How to make garlic garden spray to repel aphids

Since I got back from Mexico I had been battling with some small aftermaths from the vacation drought that the garden suffered. One of those problems is aphids. When I came back, I noticed some of the plants got a couple on them. They were not many, so I thought that as the plants recover from the lack of water and having me to check up on them, the aphids problem will slowly disappear. Now, after trying to get rid of them manually for almost a month, I definitely lost the battle, they have taken over the balcony, and started to do some real damage on a couple plants. To continue war is necessary for me to bring out bigger guns. Since I don’t have available a black and red thank (little ladybugs are the best against aphids) I will have to go with garlic artillery. Here is a recipe for making organic garlic garden spray.

Aphids are one of the big enemies on the garden

Aphids usually dislike plants with strong and powerful scents like those in the allium family (onions, leeks, chives, garlic, etc.). All the plants in the onion genus have very astringent chemical compound, which gives them their "spicy" or "garlicky" flavor, this serves as a natural repellent for many pests and some fungus. Using a spray of this chemical around the garden will help in getting aphids away in a very natural and organic way.

The recipe is very simple, and after using it a couple times, the results will be visible.

Ingredients

• 2 cups of water
  
• 2 cloves of garlic
  
• 2 tbsp. liquid dish soap

Optional

• 1 small onion
  
• 1 tbsp. Mineral oil

Making garlic spray for the garden is very simple

To make the garlic garden spray all you need is take the garlic, soap and water into the blender and hit on high until is a very liquid puree. If you want a slightly stronger version you can also add one small onion and mineral oil, but is not necessary. For my garden usually using only garlic and soap is enough.

After all is blended, leave the liquid overnight to allow for the chemicals to spread and mix with the water. After that just strain, put it on a bottle and spraying away.

Spray around the garden every couple days and the aphids will start to fade away.

Remember is best to hit the aphids directly for the formula to work best and also try and use up all the liquid before a week to avoid it going bad.

I started using the formula on my garden a couple days ago, and the aphids are already going away. I trust they will be all out soon.

Got any more tips? Feel free to share on the comments

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Spring at the Sonora desert

While I was in Mexico, we had some relatives visiting from south Mexico, so we went around town showing them the city. One of the places we went was a small ecologic reserve outside of town. The place is a little like a zoo and a little like a ecologic center. It is very fun to visit, especially if you live in a different climate, because you get to see first hand the wildlife in the desert. We were really lucky because at that time spring was really showing and we got to enjoy all of the amazing displays that spring at the desert has to offer.

The humming birds are abundant in spring

The Sonoran desert is one of the hottest and biggest deserts of the world (Arizona and Mojave desert are small pieces of the Sonoran desert). Life is hard in there and plants struggle to survive, but there is one important thing to remember, even though is a desert, spring always means life and color. So, when the time comes there are plenty of blooms around and life awakens and fills everywhere.

The sahuaros bloom as well

The flowers are a bit more rough than in other climates, as most of the plants are too, but this is just as expected from desert plants. They have to be tough to survive in those conditions. I think they are incredibly beautiful nonetheless.

This one is called fireworks

Just as japan has the Sakura, in the desert we have our own version of spring bloom trees. Ours are called "Palo verde" (meaning green tree), it is a native species from our desert. The name of the tree comes from the unusual colored bark. These trees retain the green color on their trunk and their branches even when they have fully matured and have several years old, because the photosynthesis is carried on in the bark.

The palo verde is the desert sakura

Everywhere around the wilderness and also in many streets and houses we have a lot of of these trees blooming every year. The same as the sakura, the trees flower all at once in an impressive and beautiful demonstration that only last a week or two.

The spring blooms in the desert are amazing

It is an amazing sight to see them blooming every spring.

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Buying plants at a nursery in Mexico

Back when I was in Mexico, I had the chance to go with my family to buy flowers for the house. My mom wanted some plants to decorate the entrance and to hang out in the back. So we went to a little urban nursery we like close to our neighborhood. They don't have a big range of plants, but they have a lot of very nice ones.

The little nursery close to home

As I have said before where I live is plain desert, so the range of flowers we can grow is a bit limited by the weather. Having tulips for example is completely out of the question, but there are still many other great plants we can have. One common flower to have around there is the petunia. They need a bit of extra care to resist the dryness, but they are able to take the extreme sun, and that is important. We are used to see them around the streets in the city blooming in spring.

They had a lot of great plants

The petunias are in full bloom

So, we went to the nursery with petunias in mind to see what else was there. Most of their stock was petunias, and they had a great variety of colors, but they also had daises, cactus, dahlias, alyssum, cyclamen (in there is as a indoor plant, would not make it outside) and many others.

It was hard to pick which ones to get

Petunias are a must have

Of course at the end we went a little crazy and got a bunch. My mom loves geraniums, and they had some with great colors so we got a trio too. I hope all the plants are doing well at home.

Being in Mexico Dahlias could not be missing

Neither does cactus

I really enjoy going for some plant shopping. It was interesting seeing the difference in how things work here in Japan and back in Mexico. Hopefully I will get a chance to visit other countries in the future and see the difference there as well.

At the end this was the loot

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My little garden in Japan April 2011

Spring is already here in Tokyo, and it really shows on my little garden in Japan. Most of the plants are flowering or about to and everything is getting revitalized. It is nice to see the garden so alive, but it also reminds me that there is a lot of work to do.

All the garden is in full bloom!

• Most of the vegetables from the big planter are flowering thanks to the vacation drought they suffered.

The dill is also starting to flower

• The maples are all green, which is bad because I wanted to separate them when they were still on their slumber. I guess I will have to be extra careful not to damage to roots

I got a couple new colors of calla lily. Hope they do well

• The calla lily are out and growing. After their initial sprout this winter I got them in the soil to let them rest a bit more, but now they are out again.

More flowers, the kalanchoe is also blooming

• The strawberries keep growing strong, and they insist on flowering. I will continue to cut them until the plants are stronger, buy I will let them propagate to have a backup strawberry pot.



• Sadly, the tulips are gone. A strong wind took them away last weekend. Most tulips around survived and are still going strong, so I guess mines were weak from the vacation drought.

Two new planters for the garden

• I got two new 60 litter planters for the tomatoes and chilies. The garden is going to be so full.



• The big red rose is still sick, but getting better every day. I hope it will get better. The little yellow rose is starting to show like it will bloom soon.

It is full spring here in my little garden in Japan

All around, the garden is doing great. I look forward to the rest of the season.

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Sakura in Tokyo

It has been almost two weeks since I got back from Mexico, and everything here in Tokyo seem to be happening normally. Life continues as usual, the weather changes, spring is here and the Sakura are in full bloom. However, there are still a lot of things going on. We still get aftershocks now and then, the nuclear power plants are still an issue, and the lack of electricity still has effect on everyday life. And also, of course, Northern Japan still has a long way to recover from the devastating scars the tsunami left. For Japan, this will be a period of renewal and resurrection, It has to revitalize itself and rise from the catastrophe.

The blooming of the Sakura in Japan

Spring and the blooming of the sakura (cherry blossom) arrived on the best moment possible. They are gorgeous, inspiring, and help us see beyond the problems we are experiencing. I trust Japan will recover from this disaster very well. The same way that the cherry tree loses all its leafs during the hardships of winter, only to blossom with beautiful sakura afterwards.

Seeing the sakura blossoming is wonderful. They cheer up the mood and bring back the smiles in people’s faces. They give us hope.

The sakura in full bloom

Here in Japan going to see and enjoy the beauty of flowers is a very old tradition called Hanami (花見 "flower viewing"). Going to see the sakura is so important that even the national weather bureau keeps a very tight track of when the trees will bloom. They also have many festivals around and many sakura related events, promotions, decorations, food, and other products.

Cherry blossoms at Ueno Park

The blooms also look amazing at night

Sakura at the entrance of the imperial palace

Nowadays, hanami usually consists of having an outdoor party or a little pick nick under the sakura trees. In some parts, food stands are set close to the viewing areas and a little festival is held. Also, many parks also hang paper lamps temporarily to help people see the blooms at nighttime and to intensify the beauty of the flowers.

Millions of people gather for hanami all around Japan

Here in Tokyo it the blooming of the sakura usually happens around the beginning of April, and depending on the weather, last a week or two. Every year most Japanese people go out whenever they have some time and have hanami, even people from other countries come on those days to enjoy the blossoms.

They look like a little cloud or a big white cotton candy

All around Tokyo they are many great places for enjoying hanami because sakura trees are very popular plant to have. You can always find a great mature tree even when walking along the little alleys in the suburban areas. However, most people concentrate on the biggest parks, so it can get very crowded there at times, but it all contributes to the festivity feeling it all has.

You can see a lot of sakura even from the trains

I got very lucky, close to my new house there is a river all bordered by sakura trees. It is a very calm place and walking along the view is just amazing.

This is the sakura bordered river close to my house

I must try rowing with a special girl under the sakura trees someday

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Spring in Tokyo, Japan

I am already settled at the new house, but I still hardly know anything about the new neighborhood. So to try and fix that I went around with my bike. I was very happy to see spring going full bloom everywhere.

Spring is here

One of the things I like most about japan, is that they have a great gardening culture. In almost every corner you can find a small patch of green or a couple pots that are being taken care of diligently. So it is always easy to find some flowers around.

It is an amazing neighborhood, right in the middle of tokyo. Now everything feels like a bike ride away, is much more convenient than the old apartment. I am less than half an hour bike ride from the university campus, the emperor palace and from many other big stations.

We even have a great river surrounded with sakura, they look amazing now that they are in blossom. I will make a full post about that later on.

I will do a full post on sakura

But for now a small preview

I was also happy to see they have a small garden center around, so I won't be out of resources around here. They also have a lot of little flower shops where they sell potted plants.

The new place location is great, but i still have a lot more to explore, in the meantime, here is a little bit more of the spring in Tokyo.

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