4. Daydreaming with my little girl about the future (how to do romance, relationships, responsibility).

5. Seeing Angel in her Easter dress one more time - with her long curly hair down, and her sweet smile as she watched the wedding party enter the church...

Have a blessed Sunday!

Sharon's Morning Art

I am always intrigued by artists who can use color in non-traditional ways...I love the shading effects this brings...so I have captured this video by Sharon Tomlinson (an artist I like to follow)so I can reference it later...

Hope you enjoy it too!

Morning ART April 26 from Sharon Tomlinson on Vimeo.

The things we do - in the name of Science!

This isn't a picture of the ACTUAL wasp - and due to the "graphic" nature of our "experiment", there are no actual pictures of our process...the human mind and our imagination are so much more detailed than any photo documentation could be....

Picture this: Right as supper is ready to serve, a wasp is discovered in the den. BUT, instead of the usual "swat and squish", the idea is hatched by our young scientist that she wonders if a wasp can still fly without its stinger? The culprit is somehow captured live under a drinking glass, and it is now requested of ME (I don't know why, except for the fact that all children must think that their moms can do ANYTHING...)to simply stun it and NOT squish it, in order for the experiment to be carried out. At this point I am compelled to inform you that the scientific tools chosen for this experiment consist of one pocket knife and one water shoe. The budding scientist is holding the pocket knife, ready to carry out the amputation of the stinger; I am handed the shoe...and given instruction..."When I lift the glass, you smack it, but don't kill it or squish it..." Now you might think that an easy task - but note that wasps get angry quickly and easily...I was poised, shoe in air, the glass was tilted, the wasp buzzing...

What followed was frankly - comical! Imagine me trying to hit - and avoid smashing - an angry wasp who naturally has an erratic flight pattern! Of course I missed several times...only serving to make Mr. Wasp angrier! But somehow during the melee, he was stunned and the rest of the experiment carried out...the results? A wasp can still fly without it's stinger, but not without it's head...

I know, I know...trust me, your imagination works the best for the second part of the experiment/story!!!

Simple Woman's Daybook

Here is a picture for thought I am sharing...these wildflowers are abundant on our property right after the bluebonnets are done blooming (You can see a bluebonnet going to seed on the left). These consist of lime green star shaped flowers arranged in a sphere as the flower head. There is a touch of purple at the center and there are white - stamens perhaps? - that radiate from the center in a star shape as well. They are so unusual! And they are highly fragrant - a friend said that they smell like gardenias...Click on the photo to enlarge it and check out these details!


FOR TODAY
May 11, 2010...

Outside my window...a gentle breeze, green everywhere except for the pops of color from wildflowers and flower beds...he dogs lying lazily on the deck...an occasional bird flies by...so peaceful and content feeling.

I am thinking...about how to greater influence my daughter through "gentleness".

I am thankful for...a steady husband!

From the learning rooms...end of school distraction - but still on target for finishing in May!

From the kitchen...lots of fresh vegetables and salads due to the season.

I am wearing...jeans with a white tank - and barefoot!

I am creating...next school year's curriculum and schedule - doesn't that count? LOL.

I am going...to work on organic pest control formulas for the gardens today - however it looks like it might rain, so I might be putting that off till another day. At least I can research it and get the spray bottle ready.

I am reading...to Angel. It is a book from 1910 with loads of character stories in it. The jacket claims that this collection was found in every orphanage across the U.S. in the 1890s and early 1900s. She wanted me to keep reading and reading yesterday! BUT, I got so sick over the weekend and was still recovering, so I had only enough voice for one...today I will read as many as she wants!

I am hoping...for a day with no "battles of the will" over school work.

I am hearing...silence. peaceful silence.

Around the house...cleaning the baseboards!

One of my favorite things...cuddling with my girl in the cuddle chair!

A few plans for the rest of the week...maybe getting my hair cut and touched up. Perhaps listing some unused items on ebay - if I feel up to it! I will have to schedule appointments with folks that I have been putting off due to not feeling well...so much to do, so little energy!

The Simple Woman's Daybook