Helen’s magic pest repellent
If you’re plagued by aphids, slugs and snails, give Tuppenny Head Gardener Helen’s super simple garlic spray a go.
- Smash 6 cloves of garlic and steep in 1ltr of boiling water
- Leave to extract for a day or two
- Strain very carefully – the smallest fibre will block your nozzle!
- Add a few drops of tea tree oil (anti-fungal, antibacterial & antiviral) being careful not to add more than five to reduce the chance of damaging your plants
- Lastly, add a good squirt of Ecover washing liquid to suffocate the aphids and help the spray stick to the leaves
- Pour into your spray bottle of choice, diluting 6:1, and get squirting!
Your greenhouse or polytunnel will likely smell rather garlicky, but the taste of your veggies shouldn’t be altered. Outside, you will need to reapply the spray after it rains.
At Tuppenny Barn we do our best to make space for nature (even the pesky bits!). Do try to leave an area in your garden for aphids to feed birds, ladybirds and other helpful critters.
Tuppenny Barn are proud to be Soil Association Organic
members campaigning for healthy, humane and sustainable
food, farming and land use.
Tuppenny Barn is a member of the Organic Growers Alliance which is a network of growers, farmers and horticulturalists. The OGA is a peer-to-peer support network run by growers for growers. As well, the OGA is a place to exchange information and learn and it represents its members.
