Hello, fellow gardeners!
I'd like to discuss an aspect in my daily gardening habits, specifically aphids and how to keep them at bay.
Some people use neem oil, others spray with water (I use water and garlic), and some simply do nothing, which works as well!
There is actually some debate about whether to spray away the aphids or keep them. I've heard / seen people on YouTube say that you shouldn't spray 'em away because they'll take care of themselves. What they mean is that when aphid populations grow (when you stop spraying them away), ladybugs will come in swarms to eat them.
The benefit of letting nature handle things on its own is that it would need less work and free up more time for other activities. I would think it's pretty nice. The drawback would be that if there were enough ants protecting the aphids, they may deter the ladybugs and prevent them from reaching the aphids. The symbiotic relationship between ants and aphids is similar to farming in which ants safeguard the aphids for the jelly the aphids excrete.
My garden was actually overrun by ants protecting the aphids, so I took matters into my own hands and am currently personally spraying those aphids (as well as the ants) hoping to lessen the numbers.
Aphids under my cucumber leaf.
Garlic in water:
Using a netbag, I immerse some garlic in water and let it overnight to extract the sulfur and allicin that prevent aphids from attaching themselves to leaves.
I then fill my bottle with the garlic water, then spray it on the leaves of my cucumbers.
Hope my cucs continue to grow well, the fruit is already forming :) will update you guys in the next post!
