Brews, Bites & Bunny Business
A cool crisp winters day, a little bitter in the morning upon starting in the nursery, but that positive feeling of the season (hopefully) lessening a few of the unwanted pests that can sneak into the nursery and wreak havoc!
One member of our nursery team has been experimenting with a new brew, that would make a wild crafted beer maker envious! However, it has only the non-alcoholic ingredients of cinnamon, coffee and a few other natural things without giving too much away of his potential patented future of targeting pests and diseases. Cinnamon is great to use as it has many properties for different applications. It contains the active ingredient called cinnamaldehyde, which beyond its culinary uses comes with anti-fungal and anti-microbial properties, ideal for preventing and combatting minor fungal issues such as powdery mildew. Not to mention the added bonus of the pleasant scent that can deter pest insects but that it also improves the health of the soil, balancing the soil microbiology and creating a healthier environment for plant growth. Caffeine is a key component of coffee and can be poisonous to insects, making it a great natural insecticide. When insects ingest caffeine, it targets their nervous system, inhibiting their movement leading to paralysis and eventually death (some pleasant imagery to all of us avid coffee enjoyers out there). Coffee grounds are not all ways lethal to pest but are still useful as they can deter some insects due to their strong scent. A few more rounds of testing, tweaking and recording of results to be done yet, but keep an eye out for a curated recipe in the future.
Meanwhile... Peter (Rabbit) has been in the nursery visiting as the cooler months now render him hungry and seeking easy offers of lush healthy, and attractive growth. His evidence has been noticeable, trimmed edges around some of the nursery pots, and preferences of some of the foliage perhaps by taste. We are not sure how to deal with this,
but perhaps the new nursery insulnet, a fancy knitted frost cloth will suffice. Or one of our team members has a Rabbit Repellant Recipe (perfectly harmless, but not when nibbled!).
- 1 TBSP white ground peppers
- Mix well with 100ml of warm water
- Add 500ml cold water and mix well
- (optional) 2 cloves of crushed garlic and let it sit for an hour to infuse
- Pour through a fine sieve into a spray bottle (pepper can clog your sprayer if not sieved out).
- Add a small squirt of ECO dish liquid and you're ready to go.
Spray plants around the base or all over that which you don't want your Peter Rabbit to eat. Repeat after rain or weekly. They will soon learn to leave the plants alone and Peter will need to visit elsewhere for his fancy salad!
We enjoy trying to find natural solutions here in the nursery, trying to work with nature, not against it. Every animal and insect have a reason to be here on this Earth, and it's about the control of a situation, coming up with an alternative solution, not eradication.
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