Aphids can be a bit of a pain in the veg patch, but there are various ways of keeping them at bay. These are the three cunning methods that we use.
- Plant lots of marigolds and tagetes in and around plants that suffer from aphids (tomatoes and broad beans etc) – this helps to attract ladybirds and lacewings which in turn eat the aphids and keep populations down for you.
- Place sticky, yellow things in amongst crops. A vaseline covered yellow bucket balancing upside down on a bamboo cane will work wonders…the aphids are attracted to it and will land on the bucket and get stuck there.
- Make a garlic spray – peel some garlic cloves, slice them and boil them in water for 10 mins. Let the water cool before removing the garlic pieces. Add a little organic soap to the garlic water and spray it on vulnerable plants.