Okay, so I’ve been getting into this whole organic gardening thing, and my fruit trees? They were getting hammered by bugs. I didn’t want to spray them with a bunch of chemicals, so I decided to try making my own organic pesticide. Let me tell you, it was a bit of an adventure!
My First Attempt (And Fail)
I started by looking up some recipes online. I wanted to get all that “knowledge”, I found lots of stuff about using neem oil, garlic, and even hot peppers. Sounded simple enough, right? My first try was…well, let’s just say it didn’t go great.
I mixed up some neem oil with water and a little bit of dish soap (I read that helps it stick). I went out and sprayed my poor apple tree like crazy. The next day? The leaves looked all droopy and sad. Turns out, I used way too much neem oil. Lesson learned: less is more!
Tweaking the Recipe
After that near-disaster, I did some more careful reading. Turns out, you really only need a tiny bit of neem oil. I also decided to add some garlic to the mix, because, why not? Bugs hate garlic, right?
- Round Two:
- About a teaspoon of neem oil (I measured this time!)
- A few cloves of crushed garlic, steeped in hot water for a bit, then strained.
- A tiny drop of dish soap.
- All mixed in a big spray bottle of water.
This time, I was much more careful. I tested it on just a few leaves first. Waited a day. They looked fine! So, I sprayed the whole tree, but lightly. I made sure to get the undersides of the leaves, too, because that’s where the little buggers like to hide.
The Results (Finally!)
It actually worked! I mean, it’s not like a chemical pesticide that kills everything instantly. But I definitely saw fewer bugs. And the best part? My apples weren’t covered in anything nasty.
I’ve been spraying my trees every week or so, especially after it rains. I also started adding some other stuff to my spray, like a bit of compost tea (that’s a whole other story!). It seems to be keeping the bugs at bay, and my fruit trees are looking much healthier.
It’s definitely more work than just buying a bottle of pesticide, but I feel good about it. And hey, the apples taste amazing!
