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ECOTIPS

An occasional column where ECOCLUB presents a practical ecology & economy tip, ecotip.

A for APHIDS

Aphids are, well, most troublesome pests, with a taste for all your plants. Hot weather / summer is helping them grow and that makes them view life with an optimistic streak - so they then go about creating new colonies and metropolises. If you have seen one aphid you have seen all aphids, they look similar, usually green or black. They quench their thirst by sucking the sap from the plant, this stunts growth and causes distortion of the growing point. They absorb large quantities of sap in order to obtain enough protein. The sap contains excess sugar that the Aphid excretes as honeydew (oh that's what it was). This honeydew is uh sticky and coats the lower leaves, and after a while mould develops which reduces your plants ability to prepare food causing futher loss and so on. Aphids may also carry virus diseases which may do further harm to the plant. These beasts are prolific - each female is capable of producing 8 offspring daily over a 2 week period. (8x14=112, 112 x 8 x 14 = 12,544 = someone please call the police)

So, in order to control aphids most home gardeners go ballistic and use more pesticides per square fingernail in their little garden than their uncle the farmer in the fields, thinking the more the merrier. What should you do?

Ecotip 1:
Control aphids by planting cardamom which they hate (cardamom is very good with greek coffee by the way)

Ecotip 2:
Bring the ladybirds (Anatis ocellata) to your garden. The ladies will love aphids, to death.

Ecotip 3: A concoction:
Dissolve 200 gr (0.44 lb) of olive oil / organic soap in 1 liter (0.220 ga) of hot water and then add 20 gr. alcohol. (If you do not have alcohol, you can use 20 gr. of finely ground chilli powder and shake)

Put all these in a spray type bottle, and use it when you have an infestation every five days or so, more often if it rains. Use for two to three weeks. Don't expect to get rid of the aphids in one go. If you haven't tried it on a particular plant before, do a test area first (as in the commercials) and wait a day to see if there is an adverse reaction.

Important: Don't use liquid dishwashing detergents or hand soaps. Though many will kill insects, they will hurt the plants, too. Some fatty acids are toxic to plants. If you can't find any organic soap you can either make some yourself (instructions in a future issue) or if worse comes to worse you can buy some olive oil soap on-line at the ECOCLUB Shop ($9.90 for 4)

Disclaimer: It has worked for us, but ECOCLUB S.A. can not guarantee any results, also use entirely at your own risk.