BAKING SODA
Baking soda can be used to ward off black spot, a terrible fungus that usually hits roses by late Spring. The most effective recipe I’ve found is the Cornell one which is:
1 Tblsp. of baking soda with 1 tsp. of dishwashing detergent to 1 gallon of water. Mix together and spray on roses early in the morning once a week until disease has disappeared.
BEER
Beer is an old time favorite for getting rid of slugs and snails. This is how you do it. Place the beer (it doesn’t matter what brand) in either shallow pans or cut down some paper cups to about 1” tall. The pests will crawl into the pans or cups and drown themselves.
VEGETABLE OIL
Believe it or not, if you mix 1 cup of vegetable oil with 1 Tblsp. of dishwashing liquid and then take 1 Tblsp. of this concoction and mix it with 1 Cup of water, you now have a formula that will get rid of aphids. Aphids are very tiny insects that suck the sap from a plant, ultimately weakening it. If your leaves look curled and deformed, check their undersides closely and you may find a colony of aphids.
HOT JALAPENO PEPPERS
I was once told by a listener on my radio show that after trying all of the concoctions to get rid of moles, gophers and groundhogs, he planted jalapeno peppers within 4” from the area that they were invading. And voila! They ran for cover after taking a taste of these hot veggies. I'm going to try this advice but will divide the hot peppers in half when I plant them. I think he's on the right track because Hot Pepper Spray (a prepared organic spray) is sold in garden centers as a remedy for getting rid of rabbits, squirrels, moles, voles and groundhogs.
CASTOR OIL
Castor Oil sprays are sold in garden centers as a solution to get rid of groundhogs and deer. I would be tempted to go to a pharmacy or health food store buy a bottle of castor oil and dilute with water and then spray on affected areas to see if it works.
PEPPERMINT OIL & GRIT
Peppermint oil is a good deterrent for ants who have invaded your garden or home. You can either saturate cotton balls with the oil. Or you can mix it in a spray bottle with water and proceed to spray where needed.
GRITS sprinkled in the garden are also supposed to be an effective way to kill off ants.
Vinegar has become a well known organic way of eradicating weeds. Some people say that they're able to get rid of weeds merely by spraying household vinegar on them. Others say that you need to buy a higher concentration of vinegar in order for it to be effective. my advice is to check one of the bottled organic vinegar solutions at your garden center to see what concentration of vinegar they're using. It wouldn’t hurt to add lemon juice to your homemade weed killing formula either. Word has it that the combo of vinegar and lemon juice packs a big wallop for killing weeds.
