Black soap is the natural product to always have on hand because it is essential in the garden. It can indeed be used on many occasions to eliminate parasites, fight against diseases, and clean the outside. This authentic product is marketed in solid or liquid form, but this second solution is easier to integrate into different preparations. Here is five recipes essential and easy to prepare to enjoy the effectiveness of black soap in the garden.
1 – A pest control based on black soap in the garden
Very effective against mealybugs, aphids and red spider mites, psyllids or even to eradicate an anthill, this black soap recipe is prepared as follows:
- Add 10 tablespoons of black soap in 2 liters of hot water,
- Mix well with a wooden spoon,
- Allow the preparation to cool before pouring it into a spray can,
- Spray the parasitized plants,
- Repeat the operation if necessary a few days later.
Cet insecticide de contact kills the larvae very quickly. Rose bush, passion flower, and many other ornamental plants can benefit from this preparation only composed of water and black soap. It is necessary to treat as soon as one sees the parasites on their leaves, their stems and/or their flower buds, without forgetting to also treat the underside of the leaves.
This natural pest control is absolutely safe. This is why you should not hesitate to use it also in the vegetable garden. The soil covering the seeds is even pulverized to protect them against seed maggot without harming the environment.
This black soap preparation remove honeydew deposited by certain undesirables (aphids, scale insects, etc.) on plants, and which forms a kind of sticky film on the leaves and stems. Moreover, it attracts ants which is not a panacea! It is therefore sufficient to soak a cotton ball in this black soap preparation then pass it over and under the leaves.
Note that black soap also gives excellent results on apple trees attacked by woolly aphids for example.
2 – A black soap insect repellent for the vegetable garden
A large number of harmful insects such as whiteflies, thrips, leafhoppers and many more invade the vegetable garden, causing multiple damage to vegetables in the event of an infestation. However, we have a little too much tendency, to overcome it, to abuse chemical products that we buy in supermarkets or in garden centers. There is, however, a natural solution to fight against these undesirables, which consists of preparing a very simple recipe with the following ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper,
- 12 cloves of garlic,
- 1 bunch of fresh mint,
- 5 tablespoons of black soap,
- 500ml lukewarm water.
Pour the water, garlic and mint into the blender. Mix until the preparation is perfectly homogeneous then transfer it to a saucepan. Bring to the boil, sprinkle with cayenne pepper and cook the potion for 2 minutes while stirring with a wooden spoon. Leave on for 12 hours. At the end, add the black soap, mix then filter the natural insect repellent through a strainer before pouring it into a sprayer. This natural black soap product can be sprayed on the vegetable plants to keep insects away. Ornamental plants can also benefit.
3 – Black soap to increase the effectiveness of Bordeaux mixture
Many gardeners combine Bordeaux mixture and black soap because the latter is a surfactant. However, we know that adding a surfactant to a fungicide product guarantees (even increases) its wettability. Thus, the Bordeaux mixture attaches itself more to the leaf system plants and the treatment also disperses better. Thanks to the addition of black soap, the effects of Bordeaux mixture are therefore reinforced over time. Here’s how:
- Dilute 2 cl of black soap in 10 cl of very hot water,
- Allow the mixture to cool,
- Add the diluted black soap to 100 cl of Bordeaux mixture.
Thanks to this solution, we use less Bordeaux mixture and that’s good because it is essential to respect the recommended dosages. Under no circumstances should they be exceeded. You should know that the maximum dose is 20 g of Bordeaux mixture per liter of water. At higher doses or in the event of too frequent use, we can deplore harmful effects for the environment because it contains copper, or the soils risk saturation.
Too much copper in the soil is detrimental to micro-organisms and worms whose role is to decompose organic matter. Copper can therefore destroy them, which leads to soil impoverishment. But you should also know that its excess is harmful to our health. Adding a surfactant such as black soap to the Bordeaux mixture is therefore highly recommended.
4 – Black soap against mildew and powdery mildew
The mildew is the name given to many cryptogamic (or fungal) diseases caused by filamentous organisms. Potatoes, squash, vines, lettuces, tomatoes are among the many plants that can be affected by mildew. As for powdery mildew, it is a cryptogamic disease that is also called white rot or, more commonly, powdery mildew because plants affected by different strains of parasitic fungi are covered with a white powder, especially on the leaves.
Again, black soap is a good solution to fight naturally by simply spraying a mixture consisting of:
- 2 liters of water,
- 20 ml of black soap,
- 5 g d’hydrogénocarbonate de sodium (bicarbonate de sodium).
Thanks to its wetting power, black soap binds sodium bicarbonate on the leaves of plants. It is recommended to renew the treatment after a heavy rain. There is no risk of harm to be feared.
5 – Pure black soap for a nickel exterior
Excellent cleanerthe black soap is used as it is to clean and maintain everything that is in plastic and in PVC such as garden furniture, planters, pots and bins, claustra, barnum, watering can, gutters and gutters, garage door, window borders… Used purthe black soap degreases the barbecue that one rubs with the brush, the grid and the utensils which accompany it and that it is then enough to rinse with very hot water.