Rosa's Backyard

DIY Non Toxic Pesticides: Pyrethrum Spray

24th Oct ' 16

As much as I personally don’t like to kill things in my garden, I understand that people can sometimes get overrun with insects and have to take steps to save their produce and flowers. The only standard I hold to everyone in the garden is ensuring that everything we grow for ourselves, our friends and family to eat will not harm us or them.

If the packaging on a product says it is not safe for human consumption, it should not necessarily be placed on our food, however most pesticide brands on the market do not offer an alternative.

I’m going to be sharing some recipes over the coming weeks for insect deterrents you can make at home, that are affordable, organic and safe to ingest. Most of them can even be made from products you have at home!

The first one is a homemade pyrethrum spray. Pyrethrum is a very broad insecticide and deters a wide range of garden foes. It is also made from a flower, which you can grow at home! So this is like a double bonus for your garden – more pretty flowers and less pests. If you’re in Australia, you can get some non-hybrid, non GMO, organic seeds here: 
http://www.theseedcollection.com.au/Pyrethrum
Okay, now that’s out of the way, there are two ways you can use these plants to your advantage. You can plant them around your crops and their scent will act as a natural deterrent to creatures, or you can make up a spray. You’ll need a plastic container / old bowl, a spray bottle, some pyrethrum flowers and some water. Take the flower heads off at full bloom, remove the petals and allow the centres to dry out overnight in an open container or bowl. Ideally you will have around 3 grams of the dried flower heads to 1 litre of warm water for this spray to be effective. Let the mixture sit in the bottle for around 2-3 hours and then it’s ready! Just shake before use.

If you’re interested in these recipes, I have written a PDF booklet with all of the recipes in one easy to find place, so if you’d like me to email you a copy of this please email me at: daynah@rosasbackyard.com it’s free for all of my blog readers who email me before January 1st, 2017. After that it will be available for sale on Amazon for $1.50 AUD. The book will also have more details on how each particular pesticide works, an environmentally friendly rating and a toxicity rating.

Happy planting!!

**picture from Google and is not mine** *image credit to parkseed.com*

filed under: DIY, Gardening, Organic, Organic Solutions 8 Comments

« Previous Post
Next Post »

Comments

  1. Unknown says

    October 24, 2016 at 9:49 am

    Great natural recipes. I'm fully for going as natural as possible and especially staying away from GMOs as well. 🙂 there's a farmer that I really admire. He made a documentary about his organic farming practices. You might be interested in it too. it's called Back to Eden and it's free to watch online. It's an all time favorite of mine. Really love your blog!

    Reply
  2. Anonymous says

    October 24, 2016 at 5:04 pm

    great stuff. do it yourself pesticides so important on improving the environment!

    Reply
  3. Daynah Rose says

    October 25, 2016 at 9:14 am

    I'll definitely have a look at that one! I'm so excited to see so many people making the conscious move to organic / non-toxic when they're able. Thanks so much for your comment!

    Reply
  4. Daynah Rose says

    October 25, 2016 at 9:14 am

    Too true! Thank you for your comment!

    Reply
  5. Anna Nuttall says

    October 26, 2016 at 9:41 am

    I should this blog to my mother in law as she love gardening – me. I don't know the first thing about it. I'm not an outdoor girl. Thank you for this advice and I will pass it onto my mother in law.

    http://www.annanuttall.com

    Reply
  6. Tia Smith says

    October 27, 2016 at 2:27 am

    I am always looking for non-toxic yet effective ways to protect the plants in my yard. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  7. Daynah Rose says

    November 24, 2016 at 8:14 am

    I am so happy you found it helpful!

    Reply
  8. Daynah Rose says

    November 24, 2016 at 8:14 am

    I hope she finds it helpful!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts

  • Hello world!
  • Top 5 Shade Loving Herbs!
  • Edibles to Grow Year Round | Cool Climate
  • Top Five House Plants for Beginners!
  • Veggie Gardener’s Guide to October

Recent Comments

  • A WordPress Commenter on Hello world!
  • Peter on The Benefits of Raised Bed Vegetable Gardening
  • Andrew Phillips on The Benefits of Raised Bed Vegetable Gardening
  • Jennet on The Benefits of Raised Bed Vegetable Gardening
  • victoria seo on The Benefits of Raised Bed Vegetable Gardening

Archives

  • January 2020
  • August 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016

Categories

  • Budget Gardening
  • Chickens
  • Companion Guides
  • DIY
  • Gardening
  • GIVEAWAYS!
  • Growing Food
  • Guest Post
  • Homesteading
  • House Plants
  • How To
  • Insects
  • Organic
  • Organic Solutions
  • Propagation
  • Recipes
  • Recycling
  • Review
  • Seeds
  • Space Saving
  • Succulents
  • Tips
  • Uncategorized
  • Upcycling
  • Vegetable Calender

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org
© Copyright 2021 | Site designed by KERRIE LEGEND

Copyright © 2021 · Stay Classy on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in