Last updated on October 23rd, 2023 at 09:05 pm
You are used to using them on a daily basis, for everyday ailments or to take care of your home. Did you know that essential oils can also help you maintain and care for your garden?
The use of essential oils in the garden is not common. At least, few studies have been conducted on the subject.
“essential oils should not be the remedy for everything. They help protect against diseases, especially on fruit trees and rose bushes, and can keep certain insects away, only when necessary.” In other words, there is no question of spraying blindly on the whole garden, under the pretext that it is a natural product.
3 oils to know for your garden
We recommend the use of savory, especially against certain plant diseases, such as mildew, but also on fruit trees. Against aphids that sometimes invade our tomato plants, we turn instead to Peppermint. Finally, the essential oil of Geranium rosa can repel mealy bugs. “I don’t know of any oil that would be harmful or dangerous for plants. Often, some people use lavender oil in their garden. In reality, it has very little effect. But if you take a random essential oil, in the worst case, nothing will happen -as long as, of course, the dosage is respected.”
Dosage and use of essential oils
It is on this point that it is advisable to be vigilant, because the overdose can make wither the plant to be treated and disturb the balance of the environment. “They are never used pure. As they do not mix in water, it is a question of creating a solution which will be then pulverized. You can either buy a solubilizing base or make it yourself, by mixing equal parts of vegetable oil (rapeseed, sunflower…) and liquid soap (vegetable dishwashing liquid, Marseille soap…). The dosage is as follows for all essential oils: 1 ml of oil for 1 liter of water. Then apply by spraying on the leaves and parts affected by diseases, insects, fungi.
In order not to risk intoxicating the plant, this care is to be given only once a month, two times maximum, “in the form of a cure, for three months maximum”,