s

• Grind the three Gs - ginger, garlic and green chillies with a

little oil to form a fine paste in a mixer. Transfer to a bottle.
• Top it with oil so that the paste is covered with oil. Keep it in
sunlight for 15 days.
Note: Do not add water to this mix. When the oil level goes
down and the contents still have a strong smell, you can top it
with more oil.
• Take only the needed quantity required for each time you
spray.

A
• Shake the bottle well, take 2.5ml of this paste, add 1 litre of
soapnut water and mix well. Strain and spray.
• In winters, the concentration of oil used can be increased and
in summer, it can be reduced as heat and the oil coating may
burn the leaves. The best time to spray is evening.
• It can be used as an excellent insect repellent.
• Also, as a form of preventive maintenance, the spray can be
used once in 15 days or used when you see pests attack your
plants.
• This freshly made 3G solution will last only for a day.

53
 RECIPE 22

, 13~~S ~fM./
This recipe is good for controlling aphids in the garden.

Preparation Time: 1o mins

Ready Time: 35 mins
Shelf life: s days
t ,~y~
1 Glass Sour Buttermilk
_;11
1 Big sized Onion
/,\

1oogm Green Chillies

~

I ~
\Y I

I
I 1 Aloe Vera leaf
1009m Garlic ~
A handful of Neem leaves

54
11
 D lK ~
• chop all the ingredients coarsely.
• In a terracotta pot, boil approximately 3 to 3 1/2 litres of
water. Next, add all the above ingredients except the
buttermilk and boil till it reduces to almost half.
• Keep it aside to cool overnight. The next day strain this liquid.
The residue left can be put in your compost bin.
• Add the glass of buttermilk to this concoction. It will boost
microbial activity.

A
• Add 100 ml of this concoction to 1 litre of water and spray daily
for s days or till you see the aphids disappear.

55
 \ RECIPE23

MUAMj _ D~ ~tr
This recipe is effective in curbing soft- skinned sucking pests like
mealybugs, aphids etc.

Preparation Time: 10 rnins

Ready Time: 1 day
Shelf life: 5 days
• Neem cake: 1009m
• Soapnuts: 2ogm
• Water: 2litres
• Muslin cloth
• Bucket

7 Paint vvit h t he destroyer

{£_
Mealy Bug

56
~ oiK~
• pour water into the bucket. Tie the neem cake and soapnuts
in the muslin cloth and place this in the bucket of water.
• The bag should be totally sub mer ged in the water. Then, keep
it aside for one day.
• The next day, remove the bag after squeezing its contents
into the water.
• Spray this wat er daily for 5 days till the mealybugs are
eradicated. You can dip a paintbrush in this liquid and rub over
the bugs.
• Repeat daily till infestation is gone.

~ Notz
• Please check the amo unt of water in the soil. When the soil is
too wet, it attracts mealybugs.
• Lack of calcium in the plant is also a reason for mealybugs or
fungus in the plants.
• Always keep at least 6 inches from the base of the plant free of
any branches or leaves.
• Also, check the roots of the plant for mealybugs whenever you
see an attack on your plants.

57
,J
 111111

RECIPE 24

~ )~ a~a~A ~
- - 411s 2 YE

This recipe is very effective in controlling aphids and other sucking pests
like whiteflies.

Preparation Time: 10 mins

Ready Time: 30 mins
Shelf Life: 5 days
l~r~
• Tobacco leaves: 1009m
• Water: 1 litre
• Soapnut solution: 2-3 nuts to a litre of water

Tobacco & Soapnut

3> Solution

Tobacco leaves
<

58
~ DiH~
• Take 1 oogms of tobacco leaves, boil it with one litre of water
and stir till it is well steeped.
• Keep boiling this concoction on a slow flame for 15 to 20
minutes or till the colour changes to red.
• Cool this mixture. Strain it and use.

A
• Add soapnut solution to the mixture in the bottle and dilute
this to 1 part concoction to 15 parts water and only use it as a
foliar spray.
• Do not drench the soil.

• Avoid spraying on tomato and chilli family plants as tobacco

stock may have traces of tobacco mosaic virus.

59
 RECIPE 25

~~S L~ R .,~.,~ E~
~ This recipe is an excellent pest repellent for your plants.

Preparatio n Time: 20 mins

ReadyTim e: 30 mins
Shelf Life: 24 months

l"'-t,Y~
• Neem leaves: 5oogms
• Datura leaves: 5oogms
• Custard Apple leaves: 5oogms
• Calotropis leaves: 5oogms
• Adhatoda leaves: 5oogms
• Cow urine/Gomu tra/Gomiya m: 5 litres
• Asafoetida : 1oogms

c ~().,
Cow Urine
Adhatoda leaves Datura
r?- leaves
Custard Apple
leaves

60 eem leaves
alotropis
~
Asafoetida
leaves
 OiK~
• Crush the leave s coars ely. Mix the cow urine and the
asafoetida with the crush ed leave s. Boil all these toge ther in a
big vessel. Whe n nicel y boile d, keep it aside to cool.
• once it's fully coole d down , strain this and store it in a bottle .

• Take 20ml of this conc octio n. Add one litre of wate r and use it
as a foliar spray.

Not:£
• This can be used as a preve ntive pest contr oller once in 15
days.
• The leaves used can be sourc ed local ly if the abov e-me ntion ed
are unavailable in your local ity.
• Leaves that are inher ently bitte r or not eaten by goats or cattle
or leaves that ooze out latex can be used as a repla ceme nt in
this recipe.

61
 RECIPE 26

•ll s~ A W fM /P ~
--~ .. a= •• = , = = • = = ,,.
It helps in keeping away rats and squirrels.

Prepar ation Time: s mins

Ready Time: s mins
Shelf Life: s days \ 1"' :!J Y~
• Eucaly ptus oil
• Cotton balls

• Sprinkl e the cotton balls with a few drops of eucalyp tus oil
and keep these balls in your pots or in your garden , where you
notice the presence of rats or squirrels.
• The smell acts as a deterre nt and they w ill not come near the
plants.

Cotton balls
with eucalypt us oil
~

Note
• One can also spread crushed tobacc o leaves in their gardens to
address this problem .
62
 RECIPE 27

~~ FtMl\-9~ S"'-o-t
Very good for a fungal attack on plants.

prepa ration Time: 20 mins

Ready Time: 1 day ~ ll'\.!jr~
Shelf Life: 1 day • Milk: 500ml
• Dry ginger powde r: 5ogms
• Water: 1 litre

• Boil one litre of water with 5ogms of dry ginger powde r ti ll it is

reduced to half. Keep aside to cool.
• Boil 500ml of milk. Keep aside to cool. Once cooled , remove
the to p layer of cream which has formed .
• Strain the ginger water concen trate and keep it aside.

~
Fung a l Atta ck

A
• Take an equal quanti ty of both liquids and d ilute w ith one litre
of Water. Mix well and use as foliar spray in t he even ing.

63
 A simple recipe for trapping all the unwanted slugs in the garden.

• Plastic container with a lid

• Sugar - 1tbsp
• Flour - 1tbsp
• Yeast - 1tbsp
• Water-1 ¼ cups approximately

14
I
 O iK ~
the
• Make some slit-like holes in the circumference of
e
container near the halfway mark. It should be just larg
enough for the slug to enter in.
tHI it
• Make a mix of all the ingredients and blend it well
becomes a homogeneous mixture.
the slit
• Pour this liquid into the container just a little below
slug
holes. Dig a hole in the garden where you observe the
menace to be active.
holes are in
• Place the container inside the hole so that the slit
line with the top of the soil.
acted to
• Cover the contain er wit h the lid. The slugs will be attr
p.
the smell of the liquid fermenting and fall into the tra

65
 RECIPE 29

~ A9 M Aj,fra ,
This recipe is a good insect repellent.

,~., .~
• Gomiyam / gomutra / cow urine:½ litre
• Neem leaves: 1/4 kg
• Garlic: 5ogms
• Green Chillies: 5ogms Preparatio n Time: 20 mins
• 1 Terracotta pot Ready Time: 20 mins
• Water for dilution Shelf Life: 6 months

• Take a terracotta pot and put the neern /eaves in it. Add the
garlic, green chillies and gomiyam an d ke ep on the gas and
boil it. It is done when you see the colour changing.
• Keep it aside to cool. Once cool, store it in a bottle and use it
as required.

Neem Leaves k:. ~ Garlic

~Green Chillies

A
-~---- ---
• Take 5 ml of this Agni Astra, add one litre of water and use it as
a foliar spray.
66
J
 to 4~~

There is so muc h in one 's own kitc hen tha t is pac ked with
n,ic ronu trien ts and mac ron utri ents ess enti al for plan t
growth. List ed belo w are ju~t a few of ~hose ingr edie nts
which are very com mon ly disp ose d of into dus tbin s.
These can be use d mos t effe ctiv ely in the gard ens to
enhance plan t gro wth , boo st flow erin g and frui ting and
build plan t imm unit y. It is recy clin g was te and gro win g
one's own veg etab les and frui ts natu rally in the bes t
possible way one can .

• •
,,,.. ••# /J'<.'' 1
~-

~
•
~

67
 ----·
O~ Pe .eL s
• Soak the onio n peel s in wate r for 3 days .
• Onio ns are a good sour ce of sulph ur.
• Dilu te in a ratio of 1:5 with wate r and use it as folia r spra y or soil
dren ch.

• Was h the used tea leave s well in wate r to remo ve any trace s of
adde d elem ents , E.g. sugar, ging er, etc.
• Sun -dry and store in an airtig ht cont aine r.
• Take 1tbs p for a med ium- sized pot (12"d iarne ter), sprin kle a
little awa y from the plan t's base.
• Goo d sour ce of nitro gen and trace ele n1~~ 1~'·:,_

• Goo d sour ce of nitro gen, phos phor ous, pota ssium and
micr onut rient s.
• Prom otes plan t grow th.
• Wor ks as a slow relea sing fertil izer & a mild pest repe llent.
• Spre ad 1tbs p awa y from the main plan t's base for a
med ium- size pot (12 diam eter) .
11

68
Ill'. .
• Boosts floweri ng and contro ls pests like bla _n ket worms .
• Mix 1 tsp of asafoe tida powde r to a litre of water and use it as a
foliar spray or soil drench .

fvt ilk
• Good source of calcium . Rinse your milk bottles /sache ts and
let this water fermen t for 3 days.
• Dilute with water in a 1:5 ratio and use.

R ic--e Wrd::,e,r
• Collect the water used for washin g rice and keep it aside to
fermen t for 3 days.
• Dilute in a 1:5 ratio with water and use.
• This reduces the PH of the soil and increas es alkanes .

• Rich in calcium , wash the shells, sun-dr y and grind to a powde r

and store.

69
 • Soak 2tbsp of eggshell powder in 200ml of sour buttermilk and
keep it aside for 3 days.
• Dilute 1:5 times with water and use it as a foliar spray.

~ 13-~ P u ls
• They have a high content of potassium, phosphorous and
other micronutrients.
• Sun-dry them and powder and store them.
• Use 1tbsp for a medium-size pot.

L~ Puls ♦, Cl

• Soak lemon peels in water for 2 to 3 days and allow them to

ferment.
• Dilute 30ml to a litre of water and use it as :3 foliar spray.
• It acts as a mild pest repellent, changes the soil's PH, enhances
microbial activity and promotes overall plant growth.

• Dilute the water used for boiling soya chunks in the ratio of 1:5.
Use it as a foliar spray.

70
• This is a good source of iron, calcium and water-soluble
nutrients for the plants.
• use within two days.

• Grind in a mixer and pour this into a bucket of water.

• Let it ferment for 3 days.
• After 3 days, take the clear decanted solution on the top and
dilute 1:5 and use.
• The leftover solid waste can be added to your compost bin.
• The peels of fruits and vegetables are packed with nutrients
and trace elements that promote plant growth.

Syx,ilt p ~
• Take 2oogm of spoilt pulses. Add 1tbsp mustard seeds and
2oogms jaggery.
• Add 1tbsp eggshell powder and some rusted iron nails
(Optional).
• Mix well. Leave to ferment in a cool place for 25 to 30 days.
• Dilute 1:10 times with water and use it as a foliar spray or soil
drench.

71
 <

• This improves the microbial activity in the soil and promotes

overall plant growth.

• Chop stems of amaranthus/drumstick/spinach/legumes or any

greens that are thrown away as waste in the kitchen.
• Take an equal amount of jaggery and greens. Mix well. Keep in
an airtight container.
• Keep it aside to ferment for 30-45 days. Strain and use.
• Dilute 1:10 times with water and use it as a foliar spray or soil
drench.
• The greens are good nitrogen fixators.

72
 .••.. ••.•.

Anju's Home Gardening - The Natural Way rill

is a treasure trove of 30 recipes for 1_ 1 _..,.

self-sufficiency and holistic garden 11

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.management that will benefit beginners ~

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.S·· J ~ • , . __ ' . -_. ~ '. I

, "{ garden. It has simple, DIY recip~§ih~n~,ed /\',Jj}

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1 1111
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