Leave My Leaves Alone -- Garlic Spray

Newly emerged potato leaf after spraying.

Potato leaf before spraying.

     My goal, as an organic gardener, is to set up the best environment for my plants; supply natural inputs to sustain them; and—as they say in the  medical profession—“do no harm”.  I strive to make my garden capable of sustaining my family for the year without any harmful inputs.

     Organic gardeners rarely look for “perfect”, unblemished produce.  We are generally satisfied sharing some of our harvest with the insect world as long as the plant does not suffer and we are able to harvest enough for our needs.  Aphids and other leaf eating insects push my limits, not only eating too much of my edible greens (collards, Swiss chard, spinach, kale and lettuces), but at times spreading disease from plant to plant (potatoes).  When the damage begins to impact the harvest, I use a home-made garlic spray to repel the insects.

 

     Although I continue to experiment to see which sprays adhere best to the leaves and are most effective, this formula is the best I've come across so far:

• ¼ cup cooking oil
• 1 tablespoon hot pepper flakes (or hot pepper)
• 4 cloves of garlic (peeled)
• 1 teaspoon liquid detergent
• 1 egg
• 1 quart water (divided into two parts)

1.      Puree first five ingredients food processor with 1 cup water.

2.      Let sit for ½ hour.

3.      Strain. 

4.      Combine with 3 cups of water; shake.

5.      Spray plants. 

      After spraying the vegetables, I finish off the spray on my roses; it effectively repels the insects that eat the leaves and nibble the buds before they're able to bloom.