Using Essential Oils in the Yard & Garden

Pests Pests NASTY Pests!  They can totally ruin your garden… and fast!  Lisa has had fun over the years battling different bugs, she shared them yesterday in her Planting and Pests post!

Essential Oils:  I am not shy about how much I love E.O’s!  So, I am so beyond excited to use them in my yard and garden!  Here are ways I’ve used E.O’s in the yard and garden.

• Ants:  Peppermint (Add a line of peppermint to the window or door seals)
• Aphids: Peppermint, Sandalwood, White Fir
• Beetles: Peppermint, Thyme
• Chiggers: Lavender, Lemongrass, Thyme
• Cutworm: Thyme
• Flies: Basil, Clove, Eucalyptus, Lavender, Peppermint, Rosemary
• Gnats: Patchouli
• Mosquitoes: Lavender, Lemongrass
• Moths: Lavender, Peppermint
• Plant Lice: Peppermint
• Slugs: White Fir
• Snails: Patchouli, White Fir
• Spiders: Peppermint
• Ticks: Lavender, Lemongrass, Thyme
• Weevils: Patchouli, Sandalwood

For those of you that are new or unfamiliar with Essential Oils, remember that E.O’s are very strong!  You don’t need much.  To treat the plants you can spray or brush the Essential Oil directly on the plant, right on the problem area.  You can treat it daily until the problem is gone!

Vinegar: I’ve used Vinegar for cleaning, but had no idea it was also a versatile option outside!  Did you know vinegar is a natural herbicide?  I didn’t!  You can use it to kill weeds in unwanted places!  All you do is pour full-strengeth distilled vinegar on them.  I thought this was a great option for those annoying cracks and crevices in the walkways and driveway!  It will kill grass though, so be careful not to have it over spray onto your grass!

Here are a few other suggestions they had for vinegar:

• Give acide loving plants a boost by watering them with a vinegar solution every once in a while.  A cup of vinegar to a gallon of water!
• Preserve cut flowers and liven droopy ones by adding 2 tablespoons white distilled vinegar and 1 teaspoon sugar to a quart of water in a vase.
• Wash garden vegetables with a mixture of 1 tablespoon of white distilled vinegar in 1 1/2 quarters of water.
• Kill slugs by spraying them with a mixture of 1 part water and 1 water white vinegar.

Also, if you missed any of our posts this week in our Garden Series you can read them here:  Planters, Beds and Trellises, Soil Prep and Planting and Pests!