Organic Pest Control
Organic Pest Control with Essential oils
I’ve planted 45 cabbage plants (various varieties) in my garden this week! I am looking forward to turning those cabbages into great fast food (cultured vegetables)!
I’m getting ahead of myself though…counting my chicks before they hatch so to speak. I’ve got to protect those plants from cabbage 
worms! The first step I took by planting aromatic herbs with my cabbage plants. For example I planted two cabbages in the row and then a Thyme plant, then two more cabbages and then a Rosemary, and so on down the row. On the next row I alternated, so that each cabbage is across from an herb as well. These aromatic herbs will be repulsive to the little white butterflies that lay the eggs that hatch into worms.
My next line of defense will be to spray the plants with essential oils. This will require keeping an eye on the garden on a daily basis. As soon as those little white butterflies start flitting around my plants I will spray the plants with the following mixture, causing the butterflies to look elsewhere to lay their eggs. I got a good laugh a couple years ago when I sprayed everything in the garden that they seemed to be attracted to. A couple weeks later my horseradish leaves (in a separate garden) were covered with worms; the butterflies had resorted to the horseradish to lay their eggs! Since I hardly use horseradish, this was okay with me.
Here is the recipe I used:
Essential Oil Spray for Cabbage Worms
To one gallon of water add:
25 drops of Oregano
25 drops of Lemongrass
25 drops of Peppermint
25 drops of Basil
1 T of safer soap. (ForeverGreen’s Silk brand soap will work. Basic H will also work. I would think that your basic ‘green’ dish soap would also work as long as it doesn’t have any synthetic ingrediets.)
The easiest way to spray is to buy an inexpensive weed sprayer at the hardware store. I think I got my one gallon sprayer for $6 a couple years ago. Mark it with permanent marker so that it will never be used for weed spray. Be sure to wash it well after each use so that the essential oils don’t ‘melt’ the plastic, plugging the nozzle. Some essential oils are strong solvents. I store any unused spray in a glass jar until the next use. This will keep for a few days or so, not until next year however.
You will need to reapply the spray after rain or after sprinkling the garden (however I don’t sprinkle my cabbage once the heads start forming — I run the water down the row instead).
Feel free to leave your comments — I’d love to hear your experiences or questions.
For more essential oil recipes: naturesfarmacy.org/jorjahensley
Jorja
Essential Oil enthusiast
Gardener
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