Garden Update

Our garden is doing pretty well, mainly thanks to Owen who spends a lot more time watering and weeding than I do! It'll still be a while before anything is ready to harvest, but at some stage over the next couple of months we should be enjoying homegrown tomatoes, onions, broccoli, cabbages, lettuce, cauliflower, peas, silver beet, potatoes, zucchini, pumpkins and corn.

We haven't had problems with slugs or caterpillars yet (planting nasturtiums in between the lines of vegetables has probably helped) but we have had a major battle with aphids. Since our vegetable garden is organic, I wouldn't let Owen use any chemicals (especially when they weren't even working on the roses!) and when the aphids started spreading to the vegetables I went in search of a natural solution which I found in this book from the library:

All Purpose Insecticide

1 litre water
3 chillies, chopped
1/2 onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed

Bring all ingredients to the boil then remove from heat. Cover and steep for two days, then strain into a spray bottle. Mix in some soapy water before spraying so the mixture adheres to the plants.


This was super effective and the aphid problem is now under control!