Garlic spray

janice 60

Can anyone give me the quantities for the garlic spray for covering hostas please. I know it was boiling garlic in water but I don't know how much of each.

Helix

We looked it up after hearing about in on GW.  Recipes vary hugely!   Some say 2 cloves in 2 pints of water, other 2 whole heads of garlic!  

So I don’t think it’s critical.  We’ve just made our first batch and put one head of garlic in a good litre+ of water, boiled for about 5 minutes, strained and bottled.   The hosta’s and lettuces will get it tonight.... if they are all dead tomorrow the I got it wrong!

janice 60

Thanks I'll give it a go

janice 60

Thanks I'll give it a go

LG_

This is the 'recipe' from the Hosta people on the programme (from Twitter):

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Hampshire_Hog

People seem to have different ideas.
For my vegetable plot I boil up two large cloves outer dry skin removed and chopped in a litre of water then use about 25 - 50ml of this in a litre of water in a spray bottle you really need to start using it as soon as the crop goes in the ground or the seeds come up as I found this works best.
Other people mix it with soapy water and / or a little vegetable oil, others liquidise it into the water, so it's a case of what you think works best for you.
I think with Hosta's they recommend you start early in the season February March time

theend00

Is it necessary to make a spray I wonder ? Do the cloves or plants themselves repel them , or do they need to come into contact with allicin ? I was considering using garlic or rosemary around delphiniums 

Hampshire_Hog

I read somewhere once that by planting garlic it would help keep mice and rabbits away from sweet corn plants, so no harm in experimenting.

janice 60

Thanks everyone I will try

Fire

When I grow garlic, the slugs love them and make a beeline over night.

caledonia64

Hampshire_Hog said:

I read somewhere once that by planting garlic it would help keep mice and rabbits away from sweet corn plants, so no harm in experimenting.

i had terrible problems with aphids on my hellebores the first summer I move here, and at the suggestion of Evelyn from the Beechgrove Garden I used garlic wash one week, neem oil/horicultural soap the next and planted alliums next to the hellebores. I did not need to do the garlic wash in subsequent years but still spray most of the (ornamental) plants in the garden with NeemOil most weeks.