Garlic Pepper Tea

This is an organic insect and disease control product made from the juice of garlic and hot peppers such as jalapeno, habanero or cayenne. It is one of the few preventative controls that I recommend. You would really have to use a lot of it to even hurt small beneficial insects and it is effective for both ornamental and food crops.

 

To make garlic-pepper tea, liquefy 2 bulbs of garlic and 2 hot peppers (hotter the better) in a blender 1/2 to 2/3 full of water. Strain the solids out and add enough water to the garlic-pepper juice to make 1 gallon of concentrate. Use 1/4 cup of this concentrate per gallon of spray. To make garlic tea, simply omit the pepper and add another bulb of garlic. Add two tablespoons of molasses for more effectiveness. To apply to plants, use a quart spray bottle, pump-up sprayer, trombone sprayer or backpack sprayer. Hose end sprayers are not great choices.