We are having some rare cold weather this weekend, then it will be back up into the 40′s again.

Stink Bugs are not new to us, but are much more prevalent this year than ever before. We have seen more than usual of them…right into January. In fact I’ve read reports stating that they are on the increase in other areas, and are causing damage to gardens and crops. They get their name from the odor they put out when crushed, so we do not get rid of them by stepping on them or crushing them in the house.

[image credit: wikipedia commons]

Since reviews on Stink Bug Traps are just so-so depending upon how much area you want to cover, I’ve been thinking of getting a handheld bug vacuum to use around the house. I am tired of running to get a container to catch the bugs in.

Most of all, in spite of not liking the cold that much, we could use a good hard freeze to get rid of the insects and because it’s the natural course of things in the winter.

After many an attempt, the simplest of solutions has worked in getting rid of an unwelcome guest at my hummingbird feeder.  I’m sure you don’t need a picture to guess who these guests were.  I had tried everything to get rid of the ants that were climbing down the wire from which our feeder hangs…off the eave of our house, and onto the feeder.  They then proceed to climb into the holes…and meet their fate in the sweet liquid within.  This of course leads to NO hummingbirds at my feeder.  Very sad.   Then the idea hit me…I slather Skin So Soft on my skin to repel bugs, I wonder if it will repel ants?  So (and I’m not an Avon representative and this is not a sponsored post) I took my large bottle of Skin So Soft outside, and a couple of paper towels, poured the SSS on the paper towels and wiped the eave and any wood around the area that the ants would use to make their way to the feeder….and IT WORKED!  I have not seen an ant since I did this just a few days ago…and they have been a daily annoyance.  I went out and re-applied today.

Just another thought…there was a spill from the feeder once, and zillions of ants gathered around it, so I took Diatomaceous Earth (all natural solution) and sprinkled it all over the area.  This didn’t hinder the ants from coming to eat what they could, which kills the ants.

I hope this helps someone!

(The picture is use under Creative Commons License, downloaded from here on Flickr.)

I know, that sounds completely nuts, but I have been so anxious to test a bug spray for organic gardeners, that I am EXCITED about the fact that there are aphids on my roses.  Even though the plants came up early due to an early warm spell, there have been no bugs on my rose bushes…until today.  The Aphids have arrived with a vengeance!

To show you how well the spray works, I first went outside and took this picture around the middle of the afternoon:

Just look at the fat little green aphids busy enjoying one of the several rose buds that I have on the bush I showed you in the post previous to this one.  There were many more on other branches, too.

SO, I took my trusty bottle of EndALL insect spray, which you see pictured below…oops, I forgot the enlarged picture of the aphids….yuk!  I’ll show you that first:

And here’s a picture of the insect spray good for organic gardeners sitting in front of my little rose bush:

I followed the instructions, spraying lightly all over the areas that had aphids without letting the solution drip all over the ground, just a nice mist.   Then I went inside, and waited for a couple of hours.  By then it was later in the day, so lighting was different, but the number of aphids was WAY down, and by tomorrow, I can assure you they will be gone…the few left behind did not look good at all.

I realize my picture cuts off some of the stem, and isn’t as close up, but I think you can see the difference!

This also worked great when I sprayed it around the eave of our house to keep ants from coming to our hummingbird feeder which hangs off the corner of the roof…I’m not sure if it’s supposed to kill ants, but it did deter them.  Here’s a closeup of the label for you:

I’m expecting great things from my little rose bush this year, and no aphids are going to get in the way of that, thank goodness!  I’m sure this is going to be a great help with my other plants as well, and so happy it’s safe for organic gardens!

Welcome to the first day of winter…and it is wintery here in northern NJ – lots of snow fell over the weekend, as most of you have probably heard on the news, and it’s cold and windy, but the sun shines brightly today! This is Christmas week, and after Christmas come New Years and January, when many begin to see gardening catalogs show up in their mail boxes as they think ahead to Spring gardening…as for me, I like to do my shopping online, and most paper mail ends up in my recycling.

Last summer I enjoyed my medicinal and culinary herb garden, simple as it is, since we have a shortage of sunny property. I’m still eyeing a big section of sunny grass that we gained when a new septic system was put in because trees were removed.  We don’t use many pesticides, and try to make some ourselves, naturally, when we can because it’s not always easy to find chemical-free pesticides and other “green” gardening products that are good for the earth that God has given us to be stewards of.  But now I think I’ve found a source.

You lucky folks that live in warmer climates may already be able to take advantage of the wonderful green, good for the earth, good for the garden products offered by saferbrand.com. I appreciate the time they have put into helping the gardener know about many garden pests, they have a great section on insects that can threaten your garden, and an equally informative section on organic gardening. Since my “green thumb” doesn’t seem to work very well when it comes to growing plants indoors, the “houseplants” section was also very helpful.

There will be events taking place all year to promote organic gardening, and it won’t be hard to keep up with these events because Safer brand is officially on twitter, I’m going to “follow” them on Twitter and invite you to as well.

Twitter and Facebook are the primary, almost only social networking sites that I use, so I was happy to hear about Safer brand’s facebook page, and will be heading over to become a fan after posting this.

On another note, while some that I talk to are having a hard time with their tomato plants this year, the patio tomatoes that I tried for the first time this year are just covered with tomatoes.  They don’t get much larger than about 2″ in diameter, but there are quite a few of them, and none of the leaves are dying on the plants yet.

Also, the herbs are thriving, nothing seems to harm them.  Take a look at the video in the post before this one for a look at some of my plants.

All is not lost, and I guess that if there was a drought, there would be a different set of concerns, so through writing this post, I’ve convinced myself that perhaps things aren’t as discouraging as I thought.

Hoping your gardens are doing well this year!   

I went outside and saw the first rosebud today, and all the way down the tender new stem there were aphids, not just a few, the whole stem was completely covered.  So I came in and put together a solution of water and white vinegar, and sprayed the little bugs…I think it is supposed to kill them…and strange as it sounds, I don’t like killing anything, even little aphids, but it’s the rosebush or them, so we are going to give this natural solution a try, and see how it works.

I’ll let you know.  Hope you are having a wonderful 4th of July weekend!

My tulips are beginning to put out their buds, and when they flower I’ll be doing what I can to keep our cute but rascally squirrels from eating the flowers.

Deer are not a big problem for me unless they are making their way down to our lake during a drought, I believe I shared a story on this blog once before about how they came down from the woods on the way to the water and ate every one of my beautiful orange triple-flower Day Lilies. That was a major but rare disappointment, at least here on our property.  But deer can be real pests in many gardens…I have watched them grazing in yards and gardens very early in the morning when driving, while the homeowner/gardeners are still sleeping and unaware.

They are beautiful, but also do their part spreading Deer ticks that cause Lymes Disease, a disease that started here in NJ if memory serves me correctly?  Definitely somewhere nearby in the Northeast. It is quite common here, as are the ticks, I’ve found them on myself and my dog on a number of occasions.

“Deer Off”® is an organic/natural repellent that you can safely spray on your plants and in the gardening area to keep Deer away, after all that work, a deer repellent like this will save you from waking up to a great disappointment like the people that I just mentioned must have found.

havahart.com has a wonderful Havahart® Deer Off ® II Battery-Powered Sprayer that has a patented Dual Deterrent System™ formula that provides both scent and taste barriers to repel deer, rabbits, and squirrels…so not only will it take care of the Deer, but those squirrels I was telling you about that like to eat my tulip flowers.

• Gardening in Containers – this post contained some thoughts and ideas for those who don’t have space for a garden, or just like the idea of gardening in containers.
• Keeping Deer Out of the Garden – another post with some ideas and a helpful article, we have only had trouble with deer during droughts when they try to make their way down to our lake.
• Tropical Climate Gardens – for those of you fortunate enough to be able to grow tropical gardens, this is another helpful post.
• Vegetable and Organic Gardening eBooks that you might find helpful.

Do you have any favorite gardening articles or posts to share?  Please let us know in a comment!

I remember when I was a young girl, I wanted to start my own garden on our property, so my mother allowed me to try to grow in a plot along the side of our house. I remember getting a few plants to grow, but not with the same skill as my mothers gardens. I was pretty much left to learn on my own by asking questions, reading, no one did the work for me. At that time there wasn’t the emphasis that there is now on organic gardening, or using organic gardening products in the garden. In fact, when I was raising my children, there was some awareness of this, but not with the same passion that we see today.

Do you garden with your children? Do you have a site about gardening with children? Please share in a comment. When thinking about organic gardening products, and how important it is to teach children to garden organically for the health of the earth, as well as our own health in the case of vegetable gardening, I was looking at some products at saferbrand.com and liked all the basic products that I saw for killing weeds, as well as organic bug control in the garden or around the home. I but also found the site educational, explaining the difference between natural -v- organic, providing mulching information, and more.

Here is a video that I hope you’ll enjoy:

I’m a member of a nice new group called “Gals Go Green” an a while back someone posted a great pesticide recipe. I can’t use it until Spring, but those of you that are in climates where you can garden may like to try this:

All- purpose insect pest spray
(Organic Gardening, 1996)

1 tsp powdered red hot pepper
1 garlic bulb
1 small onion
1 liter of water
1 tbsp of soap
Knife
Strainer
Chop onion and garlic. Add powdered red pepper.
Mix the above ingredients into the water.
Soak for 1 hour. Strain. Add soap. Stir well.
Fill the sprayer. Spray plants thoroughly.
Repeat spraying when necessary.

Posted by
http://www.ritasweetsoaps.com/home.html