Dealing with mildew, black fly and aphids in an organic garden
By the Seed SistAs
Have you ever stepped into your organic garden only to find aphids taking over your plants, guarded by an army of gangster ants? Do you struggle with mildew creeping across your leaves despite your best efforts? What if you could protect your precious herbs and trees naturally, without resorting to harsh chemicals? Fear not, we’ve got you covered with 3 natural pest control recipes for your garden that actually work.
Dedicating a herbal medicine garden to natural ways to grow and manage pests takes time and a little extra consideration. It is sad times when you step out to realise all of your new herb shoots have been decimated by slugs, the wild cherry leaves and elder leaves covered in aphids with dell boy gangster ants farming them on your organic medicine garden leaves. The gangster takeover of ants thinking they can farm slave labour and milk the aphids on your precious medicine plants!!! The leaves stock together and wilt, the light can’t penetrate, the growth is affected.
Sometimes it can feel a challenge – you love all those creatures and feel they have a right to live in your garden, but you’re growing precious medicine that is being affected by their presence.
Preventive Measures for Mildew Black Fly and Aphids
How to grow healthy plants
You can minimise the impact to start off with. Nourishing your herbs and medicine trees is a good place to start. Just like humans need good healthy food, plants need nutrients and an environment that will help them thrive. There’s lots to think about but if you take it step by step you can troll shoot potential issues and learn as you go along.
Regular mulching, addition of compost and nutrients when needed is vital.
Get the most out of companion planting
Companion planting can be helpful to provide food for insects or act as deterrents that aren’t actually the herbs you’re growing. Allium family provides a good deterrent in many instances, and calendula can grow brilliantly next to many medicinals to divert insect invasion. A border of aromatic herbs might help to keep beasties away repelled by the volatile oils.
We always find it strange when a plant, like wormwood that is anti-parasitic can end up being the only plant absolutely covered in black fly.
Encouraging the life cycle – introducing predators
Encouraging the right predators is a great starting point – lady birds will eat green flies, for example; however, in the instance of ants farming aphids they keep them all together and protect them from predators, such as ladybirds, wasps and hoverfly larvae. The ants gather the aphids at the juicy end points of the plant, the newest leaf and upper stems providing the aphids with lots of food. They then stroke or milk the aphids to encourage production of a byproduct that the aphids secrete a sweet liquid known as honeydew. The relationship is mutually beneficial for the insects but can cause lots of issues for a growing plant or tree.
Ensure good air flow
Good air flow in the garden in areas of poor circulation and dams in the garden can be more prone to mildew on the leaves. That looks like a powdery, white coating on the leaves. It makes growing and reproduction challenging for the plant. The leaves may turn yellow, become withered or distorted, and the plant will become weak, bloom less, and grow slower.
When the insects and mildew take over
Despite all the precautions you’ve taken, the gangster ants are at it again, the black fly has taken hold and mildew is forming on the leaves in some of the damper areas of your garden plot. What do you do now?!!
3 Natural Pesticide Sprays
Here are our 3 natural pest control recipes that will deter aphid and ant issues in medical plants and fruit trees, as well as black fly and any other infestations of tiny creatures that wreak havoc on an organic gardening plot.
Garlic Spray for Aphids
Now, it’s not a pleasant job, and possibly not for the vegans or Buddhists amongst us, but unfortunately reducing the numbers of aphids is massively helped by wiping them off the leaves. Donning a pair of gloves, grabbing some kitchen roll and coming in with a homemade snappy will make a huge difference.
You can just use a spray made with soap and water, but it needs to be repeated regularly to stop the aphid farm from re-establishing in between spray sessions. If you use a garlic spray, you stand more of a chance of making the environment inhospitable to the ants and the aphids. When crushed, garlic releases allicin which will repel and confuse the insects. The garlic also acts as a fungicide so this spray is also helpful for any leaves suffering mildew growth. It’s always worth checking on a few leaves first to make sure the concoction isn’t too strong and is going to damage the plant too much.
Mineral oil is a better option than olive oil or cooking oils as it won’t bung up the spray bottle as much. Having oil coats the insects and stops them breathing.
Ingredients:
- 13 garlic cloves
- 500ml Mineral oil or any light carrier oil
- 2 tablespoons washing up liquid – we use an eco washing liquid which works just as well
- 500ml water
- 2 tablespoons of dishwater
To make:
- Finely chop the garlic cloves. Please them in a jar and cover with the mineral oil and leave over night
- Strain off the oil and add the water and washing up liquid
- Stir well
- Pour into a spray bottle and spray onto the affected plant. Remember to do a spot test first on one leaf.
- Spray and scrape off the aphids and ants and repeat every few days as needed until the ants move on and no aphids remain.
This blend can also be used for black fly and mildew
Rosemary Oil Spray for Mildew
Rosemary essential oil is a wonderful anti-fungal which makes this spray perfect for damp affected leaves in the shady corners of your garden.
Ingredients:
- 10-15 drops of rosemary essential oil
- 1 litre of water
- 1 tablespoon of dish soap
To make:
- Combine the rosemary oil with water and soap in a jug, the soap acts as an emulsifier for the oil into the water.
- Fill a spray bottle.
- Shake well and apply to plants regularly every few daysto reduce the mould damage. Keep an eye on the leaves that the spray is helping and not damaging the leaves.
Chilli Spray for Black Fly
Again, one of the things you just have to do in the case of black fly infestation is to wipe them away. This is possible if there aren’t too many, but a serious infestation gets more problematic to deal with. Black flies don’t hang around for long however. They will eventually all leave as the life cycle is complete but it can be very harmful to your plant and not really make the medicine possible to harvest. This chilli spray will not only keep the block fly at bay but will also stop the slugs from getting too close to your lovely herbs and decimating the leaves.
Ingredients:
- 10-12 of fresh strong chillies
- 1 tablespoon of dishwashing liquid
- 1 litre of boiling water.
To make:
- Thinly slice the chillis and place in a heat proof jar or jug
- Pour over the dish soap and fill with the boiling water
- Leave to soak for 24 hours or overnight
- Sprain and fill a spray bottle.
- Spray on the problem leaves or surrounding soil if there is a slug issue.
Tips for Using the Herbal Sprays
- Always test a small area of the plant first to ensure there is no adverse reaction.
- Apply sprays (especially containing oils) in the early morning or late afternoon to avoid direct sunlight, which can cause leaf burn.
- Reapply after rain or watering, as the effectiveness may diminish.
- Store any unused spray in a cool, dark place and use it within a few weeks for best results.
These natural pest control recipes can help manage pests while being safe for the environment and beneficial insects.
These blog articles are herbal education resources, produced by the Seed Sistas. Gain insights and join us in the evolution of healthcare, please do leave a comment or question. Wellbeing empowerment for all…
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Hi there, interesting ideas. Can you tell me what dish soap and dishwater are? Thanks
Well noticed – we meant soap – we often use Ecover washing up liquid mixed with water.