Garlic is a perennial and bulbous plant renowned for its culinary and medicinal properties. Its cloves enhance the flavor of various dishes and offer antiseptic and disinfectant benefits. But garlic is not just good for cooking; it’s also highly beneficial for your plants. Discover how burying garlic can protect your indoor plants from pests.
Garlic: A Natural Repellent
With its pungent odor and antibacterial properties, garlic effectively keeps pests away from your plants, whether they are in the garden, vegetable patch, or indoors.
For indoor plants, you can plant a clove of garlic in the pot to deter parasites that love to feast on the foliage. However, it’s important not to let the clove stay in the soil for too long. Once it begins to germinate, remove it and replace it with a fresher clove. You can repeat this process 2 to 3 times a month for optimal results.
Another effective method is to prepare a natural insecticide using garlic cloves. This should be sprayed on the foliage of your plants, but only at sunset to prevent leaf burn. Here’s how to make it:
- Finely chop about 100 g of garlic cloves.
- Add the chopped garlic to 1 liter of non-calcareous water (like rainwater or spring water).
- Cover the mixture and let it macerate for 24 hours.
- Bring the mixture to a boil in a covered saucepan for about 30 minutes.
- Allow it to cool without removing the lid, then filter and transfer the solution to a spray bottle.
This preparation should be used within 24 hours and stored in a cool place. Use the pure insecticide to treat aphid attacks, or dilute it to 20% when using it against cryptogamic diseases.
Benefits for Your Vegetable Garden
Garlic is also advantageous for your vegetable garden and orchard plants. It contains sulfur, an effective ingredient for combating fungal diseases that affect vegetable plants or fruit trees, such as mildew, powdery mildew, and leaf curl. Additionally, garlic helps treat plants infested with aphids and caterpillars, and can prevent attacks from mites and tarsonemes.
Other Natural Insecticides
In addition to garlic, consider using other natural insecticides to protect your indoor and outdoor plants. Some effective options include:
- Ash: Effective against gastropods like slugs and snails.
- Nettle manure: Acts as both a natural insecticide and a fertilizer.
- Black soap and coffee grounds: Additional natural solutions for pest control.
By incorporating these natural ingredients, you can effectively protect your plants from pests that threaten their growth and health.
