Homemade garden chemicals - fungicide, herbicide and insecticide

Zuiderzee

BORDEAUX MIX (Bluestone spray)
For preventing Potato Blight and some other fungal diseases:-

Copper Sulphate 1 lb (250g)
Hydrated Lime 1¼ lb (315g)
Water 10 gal (25 litres)

Use as a spray wetting all surfaces of leaves and stems.

Burgundy Mixture is is a similar preparation with more commonly found ingredients:
50g Copper Sulphate (bluestone)
60g Sodium Carbonate (washing soda) or Sodium Bicarbonate (baking soda)
60g Soot if available
add to 5 litres of water

INSECTICIDE
Garlic spray is generally an effective, short-term repellent and will kill some soft-bodied insects. Don't forget that garlic does smell, so be selective as to where you spray it.

Garlic Spray - kills many insect pests and friends so use carefully


1. Non-oily - Chop one or two complete garlic bulbs (heads) and cover with boiling water in a lidded jar. Leave to soak overnight.
Strain and add to one litre of Soap Spray. Unused spray will decay but can be frozen to preserve.

2. Oily - 100g chopped garlic soaked for at least 24 hours in 30ml veg oil.
Add 500ml water with 5ml liquid soap and stir well to emulsify the oil.
This should keep for a few months in a sealed childproof jar - store in a cool area.

Use 30ml of preparation in 500ml water and 5ml soap to spray plants.

Although environmentally friendly this home made spray can cause damage to innocent insects and bugs that just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, the same applies to fragile vegetation in the close proximity.


WEEDKILLER / HERBICIDE

While there are many different recipes out there for a homemade weed killer most of them are based off of the following:
• 1 litre of white vinegar.
• 60 grammes of table salt.
• 1 squirt of washing up liquid.

Mix everything together making sure the salt is completely dissolved.
You can then pour this into a spray bottle or one of those weed sprayers you can get at any garden center.

You spray this solution directly on the weeds you want to get rid of preferably on a hot day in full sun for best results. One thing to remember with this solution is to not get it on anything you don’t want to kill.

It is non-selective in what it kills meaning it will kill any plant life it comes in contact with and it will sterilize the soil for up to two years depending on how much you get on the soil.

Please pay particular attention to this, the salt in the solution is what makes the soil uninhabitable for weed seedlings which are still to come.
If you wish to effectively poison your soil to new sowings and plantings for approx two years, then add the the salt element, if not omit it.
So with salt is best for patios, gravel drive etc, basically all areas designed to be free of growth, whereas without salt is better for beds, borders, lawns and veg areas, where you intend to plant again.

Also be aware that this solution cannot be sprayed wholesale over lawns to kill just weeds, as it is indiscriminate in its damage to both weed and grass. On a lawn it is better suited to spot treatment
If you are concerned about getting the vinegar solution on your desirable plants you can use a cloth to wipe the solution on the leafy parts of the weeds.

This will keep any of the solution from coming in contact with the plants you want to keep.

If you use this method it is advisable to wear rubber gloves to protect your hands from the acidic affects of the vinegar.
If you don’t want to use this formula for a homemade weed killer then you can always rely on the tried and true method of hand-pulling any weeds you find in your landscape. Eventually the weeds lose the ability to create enough food for their roots to continue to grow and their roots will die off. This actually works best if you don’t have a lot of weeds in your drive or garden.

DISCLAIMER: ( I have been advised to put this in)
Under Irish and EU law it is illegal to use any preparation as a pesticide/fungicide/herbicide that is not approved for such use.
The information here is for reference only and does not imply a recommendation for use.
If you disregard this warning and make any of the preparations, you do so entirely at your own risk.
The author and the website accepts no responsibility for how a user may mix, use, store, or any effects the mixture or its elements may have on people, plants or the environment.

johno2

Is this taken straight from http://www.gardenplansireland.com/forum/about146.html?

johno

magicbastarder

that's the earliest example i can find of it - it was used before on boards.ie as well, and on a couple of other sites, but the gardenplansireland post is the earliest example i can find.

mike65

Sounds like a home brew for Homicide

mickeyjo

this is great, was looking for a childsafe weedkiller, thanks

Corsendonk

mickeyjo wrote: »

this is great, was looking for a childsafe weedkiller, thanks

A hoe!

Degsy

You can make an effective insecticide by dissolving a cigarette in a litre of water and letting it brew for a few days.
Filter the liquid into your sprayer and apply to visible pests such as aphids and greenfly.

mickeyjo

Corsendonk wrote: »

A hoe!

so utterly thankful am I for the above suggestion...
where to put that hoe? :P

dardevle

Degsy wrote: »

You can make an effective insecticide by dissolving a cigarette in a litre of water and letting it brew for a few days.
Filter the liquid into your sprayer and apply to visible pests such as aphids and greenfly.

....certainly an effective pest killer and one which has been used extensively in the past by some people, in recent times it has become a bit frowned upon because of the association with tobacco mosaic virus and definitely should not be used on plants of the nightshade family.


......

Corsendonk

mickeyjo wrote: »

so utterly thankful am I for the above suggestion...
where to put that hoe? :P

A hoe used properly can be just as good for getting rid of weeds especially on a sunny day in a veg/fruit patch at least , good exercise too just make sure the handle is long enough for you or you run the risk of back trouble.

mickeyjo

thanks corsendonk, will check out size of handle on hoe....am planning to start a veg patch.
Need the weed killer for my kerbs and wall, so hoe wouldn't work there.
And the tip for the cigerette ends-Fantastic! I do not allow anyone to smoke near the hse even, and Ive some ends in a metal bucket from the weekend that haven't been put into the wheeliebin yet.
Am going to try both weedkilling recipes-one for each wall!
:rolleyes:

fodda

Well then you have a choice and the organic weedkiller which is made in Ireland is here http://www.owk.ie/ a company from Galway i think and if you want to know about veg growing tools (your hoes) go here www.chillingtonhoes.com and there are some videos on that site you may be interested in.

Corsendonk

Degsy wrote: »

You can make an effective insecticide by dissolving a cigarette in a litre of water and letting it brew for a few days.
Filter the liquid into your sprayer and apply to visible pests such as aphids and greenfly.

You also use to be able to get nicotine strips, don't know if they are still allowed. You would use in greenhouses by hanging up and lighting and closing the door and windows and leave for a day or two.

Corsendonk

mickeyjo wrote: »

thanks corsendonk, will check out size of handle on hoe....am planning to start a veg patch.
Need the weed killer for my kerbs and wall, so hoe wouldn't work there.
And the tip for the cigerette ends-Fantastic! I do not allow anyone to smoke near the hse even, and Ive some ends in a metal bucket from the weekend that haven't been put into the wheeliebin yet.
Am going to try both weedkilling recipes-one for each wall!
:rolleyes:

I did see a tool before for use on kerbs, brickwork. Basically a hand held gas flame, burns away the weeds or causes suffiecient damage to the plant skin that the sun does the rest, here it is

http://www.ferndale-lodge.co.uk/Shop/Garden+Tools/Weeding+Tools/Weed+Wand+557987.htm

I imagine you could use a steamer to do the same.

mickeyjo

hmmm, hand held gas flame....now that sounds like fun, fun, fun

mickeyjo

fodda wrote: »

Well then you have a choice and the organic weedkiller which is made in Ireland is here http://www.owk.ie/ a company from Galway i think and if you want to know about veg growing tools (your hoes) go here www.chillingtonhoes.com and there are some videos on that site you may be interested in.

thanks fodda, haven't seen these, they look really well made.
And do you know, I was just thinking that I'd seen something in the paper bout that galway based weedkiller, but cudn't find it, or the name, thanks