Gardening Services Guide

Posts Tagged ‘organic gardening’

All gardeners have questions occasionally. And, we often have no idea where to go with a gardening question. Rose gardening, in particular can leave you puzzled from time to time; we all need some resources to get us out of a pickle. Here are few places you can take that mysterious gardening question- rose questions in particular.

Online

When you decide to make the switch to organic rose gardening, you may be confused about what products you should use for your garden. You can go out and buy organic products at your lawn and garden store, but there are also many home remedies you can whip up for your organic rose garden.

Take a look at these common home remedies. With these simple recipes, you can make organic rose gardening simple and inexpensive.

For controlling aphids

One common problem suffered by many rose gardeners is aphids. Aphids are small, soft bodied insects. They have plump, pear shaped bodies with little tubes, called cornicles. Aphids will often be found on young leaves or new plant shoots, as they prefer to eat the younger vegetation. They feed in colonies and will often be found on the underside of the leaves. Once they’ve really infested, the leaves will start to curl under around them. These little bugs can kill rose plants if left unchecked. Many gardeners give up their attempt at organic rose gardening because these little critters make them resort to pesticides. But, aphids can be controlled organically. Here are two simple remedies to help make organic rose gardening aphid free.

Simple Soap Solution
2 Tbs. soap flakes
2 liters warm water
Dissolve soap flakes in water and apply directly to infested areas every 5-7 days. Be certain to follow the specifications closely, because too much soap can burn the leaves of your plant. This solution will also kill spider mites and whiteflies.

Garlic Oil Spray
10-15 cloves of minced garlic
2 tsp. mineral oil
600 ml water
1 tsp. liquid dish soap
Soak garlic in mineral oil for 24 hours. Strain garlic out and add 600 ml water and 1 tsp. liquid dish soap. Mix thoroughly and spray your rose plants with the solution. This solution will also kill spider mites and whiteflies.

For Black Spot

Black spot is a fungus that often plagues rose gardeners. This infectious disease is found only on roses and leaves unsightly black spots on the leaves of the rose plant. Here’s a home remedy used by many organic gardeners to kill black spot without using harmful fungicides.

Fungicide for Mildew and Black Spot
1 tsp. baking soda
1 liter water
1 tsp. soap flakes
Dissolve baking soda in 1 liter of warm water.
Add soap flakes to help solution cling to leaves. Remove infected leaves from plant and then spray top and bottom of remaining leaf surfaces to control spread of the disease.

Organic rose gardening can be a fun hobby that leaves you feeling good because you know that you’re protecting the environment in addition to growing beautiful roses. Try these simple tips to rid your roses of the most common garden problems.