The garden season is in full swing now and garden problems are beginning to show themselves.

Insect attacks, plant diseases and critter raids take a real toll on all those beautiful flowers and lush vegetables that looked so great just a short time ago. Some of my roses that were picture perfect a few weeks ago are now under siege from black spot disease.

But not to worry – growing not far from my rose bushes and in my medicine cabinet are the ingredients for a black spot tonic that should restore my roses to perfection. A lot of other remedies are available using common ingredients that we all have on hand around the home and garden. Check your cupboards, closets, garages etc. and you’ll probably find just what you need to keep your flowers, shrubs, trees, etc. in tip-top shape.

Pest Control
• To keep a wide variety of insects away from your plants try this blend: 2-3 whole garlic bulbs, 1qt. water, 4-5 drops dishwashing liquid.

Place the garlic cloves in a blender with 1 c. water and blend. Add the rest of the water and the dishwashing liquid and blend. Strain the mix and store in a glass jar. Dribble on the soil around any plant you wish to protect from harmful insects.

• Use this mix against aphids and soft-bodied insects: 1 pint water, grated rind from 1 lemon. Boil the water and add the lemon rind. Allow to steep all night then strain and pour the liquid into a pump bottle. Apply to the leaves of any infected plant. Coat well.

• A great trap to control slugs in the garden: 2 roofing shingles, 6 quart jar lids or shallow containers, 1 can of beer, 1 pail.

Cut the shingles into three one-foot square pieces and fold in half to form tent covers for the traps. Press the edges of the shingle “tents” into the soil near the plants being eaten. Fill the jar lids to the rim with the beer and slide them under the shingle “tents.” After one or two days, empty the trapped snails and old beer into the pail and refill the lid traps with fresh beer.

• This spray will destroy slugs on contact: 1/2 c. ammonia, 1-1/2 c. water, 1 qt. pump spray. Pour ammonia and water into spray bottle. Shake together and spray mix into areas where slugs are active.

• Get rid of mealy bugs with this formula: 1 gal. water, 2 T corn oil, 2 T. dishwashing liquid, pump spray bottle. Place water, corn oil and dishwashing liquid into the spray bottle. Apply to infected plants.

• This is a remedy for pest-infected houseplants: 1 c. rubbing alcohol, 1 quart water, pump bottle. Mix the ingredients and pour into the pump bottle. Spray a plant leaf to test it first, then at three-day intervals spray the plant as needed.

• To control ants inside the house or outside, dust infested areas with baking soda.

• To keep wasps from attacking you give them these bait traps: Pop open a can of beer and pour out one-quarter of the liquid. Tie a string through the hole in the pop top and hang the can from a tree branch or nail near where the wasps are a problem. Wasps love beer and will crawl into the can and drown.

•  Repel grasshoppers by mixing 1 Tblsp. Kaopectate in 1 gallon of water. Spray this mix on the lawn, plants, trees, etc. where grasshoppers are a problem.

•  Keep fruit flies under control by placing a mix of 1 Tblsp. apple cider vinegar and water to fill a baby food jar to half full. Set the jar near area where the fruit flies are a problem and they will crawl into the jar and drown.

Plant Foods
• For azaleas, ferns, rhododendrons, blueberries, camellias and gardenias, this treatment is an excellent source of nutrients: 1 pint white distilled vinegar, 2 gallons water. Mix the ingredients well and pour directly on the soil around the base of the plants.

•A great plant food can be made from Swiss chard. Try this mix: 2 c. red or green Swiss chard leaves. Place the chopped leaves in a blender and add hot water to fill the blender. Blend the mix thoroughly and strain through a cheesecloth or colander. Let cool and use the mix to water plants.

• Oak leaf tea can be used to give nutrients to plants in the garden. Fill one-third of a pail or bucket with dried oak leaves and add water to fill. Allow the mix to stand in the water for one week in the sun until the liquid resembles brown tea. Strain out the leaves and use the tea to water around acid-loving plants.

• A great all-purpose plant treatment is a solution of 1T. Epsom salts in 1 gallon of water. Mix together and apply around the base of any plant needing a “pep-up.”

• Gatorade can be used to water houseplants and will add potassium and nitrogen to the soil to give a “boost” to your plants.

• Use leftover cereal crumbs to add to your garden soil. Sweetened varieties work best and add nutrients that are helpful to plants.

• Once a month, mix 2 T of olive oil into the soil around the base of ferns and palm plants.

• Used coffee grounds are a great addition to the soil around garden and houseplants. Work them into the soil and add plant-boosting nutrients to the soil.

Repel pesky animals
• Moles can be deterred from tearing up your lawn by pouring ¼ c. of dolomite lime into the openings of their underground runways and then replace the earth over the opening without compressing the soil.

• After planting spring bulbs, keep the squirrels away by sprinkling the ground with red cayenne pepper. Re-apply the pepper after a few days if it rains soon after the first application.

• Another formula to keep mice and squirrels away from your spring bulbs is the following: 1/2 oz. Tabasco sauce,

1 pint water, ½ tsp. dish soap, 1 tsp. chili powder. Mix together the ingredients and pour into a squirt bottle. After planting your bulbs, squirt the liquid into the soil over the bulbs. This mix can also be poured around the base of young trees to deter rodents from chewing.

• Use this mix to keep dogs from digging in certain areas of your yard: 1 clove garlic chopped, 1 onion chopped,

1 tsp. Tabasco sauce, 1 T cayenne pepper. Mix all in a pail and steep overnight. Sprinkle over areas where dogs are digging and mix will stop the activity.

• Repel cats from areas by spraying with white vinegar.

• Keep skunks away from any area of the yard by hanging fresh sheets of Bounce Classic from fence posts, shrubs and trees. Refresh the sheets with a mist of water every few days.

• Keep rabbits from chewing the bark of young trees by wrapping with a sheet of aluminum foil. Secure the wrap with duct tape. The shiny foil and rattling noise will deter rabbit chewing.

• Keep rats and mice out of any area of the garden by treating the soil with a mix of ½ c. castor oil and 2 gallons of water. The mix will repel the rodents and will also enrich the soil.

• Keep deer out of any bed or garden by laying sheets of bubble wrap along the edges of the bed. Secure the sheets with bricks or rocks. Deer will not walk over it.

• Black pepper sprinkled around garbage cans or your compost heap will keep critters away. One whiff of the pepper and animals will go.

Plant medicine
• Fungal diseases, aphids, and June bugs can be treated with a rhubarb spray, made from 6 rhubarb leaves and

3 quarts water. Place cut leaves in water and bring to a boil. Steep overnight and blend in a blender. Strain through a cheesecloth and pour into a spray bottle. Spray on any infected plant.

• Fight black spot on your roses with this formula: 10 tomato leaves, ½ c rubbing alcohol, 1onion, finely chopped.

Chop the tomato leaves into fine pieces. Mix with the chopped onion and rubbing alcohol. Remove any diseased leaves from your roses and, using a foam paintbrush, wipe over the entire bush including the tops and undersides of the leaves.

• A great fungal disease solution can be made with the following: 1 T. baking soda, 1 T. horticultural oil and 1 gallon water. Mix together and pour into a pump sprayer. Spray infected plants completely including the undersides of leaves.

• Get rid of powdery mildew on plants with a mix of 1 gallon water, 3 T. baking soda and 1 T. Murphy’s Oil soap. Pour into a spray bottle and spray on infected leaves.

• Sprinkle nonfat dry milk powder in the hole before planting tomato plants. The milk powder will prevent blight, blossom-end rot and other tomato diseases.

• Damping-off disease can be prevented by soaking affected areas on seedlings with an equal mix of water and hydrogen peroxide.

• Get rid of mold and mildew on peonies by dusting the ground around each bush with ground cinnamon.

• Disinfect garden tools with any type of hand sanitizer. The ethyl alcohol in the sanitizer will kill any bacteria and fungi.

• Powdery mildew and black spot can be treated with a mix of 1 tsp. baking soda and five drops of corn oil in 1 quart of water. Pour into a pump spray bottle and apply once a week for about a month to any affected plants.

• A mix of 1 T. Epsom salts in 1 gallon of water can be sprayed on plants to increase their resistance to disease. It also adds nutrients to the soil around the plant.

If you have garden questions or tips for other gardeners, send them to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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