Helpful hints/Gardening Tips

[Max]

Hello all I was looking at the posts in Greening Gaia and just thought that it might be nice if we were to share some of our gardening hints, tips etc. Might be fun and we might all learn something .
I'll start us off!

Max's fabo essential oil factory.

1 large glass container ," I use an old 5 gallon pickel jar"
2. The cheapest pga ," if you plan on eating any of the oil" or plain old rubbing alcohol if you just going to use the oil as a topical.
3. You must have a large supply of what ever plant or herb that you're going to be making you oil from.
4. every morning after the dew has dried go out and trim the herb or dead head if it's a floral based oil like rose oil. Put them into the jar seal the lid and place into the sun.
5. do it again
6. see # 5
7. you guessed it
8. yup, you're going to need some more.
9. After a few weeks you'll notice that your pga is starting to get some color and that there is a layer of oil floating on top of the alcohol. Get one NEW medicine dropper and remove oil from the surface of the flowers or herbs. Get a Plastic paddle and press the herb down into the bottom of the jar to extract more oils.
10. Pour all the spent herb and solution into a bucket. Pour, through cheese cloth back into the jar and repeat until you have the enough oil or your plants stop producing.

* If you have used pga and an edible plant the left over alcohol makes a very good cordial. If you have used rubbing alcohol label the container seal tightly and you can re-use it next season.***


This works for pretty much any essential oil from Rose to Mint. There are some oils like Jasmine and kin Honey suckle, gardenia etc. , copal, amber and more that it will NOT do you any good what so ever.

Cheers
Max

[Earthwoman]

Max, this is an excellent idea. Thank you so much for starting this thread.

Others?

Blessings,

Earthwoman

[Ghostrider]

Just a question....

What's PGA??  

[Max]

pure grain alcohol.

[owlseeker]

Liquid diswashing soap makes a great plant fertilizer and also cuts down on pests.  You can also boil up tobacco to spray on plants and rid them of many pests.  These won't hurt the plants at all, just don't use the antibacterial soap!

[Aylyn]

My cats use woodchips as kitty litter. When I change the litter, I  tend to pick out the solid waste, and then spread the litter on the plants. As cats have a high-protein diet, it is a great fertilizer, and the woodchips are really good at improving the ground. I have used it successfully in lightening the hard clay in London (which in summer can turn into something resemblin concrete), and improvving the water retention capacity of my sandy soil in Frankfurt. As for the plants: They love it and grow like mad.

As the litter is treated to reduce the smell, you will not notice anything, but it also keeps other cats away.

[Leilani]

Liquid diswashing soap makes a great plant fertilizer and also cuts down on pests.  You can also boil up tobacco to spray on plants and rid them of many pests.  These won't hurt the plants at all, just don't use the antibacterial soap!

I've often wanted to dump my dishwater (plant-based dishsoap) on my plants rather than down the sink, but I wasn't sure if it was okay. Thanks for mentioning that this okay!

[owlseeker]

Most of the dishwashing soap is okay and some of it is even good for the plants.  It's an old country recipe for keeping them green and happy.  My plants like the liquid soap with phosphates and the ones with trace minerals the best.  I've never used one of those antibacterial liquid soaps on the plants and I don't know if that would help or hurt.

[Max]

I'm not sure about long term use of anti bacterial soap on plants ," or regular use on people as far as that goes."  I almost always mix it with olive oil or horticultural oil when I'm treating scale,mealy bugs etc.  It really does seem to cut down on infections etc.  

I also use it when I'm trying to germinate some sorts of seeds ,"along with a week fungicide,"  to prevent any issues.  It's really helped my germination rates.
hth
Chris

[Dryadia2]

Environmentally Friendlier Bug Spray
(for sap-sucking mealybug, scale-type insects)

1 tsp. - Mild Dish Soap
1 tsp. - Mineral Oil
1 cup - 70% Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol (optional)
1 quart - Water

Outdoors: spray the little buggers and nearby leaves, repeat in 10-14 days (in case eggs hatch), or dab with cotton swab for minor infestations.

Indoors: dip a cotton swab in solution and dab it on.

Disclaimer:
Caution!
Test First, as plants are sensitive! Try a small amount on a leaf, wait a couple of days, and if the offensive bugs die, and the leaf isn't harmed, then try a larger area.  

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[Leafmold]

My cats use woodchips as kitty litter. When I change the litter, I  tend to pick out the solid waste, and then spread the litter on the plants. As cats have a high-protein diet, it is a great fertilizer, and the woodchips are really good at improving the ground. I have used it successfully in lightening the hard clay in London (which in summer can turn into something resemblin concrete), and improvving the water retention capacity of my sandy soil in Frankfurt. As for the plants: They love it and grow like mad.

As the litter is treated to reduce the smell, you will not notice anything, but it also keeps other cats away.

The use of cat and dog poo in compost is questionable. The trouble is that various bugs and other nasties can be transmitted into the compost from pets, that then don't die in the compost because it doesn't heat up sufficiently. Certainly, add pet poo to your heap, and if you have a worm bin, this is a better bet. But, try not add it to edible crops, just in case of infection. Pregnant women are most susceptible to this.

[Aylyn]

The use of cat and dog poo in compost is questionable. The trouble is that various bugs and other nasties can be transmitted into the compost from pets, that then don't die in the compost because it doesn't heat up sufficiently.

Yes, I have heard that before, but in general, if you have animals in the house, you are already exposed to whatever bugs and worms are around. The main concern for pregnant women is toxoplasmosis, which is transmitted not only by the litter. Therefore, any woman living with a cat is generally exposed if the cat is infected. As for worms: My cats are wormed regularly, so I know they are okay, and I have no problem with using their litter in my garden. If that is a worry - there are so many cats in the neighbourhood that use the gardn as a litter box anyway, so all veggies must be thoroughly cleaned.

Just be careful in general...

[Dryadia2]

Some folks have asked about the following, and I just happened to get it in my email:

Guide to Propagation of Trees from Seeds:
http://forestry.about.com/b/2007/12/18/ ... m-seed.htm

Happy Planting!
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[Dryadia2]

Useful website posted by Michael C. Page:

Hey Folks. I' found a nice, user friendly site, for those of us just begining to study trees. The link is
http://www.treehelp.com
The site has alot of helpful hints on identifying, transplanting, careing for, etc. enjoy!

[Jarvisfamily4]

My sworn-by bug-powder:

equal parts powdered sugar and borax powder (NOT boric acid... borax, in the laundry section)

I have put this on veggie plants being destroyed by earwigs, ants in the house, flowers that were mowed down to the nub by nameless, faceless critters, and always had 100%, immediate success. Best of all, if the cats or the kids get into it they won't be hurt.. unless they eat the whole jar, of course!

[Dryadia2]

Thanks for sharing your "sworn-by bug-powder", Jarvisfamily4!

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[tecuani]

A small amount of Neem oil in water makes a great all-round insecticide/fungicide.

Adding mycorrhizal fungi to soil gives great results...

[Dryadia2]

Thanks for the link and the tip, Tecuani!

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[wyldeflower]

I use many things to repel insects all of them quite green and friendly i also do planting so that i have plants that repel insects close by any delicates..

HERBAL INSECT REPELLANT
Grind 1 ½ cup of dried herbs or 3 cups fresh and place in 1 quart of water, let it sit for 24 hours, strain, add 1/4 t. of dish soap. A variety of herbs are known to repel a variety of insects. Experiment to see what works best in your situation. Here are some that may work: catmint, feverfew, marigolds, sage, thyme, pennyroyal, wormwood, chives, painted daisies, southernwood, lemon bam, tansy, lavender, bay and garlic.

[Jarvisfamily4]

I can't get neem oil around here