Checking out the asian greens growing in an old laundry tub on the veranda, noticed a lot of little black specks peppered over the stalks of each plant. Then I noticed a few of the leaves have been nibbled on. On further investigation I discovered around a dozen tiny little green caterpillar grubs having an afternoon nap in the crown of the plants. They were quickly escorted off!
This put me on the search for a good way to repel these little critters. I don’t want them eating my tomatoes! But I also don’t like the idea of using pesticides. So I found a couple of simple organic remedies I’m going to try.
A couple of gardening forums suggested using a garlic spray.. then I found this recipe for Garlic Fire Spray from Megan in NZ which sounds awesome. It is a water based spray with garlic and chillies, with a bit of vegetable oil and detergent to help it stick to the plants (and bugs). Best thing is.. I can whizz it up in the Thermomix!
The second suggestion I liked because it is so simple and friendly to Mother Nature – Pat Welsh says one of the best defences is to encourage birds into the garden. Place bird feeders and water fountains in the garden, the birds will come and pick off the grubs. She also goes with picking them off by hand when they are active (at night or early in the morning), which is what old Esther Dean recommends.
It reminds me of rather a macabre old garden remedy I read about recently. Collect a few grasshoppers by hand, then mush them up with some water. Strain the mix and then spray on your plants. Supposed to deter grasshoppers.. so glad I haven’t seen any of these in our garden yet!