Handy hints

The following tips were gleaned from browsing through old copies of the various Rare Fruit Council Club’s newsletters. I hope you find them interesting.  Kaye Cronan

Help prevent fungal infections by sprinkling Wood Ash or Lime around the base of fruit trees.

Keep the cabbage moth away with a tablespoon of molasses in a litre of water, sprayed weekly.

Molasses benefits your trees when dripped into your watering system or used as a foliar spray.

Aphid spray – use a handful of tomato leaves soaked for a day in half a litre of water.

Aphid and caterpillar control:           1 full bulb of garlic (finely minced or chopped),
2 tbsp of paraffin (from chemists),
½ cake of sunlight soap or 2 cups Lux flakes,
1 litre of water

Add paraffin to the garlic, soak for 2-3 days.  Dissolve soap in water, stir into garlic & paraffin and soak for another 2 days. Strain through very fine strainer (eg pantihose).  Dilute ½ cup to 4 litres water.  Apply 2 applications – 10 days apart.

Rhubarb contains oxalic acid and effective against red spider mites and aphids. Pour one litre of boiling water over 500 gram of chopped rhubarb leaves and stand overnight. Strain and add one tablespoon of biodegradable detergent. Spay on vegetables or fruit trees but not within one week of harvesting. The mixture is poisonous, so keep out of children and pets.

Lemon Juice squeezed onto rice whilst boiling will both whiten and separate the grains.

Fruit Stains on table cloths or clothing can be removed with damp camphor, rub over the stain, then wash as usual

To remove Banana or biro stains from clothes– thoroughly wet the item then pour on enough denture stain white powder to put a layer of powder over the stained area.  Roll the item up and leave for 3-4 days rewetting occasionally.  If the stain is not completely gone, repeat the process.  When the stain has gone, rinse the item well and hang garment to dry.  Don’t use the pink denture powder as it may stain.

Relieve bee stings by applying a slice of onion after the bee sting has been pulled out.
By applying some aluminium based roll-on deodorant after removing the sting.
Rubbing a little honey rubbed on the sting.

Fruit Fly Control – Flies are attracted to moisture, sugars and proteins and these form the basis of any bait preparation.  The time to place baits is approximately two months before fruit begins to ripen.

Mix together – 1 litre of water                        1 tsp vegemite            2 cups urine
1 cup sugar                 3 tsp vanilla essence
Fill small jars 1/3 full and suspend 4 or 5 jars in each tree.  Renew every ten days.

Foliage fertilizer & insect deterrent – 1 cup urine to 4.5 litres of water, add 1/3 cup Lux flakes.  Apply when the insects arrive.

Non-toxic fungicide for mildew and rust:  (can also be used to combat scale)
Mix thoroughly:         500 grams baking soda, 15 litres water & 250 grams soap

Chive tea for Scab and mildew:  Pour 500 mls boiling water over dried chives, stand for 1 hour.  Strain through an old stocking.  Dilute one part chive tea to 2 parts water.

Epsom salts for mildew – mix 1 tbsp into 2 litres of water.  Also adds magnesium to the soil.

Weed killer 1: – Mix together thoroughly 4½ litres white vinegar, 1 cup table salt and 1 tbsp dishwashing liquid. Transfer to a spray bottle and spray on the weeds, be careful as it will kill whatever plant you spray it on.

Weed killer 2: – Mix together thoroughly 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1 tbsp baby shampoo, 1 tbsp gin or Listerine mouthwash and 1140 mls water. Transfer mixture to hand held sprayer and drench each weed taking care not to overspray on surrounding plants.

Tags:

garden hints

orchard hints

organic pest control

stain removal