Try out this tried and true organic insect spray for your garden!

I have had problems in my backyard herb garden for a couple of years with some type of insect that devoured basil and marigolds (often the least-touched plants). I had tried a couple other organic pest deterrents with limited success. But this year the bugs were particularly bad and made their way across the path to eat all the growing tips of a trumpet vine. If I was going to get enough basil for our year's worth of pesto and a bloom on the trumpet vine, I needed to take action.

One of the things I had tried briefly last year that seemed to work was a homemade garden insect spray made with garlic and mint, a bit of cayenne and soap. So I decided this year to write down a "recipe" and record the before-and-after pictures to share the results. And I'm glad I did - I was blown away by the success of this easy, natural pest deterrent!

This shows how bad the basil had been attacked by the mystery bug (some have suggested earwigs, but I've never seen them), 2 weeks after spraying and then 4 weeks later. Can you believe it?

This is a super healthy basil plant now - even more healthy than my main garden basil that wasn't ever attacked. Seriously amazing.

Here's another before and after for you: the bugs attacked most of the tender new growth of my trumpet vine.

After only 2 sprayings (and a bout of rain after the 1st), the trumpet vine is loaded with new growth and I'm having to prune it back (if you know anything about trumpet vines, you'll know it's back to normal now, ha!).

You can read more and get the spray recipe on my blog - I'm so happy to be able to share this with other gardeners!

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