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Homemade Gardening Remedies

Straight from the kitchen: Cocktails that will do your garden good.

From "The Dirt On..."
episode DTDO-123

Some homemade remedies actually work just as well as the store-bought goodies, and others are just old gardener's tales. If your backyard is stuck in the no-grow zone, it's time to break out the apron and start mixing a few of our favorite garden cocktails.

Compost Tea

This works as a natural, mild fertilizer for mature plants. It's a great way to get nutrients to your garden quickly.

Ingredients

2 cups compost (bought or homemade)
10 cups room-temperature water
a bucket
a pair of pantyhose

Pack the compost into the leg of a pair of pantyhose and tie off the leg.

Fill the bucket with water.

Put the compost bag into the bucket and cover.

Let this steep for a few days and then pour it into a watering can or spray bottle.

Feed this tea to your plants every two to three weeks. Pour it into the soil with a watering can for your landscape plants and spray it onto your houseplants.

Chamomile tea can help prevent damping off.

Damping off is a serious fungal disease that causes young plants to rot at the base.

Chamomile Charger

This will prevent your seedlings from "damping off." This is a disease that causes seedlings to rot at the base and fall over. The chamomile fights this because it's a concentrated source of calcium, potash and sulfur; the sulfur is the fungus fighter.

Ingredients

1/4 cup chamomile tea
2 cups water
pot to boil the water in
strainer
spray bottle

Bring the water to a boil and add the chamomile tea.

Let this steep until it's cool and strain it into a spray bottle.

You can use this two ways:

To prevent damping off by either spraying it on seed-starting soil and seedlings or by soaking seeds in it a week before planting.
Tto fight damping off by spraying it anywhere you see fuzzy white growth on the soil.

This tea will work for about a week before going rancid.

Spider-Mite Shake: Buttermilk, wheat flour and water

Spider-Mite Shake

Spider mites are small creatures that look like poppy seeds. They suck the sap from plants like beans and roses, causing their leaves to yellow and stunting their growth. This recipe will kill and deter the little pests.

Ingredients

1/8 cup buttermilk
1 cup wheat flour
1-1/4 gallons of water
large container with a lid
spray bottle

Combine the buttermilk, wheat flour and water in your large container and close the lid.

Shake the concoction together and pour it into the spray bottle.

Spray this on plants and trees that have spider mite damage as well as your other plants to prevent the bugs from attacking.

You may have to spray more than once to kill the mites so keep the ingredients handy.

Gin Grim ingredients: Apple cider vinegar, baby shampoo and gin.

Gin Grim

This will kill weeds that have been hanging around for a while and those just starting to pop up.

Ingredients

1 oz. gin
1 oz. apple cider vinegar
1 squirt baby shampoo
2 or 3 cups of water
spray bottle

Fill your spray bottle with water until it reaches 3/4 full (about 2 or 3 cups).

Add the gin, apple cider vinegar and baby shampoo to the spray bottle and shake it gently.

Spot spray it on weeds being careful to avoid your lawn and other plants because it could kill them too. This stuff is heavy duty.

If you're looking for a very easy weed killer — no mixing required — try tossing some boiling-hot water on the weeds. This works great for the ones growing in the cracks of your sidewalk.