:hiya:
In my efforts to become more self sustaining and the need to grow vegies as chemical free as possible I have been researching and asking anybody and everybody I know about hints and tips.
My Dad recently sent me this list of homemade
termite treatment cost/pesticide recipes they can be premade and stored (carefully as for other poisons) for a few months:
Weed Killer
1 cup common salt, 1 litre brown vinegar
Dissolve and brush onto weeds. Care not to touch anything else as it is very potent.
Lacewings
Dissolve 1 teaspoon of vegemite into 500ml water - spray onto plants to attract beneficial Lacewings into garden. (Great for vegie garden as lace wings will eat the bugs that eat your vegies - not chooks tho
)
Scale and mealy bugs
4 tablespoons of dishwashing liquid, 1 cup vegetable oil, shake well. Dilute 1 part to 20 parts of water to spray.
Aphids/caterpillars
2 tablespoons soap flakes, 1 litre water. Dissolve, use neat.
Black Spot
3 teaspoons Bi-carb soda, 1 litre water. Dissolve. Add a few drops of dishwashing detergent and spray.
Fungicide
Mix 1 teaspoon Bi-carb soda to 1 litre water. Add 1 litre skim milk and a pinch of Condie's Crystals (from produce agent - horses) and spray.
Grasshoppers/caterpillars/possums
Mix 1 cup molasses to 1 litre water. Spray.
*Add 1/2 litre of mixture to 2 litres of water and spray over garden to get rid of Nematodes.
Great all-round Insecticide
4 large onions, 2 cloves of garlic, 4 hot chillies. Cover with warm soapy water, leave to stand overnight. Strain off liquid and add to 5 litres of water for ready to use insecticide.
Insecticide
Crush bulb of garlic and cover with vegetable oil. After 2 days strain off liquid, add a couple of drops of dishwashing liquid. Mix 1 millilitre to 1 litre of water.I have also discovered a company which is online called "Bugs for Bugs". As the name suggests they sell bugs that are the natural predator for other bugs. I think they are reasonably priced and have placed my first order which they will post to me in a few days. Their web address is
http://www.bugsforbugs.com.auI hope some of you find this helpful in your gardening.
This homemade insecticide is very useful.