Aphid remedy

[Seaweed]

I run into a woman I know in the supermarket earlier this week. She was telling me she makes a spray out of rhubarb leaves & water to get rid of aphids. Apparently you boil up 10 rhubarb leaves in a gallon of water. Then dilute that 50:1 & spray. I am going to experiment on dd1's roses next week.

[Momtezuma Tuatara]

And someone else I know swears by crushing several cloves of garlic, tying into small muslin, before forcing it down the neck of a spray bottle; adding water, and a drop of dishwashing liquid :D

[Seaweed]

To be honest I don't feel right spraying anything with anything. I know it is natural but I'd rather just grow things which don't get aphids. Hence also why I am going to trial it on dd1's roses as I don't have to eat them. I should really check all these things out anyways as people are always asking me.

[Trogdor]

A huge caveat I must admit up front : I'm not a gardener.

That said : My neighbor (who is a gardener) swears by adult male human urine. She has her men go out and pee on the bushes every so often and it keep the deer ,the rabbits , the squirrels , the aphids , and even the occasional horse away. (they get loose from neighboring ranches)

*shrug*

[Seaweed]

:giggle:I'd rather use a Bayer product than get dh to pee on our food plants. It would probably be safer :rolleyes: It would definitely keep our horses away as they don't like him at all! I have read in a certain bush gardening book that taking vitamin B & then peeing around the perimeter of the garden area helps prevent deers. I guess it would be worth a try on possums too. It was a 70s book so I am not sure if they were just assuming the pee-er would be a man?

[3monkeys]

I have a mental picture in my head of my neighbours watching and wondering as my DH pees on the garden, hehe.

I think the aphids won the war of the lettuces because 90% of them are dead. Oh well. Its all part of the big gardening experiment. And while I was away all my brocolli went to seed....... oh well. A few are still edible. I have had about 7 cucumber plants germinate while I was away too. I wonder what I am going to do wtih all of those cucumbers.

I am going to get a tunnel house soon.

[Seaweed]

Do cucumbers grow outdoors where you are? I am so moving further south if that is the case. As to all those cucumbers, send them up to me. We could do one a day easily :D

[3monkeys]

I dont know. They have germinated and have nice big green leaves but whether cucumbers actually grow or not is a whole nother story :D)

But if I do end up with cucumber surplus then they will be on the way. Mind you cucumber in balsamic vinegar.... YUMMY.

[Seaweed]

Yummy! Cucumbers with vinegar & dill! Do tomatoes grow outdoors? If you cucumbers do grow & fruit, do you know how to save some seeds? It would be great to get some from you as they would have more of a chance of growing here than seeds from the north island.

[3monkeys]

If they do grow let me know how to save seeds and I will save some.

My tomatoes are about 30cm high and have flowered and are growing mini - and I mean real teeny tiny - tomatoes. I think I need a to put them in a tunnel house or similar next year.

[Seaweed]

What type of tomatoes are they?

[3monkeys]

absolutely no idea...... :rofl: they are supposed to be BIG ones...... just ya run of the mill mitre 10 mega ones.