Natural Garden Remedies – 9 top ideas for you to try

I recently carried a guest post from a leading ecologist on how to attract wildlife into the garden. One of the pieces of advice was to cut out the chemicals. So I thought this week I’d help us all do this by looking into natural garden remedies.

Confession time – I haven’t tried all of these tricks or tecniques myself. So I can’t vouch for them directly. But they use everyday household items, cost virtually nothing and cover many of the key problems we face in our gardens. So I’m definitely going to try all of these natural garden remedies in the year ahead.

I’ll report back on how I get on. Why don’t you do the same, and share your results with me? Together we’ll crack all those pesky pests and failing flowers without resorting to commercial chemicals!

Natural Garden Remedies for mildew

#1 Camomile tea

I thought camomile tea was for relaxing you at the end of the day, but apparently its antibacterial and fungicidal properties mean it’s brilliant for tackling fungus and mildew.

Simply place a heap of camomile tea bags (about 8)  in a litre of water and simmer for 20 minutes. Then turn off the heat and allow the tea bags to steep for several hours. Remove the bags and put the cooled liquid in a plant spray and use it on your plants.

#2 Milk

Another natural way to tackle mildew is to spray with a dilution of milk -mixed at a ratio of 40% milk 60% water. I have no idea how it works, and I don’t think scientists are exactly sure either! Most think the proteins in the milk interact with sun to create an antiseptic effect. This ‘burns’ any fungi present but doesn’t hurt your plant’s leaves.

Obviously this natural garden remedy must be used in bright light, and the experts recommend it is repeated every week-10 days or so.

While you can use it on infected plants, to be most effective, use the milk spray preventively on plants prone to mildew.

Natural Garden Remedies for black spot, powdery mildew and rust

#3 Aspirin

I have lovely roses but I also have lots of lovely black spot on many of them. A few have rust too and, if I’m ‘really lucky,’ I’ve also had a dose of mildew on some – the jackpot!

What a headache. Now it’s funny I should say that as scientists have found that two uncoated aspirin tablets (325 milligrams each) dissolved in 1 litre of water and sprayed on the leaves can thwart these diseases.

Natural Garden Remedies as fertilisers

#4 Epsom Salts

There’s so much talk about improving our soils, with tonnes of bags of fertiliser, compost and soil improvers bought every year. I’m as guilty as the next person of buying endless bags. Indeed, I’ve some serious muscles from lugging them around the garden! However did you know that Epsom salts help increase nutrient uptake by your plants. Apparently the magnesium in Epsom salts helps a plant use the phosphorus and nitrogen in the soil.

Just disolve 2 tablespoons of Epsom salts in 4 litres of warm water. Then add 250ml of unsweetened apple juice. Pre-moisten the soil around your plant and then poke some holes around it (go for the farthest edges) and pour in the mixture. Do this once a month for the best results.

I’ve also read that you can use Epsom salts as a top dressing, adding about 1 tablespoon around the base of a plant and watering in. You can also add them when planting – mixing the salts with the soil at the base of a hole before adding the plant.

#5 Coffee Grounds

Everyone who knows me will agree that I’m a coffee and tea addict, but I didn’t know that coffee can be a serious plant boost too. Simply sprinkle and spread the coffee grounds over you soil. Ground are the things that are left after you’ve made proper coffee – sorry this is not a job for Nescafe instant!

The grounds add nutrients to your soil and also help with soil drainage and oxidation. In particular, acid-loving plants like camelias, rhododendrons, and azaleas love used coffee grounds. Someone also told me they’re good for tomato plants!!

#6 Egg Shells

Eggshells are high in calcium and other important minerals that nourish your garden. Just crunch up washed egg shells until they are like bread crumbs and add them to your soil. This is best done in Autumn or Spring. Scratch around the top inch of your soil around plants such as roses and put the crushed up shells there, then water thoroughly. Again, veg growers may also like to try them when planting out tomotoes.

Natural Garden Remedies for Weeds

#7 White Vinegar

My mum always used to say “winegar for wasps” – using vinegar as a way to treat a nasty sting. However, vinegar is good for putting on weeds too. If you spray undiluted white vinegar directly, and liberally onto weeds, the acid in the vinegar will kill them. However, because the vinegar will kill the leaves and not always the roots, you may need to reapply.

Use this natural weed killer on a hot and sunny day. But be careful not to put it on the plants you actually treasure as you will kill those too.

Natural Garden Remedies for Aphids

#8 Water

I’ve had a real problem with aphids on my clematis this year. Luckily the ladybirds have bailed me out a bit. But if they’re not around a simple spray of cold water may do the trick. As it dislodges the aphids.

#9 Flour

If you have a large aphid invasion, dust plants with flour. It aparently constipates the pests.

What about Slugs?

So those are nine natural suggestions. Some I’ve tried and some are new to me. One pesky problem I’ve not covered here is slugs. There are so many possible solutions that I’m going to devote a whole separate blog to that topic another time. So watch this space…

In the meantime, if you do try any of these techniques do let me know how you get on. And of course, if there are some remedies I’ve missed, do share them…happy, healthy, natural gardening!