Garlic - Pepper Spray .....

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vja4Him

New Member
I'm hoping that I can go completely organic to fight the bugs ....

I've tried Sevin-5 and others, and I think those chemicals have made me sick! Also, I like to be able to go out and pick anything I want from my garden anytime I want.

Sometimes I like to pick stuff, like fresh Peas, Curly Mustard Greens (spicy hot!!!), Radishes, Beans, and eat without even washing.

Has anyone tried using Garlic-Pepper (hot pepper) spray! I've been having a terrible infestation of bugs (green, white, black, red, brown), mostly on the underside of my greens (Mustard, Turnip, Beet, Collards, Swiss Chard, Chinese Cabbage, Kale).

Also, something is eating my Cantaloupe and Cucumber seedlings, killing most of the new plants before they get a chance to mature. I almost lost all of my Potatoes, until I sprinkled Sevin-5, which seemed to have saved my Potatoes. Fortunately I won't be eating the Potatoes for another several months, but now that deadly poison has soaked into the ground ... !!!

Just how effective is Garlic-Pepper spray?

Does it matter much if you add something, like Mineral Oil, or Dish Soap? I just made up another batch of Garlic-Pepper spray and soaked it in two teaspoons of Mineral Oil, then let it steep over night. Strained it today and put in two containers, which are in the fridge.

I've tried just plain Dish Soap mixed with water (nothing else), and that didn't seem to be much good.

I'm wondering how often I can use the Garlic-Pepper mixture to spray on my plants ....

I've also prepared a mixture of Tomato leaves (nothing else), but haven't applied it yet. I've checked my Corn really good, and there doesn't seem to be any problems with my Corn ....

Is the Tomato spray good for any/all plants ... ???

Should I add some Mineral Oil or Dish Soap to the Tomato leaves mixture?
 

Randy

Super Moderator
Staff member
Crabbergirl has a pepper spray that she has had good luck with. I think it is posted on the forum here someplace, but she will probably see your inquiry and respond.
 

Crabbergirl

Super Moderator
Staff member
Hi vja,Welcome to the forum.
Homeade orgainc sprays work well if you keep up with the applications. The link below is one of many threads on organic solutions. However if you find the process labor intensive, there have recently been a lot of organic solutions on the shelves at garden retailers. Greenlight is one line of good organic products . Neem oil is a great product as well. If you decide to buy online products , please remember to use the links through this site to places such as Gardensalive.com There you will find an array of organic products.

http://www.gardenforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=60&highlight=pepper+spray
 

Crabbergirl

Super Moderator
Staff member
Also, something is eating my Cantaloupe and Cucumber seedlings, killing most of the new plants before they get a chance to mature. I almost lost all of my Potatoes, until I sprinkled Sevin-5, which seemed to have saved my Potatoes. Fortunately I won't be eating the Potatoes for another several months, but now that deadly poison has soaked into the ground ... !!!
This sounds like it might be cut worms. Are the plants cut off at the ground? Hot pepper / garlic spray will help when you spray the ground surrounding the plant as well as the plant. NEVAR spray in the heat of the day!

Just how effective is Garlic-Pepper spray?

Does it matter much if you add something, like Mineral Oil, or Dish Soap? I just made up another batch of Garlic-Pepper spray and soaked it in two teaspoons of Mineral Oil, then let it steep over night. Strained it today and put in two containers, which are in the fridge. I would stay away from the mineral oil and stay with a natural oil. Mineral oil is a petroleum product. :)

I've tried just plain Dish Soap mixed with water (nothing else), and that didn't seem to be much good. The dish soap solution is good for aphids but not much else unless you add baking soada and then it can be used for black spot on roses

I'm wondering how often I can use the Garlic-Pepper mixture to spray on my plants ....
I spray everytime I water or it rains, in addition if I see pest

I've also prepared a mixture of Tomato leaves (nothing else), but haven't applied it yet. I've checked my Corn really good, and there doesn't seem to be any problems with my Corn .... I have not heard of or used tomato spray.

Is the Tomato spray good for any/all plants ... ???

Should I add some Mineral Oil or Dish Soap to the Tomato leaves mixture?I do know that you can use a tabbaco mixture but you can not apply it to any nightshade paltns ( tomatoes, potatoes, egg plants and the such) or it will kill them.

Hope this helps!
 

vja4Him

New Member
Hi vja,Welcome to the forum.
Homeade orgainc sprays work well if you keep up with the applications. The link below is one of many threads on organic solutions. However if you find the process labor intensive, there have recently been a lot of organic solutions on the shelves at garden retailers. Greenlight is one line of good organic products . Neem oil is a great product as well. If you decide to buy online products , please remember to use the links through this site to places such as Gardensalive.com There you will find an array of organic products.

http://www.gardenforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=60&highlight=pepper+spray

Thanks for the tips! I think I'll order the Neem oil. I really don't mind mixing up my own solutions from Garlic, Peppers and Tomatoes, but the Garlic and Pepper burn my skin, and also make me sneeze almost non-stop .... Even though I bought some heavy-duty rubber gloves, my fingers still burn ....

Something is getting my Cucumbers and Beans, and almost destroying them ... I don't know what it is, but I see lots of bugs that look like beetles (three or four different kinds), and pincher bugs (earwigs).

The Garlic-Pepper spray doesn't seem to be stopping those critters at all ... I've sprayed everything (I mean EVERYTHING!!!) ... All the weeds, grass, all the plants, stems, leaves, wood, dirt, everything .....

If I can't get these bugs under control, looks like I won't have any Cucumbers, Beans or Cantaloupe left this summer ....
 

vja4Him

New Member
Hi vja,Welcome to the forum.
Homeade orgainc sprays work well if you keep up with the applications. The link below is one of many threads on organic solutions. However if you find the process labor intensive, there have recently been a lot of organic solutions on the shelves at garden retailers. Greenlight is one line of good organic products . Neem oil is a great product as well. If you decide to buy online products , please remember to use the links through this site to places such as Gardensalive.com There you will find an array of organic products.

http://www.gardenforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=60&highlight=pepper+spray

I checked Gardensalive.com, but they don't have Neem. I'm searching for a place to buy Neem .....
 

Crabbergirl

Super Moderator
Staff member
If you guys have Lowe's or Home Depots out that way they should have Neem Oil. Also the insecticidal soaps work for some pest also. At the stores it is about $4.95 and makes 16 gal. very affordable ;)

Sounds like mexican bean bettles and cucumber beetles. Hand pick and smash or you can carry a container with dish soap and oil mix to drop them into as you pick them until you can secure neem oil. There is a great bug juice mix where you use the offending pest to make a spray. But if you have that many bugs you are in major need of control LOL!
 

vja4Him

New Member
If you guys have Lowe's or Home Depots out that way they should have Neem Oil. Also the insecticidal soaps work for some pest also. At the stores it is about $4.95 and makes 16 gal. very affordable ;)

Sounds like mexican bean bettles and cucumber beetles. Hand pick and smash or you can carry a container with dish soap and oil mix to drop them into as you pick them until you can secure neem oil. There is a great bug juice mix where you use the offending pest to make a spray. But if you have that many bugs you are in major need of control LOL!

Thanks for the tip!

Wonder if Wal-Mart has Neem .... I'll definitely check out both Wal-Mart and Home Depot for Neem. At that price I'll pick up two or three bottles .....

Since I started spraying Garlic-Pepper spray, seems like one gallon is usually enough to spray my entire garden! Although, I haven't needed to spray every single plant. Lots of my Beans don't have any bugs, whereas some of my Beans look terrible, all chewed up, with big holes in the leaves, decapitated (!).

My Peas have not been infested with anything this year! In the past, I've had really bad luck with Peas. My Squash, Watermelon, and Corn have also not been infested with anything. Beets are doing pretty good. Have seen some bugs on a few Beets leaves, but not enough to cause any alarm.

Biggest problem I'm having is bugs chewing up the Bean, Cucumber and Cantaloupe leaves before the seedlings can even get a good start. I've had to replant Cucumbers, Beans, and Cantaloupe many times this year, and looks like I will need to replant again soon ......
 

Crabbergirl

Super Moderator
Staff member
So you never see what is actually eating the plants? Just wondering. The decapitation sounds like cut worms. Their M/O is to top plants that are very young , even chopping them off at the ground. It happens mostly at night. If you probe around under the mulch and soil you may find the worms. That's why I always treat around the base of the plants.
Not sure if Wal Mart has Neem or not. I try not to go in there becuase I come out with stuff I never knew I needed. LOL!
 

vja4Him

New Member
So you never see what is actually eating the plants? Just wondering. The decapitation sounds like cut worms. Their M/O is to top plants that are very young , even chopping them off at the ground. It happens mostly at night. If you probe around under the mulch and soil you may find the worms. That's why I always treat around the base of the plants.
Not sure if Wal Mart has Neem or not. I try not to go in there becuase I come out with stuff I never knew I needed. LOL!

I haven't seen whatever it is that eats the leaves .... I really need to do something very soon, or I won't have much of a garden left ....

Fortunately, two sections of my garden haven't been hit quite as hard with whatever it is that eats the leaves, and kills the plants.
 

Crabbergirl

Super Moderator
Staff member
Let us know how it workls out for you. If you have pictures , please feel free to post ! We love seeing gardens!
 

vja4Him

New Member
Let us know how it workls out for you. If you have pictures , please feel free to post ! We love seeing gardens!

I think the Garlic-Pepper spray I've been using is helping, or maybe the bugs are affected by the hot weather ....

I do have one garden patch that is doing very nicely! I've been inspecting carefully everyday, and seems to be healthy, and unaffected by bugs and gophers. This patch has several varieties of Beans, Peas, Radishes (mostly the long white Radishes), two kinds of Squash, Watermelon, Corn, Tomatoes, and Cantaloupe.

I'll be trying to grow Watermelon, Squash, Cantaloupe, Pumpkins and Cucumbers vertically this year (first time I've ever tried this). I have already set up some tripods with twine, and I've started tying some of the 48-pound heavy-duty rope for the heavy fruit.

My Beans are already starting to creep up the front fence. I'm hoping they will completely engulf the fence .....

I will post some pictures, but probably not until this weekend ....
 

Crabbergirl

Super Moderator
Staff member
I once saw a garden where they grew the big fruits vertically and they made hammocks for the large fruits. They used the mesh bags used for onions and fruit in the market. They said that cradling the fruit was better than trying to tie it up. Something to think about anyway. You really need to post us some pictures , I would love to see your success with the vertical gardening.
 

Wombat

Active Member
Well done for your persistence! I recall similar things happening in my garden after I decided to go organic and also use permaculture methods. I discovered that the bad bugs tended to eat the plants that were'nt doing that well and so I left them to it. The healthy ones were virtually ignored by the 'baddies". It took a while for that to occur but it was worth waiting for....
 

Wombat

Active Member
Oh you're spot on there, but it's great to see it happening in your own backyard knowing you've helped, albeit in a small way to create your own little backyard habitat for all the "locals" to visit and live.
 

Crabbergirl

Super Moderator
Staff member
I agree!
I saw a bee killer in the garden yesterday and he had a huge bumblebee.Not exactly the killing I like to see in the gardenn but it was still an awesome site. Wish I had my camera with me but I was actually on my way out and just stopped to grab some peppers.
 

Wombat

Active Member
Yeah I saw a mantis munching on a beautiful black/red/white butterfly a couple of months ago, didn't like that at all but survival of the fittest I suppose.:(
 

chad38

New Member
Organic solutions have proven to be effective. The best option is to use the insecticidal soaps. You can usually find it at Walmart, Lowes, or Home Depot for around $6 or $8 bucks. The key to it's effectiveness is using it on a frequent basis.
 


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