Pesky Pest (or Pets!) Spray

Something's been eating my plants...

And it's not me.

Poor peppers...

I was looking through pest control options, and everything out there is all chemically, or mostly chemically, or processed, or "one beeeellion dollars."

So, naturally, I decided to make my own.

I knew I wanted a spray, and it needed to be something that would both deter pesky pests (and pets) while not damaging my plants or making them un-harvestable.

I would still like to eat this stuff.

After perusing my options, I concocted a combination of condiments.

I gathered my spray bottle, garlic, and chili powder.

Happy, earth friendly, all natural chili powder, obviously.

I steeped a tablespoon of chili powder along with the garlic in water for a few hours.

Oh, hello there!

Then I ran the liquid through a cheesecloth lined, fine-mesh strainer to get the solids out, and filled my spray bottle, adding a tablespoon of biodegradable liquid soap (Seventh Generation, if you must know).

Then we took it to the mattresses...

Or, to the porch, in this case.

Yeah, we see you cat... waiting to make your move...

The spray bubbled more than expected, but coated the leaves nicely, and dried clear. 

A few weeks later, and my plants are decidedly less nibbled upon. I actually witnessed a certain cat, who shall remain nameless, try to nom upon one, pull a terrible face, and continue on his merry little way. So, I call that success. 

Turns out the cats were my main culprits, so by coating the leaves within their reach, I've cut down on their crunching, and given my plant babies a chance to grow.

Full disclosure, though, it did discolor my leaves, so maybe not the best option for an edible, like lettuce. The cats were uninterested in the lettuce, though, so that required no spraying...

The actual recipe for the spray was...

3 cups water

1 T chili powder

5 cloves garlic

Steep for 2-3 hours.

Strain out solids.

Mix in 1 T liquid, biodegradable dish soap, and add a few drops of orange or lemon essential oils if you have them on hand (I did not).

Spray away! (Though aim for the early morning or evening. Doing it in the heat of the day can burn those tender little leaves. Bad plan.)

Sun Tea, a Southern Revelation

Today, I made sun tea for the first time.

In my mind, sun tea is one of those classically Southern pastimes that I was not privy to growing up. My family transplanted from Florida, and are not native Southerners. Our family dinners included more Asian influence than Southern flare, and none of our relatives are even in the state. I've picked up some traits over the years though, and don't know what Northerners do without "y'all" in their vocabulary.

So when I stumbled across an old magazine article from Southern Living detailing the delights of sun tea, I knew I had to give it a shot. Nobody wants to boil a kettle when it's ninety degrees outside, but variety is the spice of life, and plain ol' tap water gets old pretty quickly...

Plus, it seems like something Laura would've done... though she was more likely to accidentally knock over the pitcher than watch it steep.

The process is refreshingly simple. Jar. Tea. Sun. Wait.

The practice has lost popularity in the past few years because of sanitary concerns and bacteria fear-mongering. The whole bacteria thing can be avoided by using a super clean container, and filtered water. Keep the tea in the fridge when it's done brewing, and drink within a day or two... which, trust me, won't be hard. This stuff is delicious.

My jars held three cups of water, so I could've used two or three tea bags. I opted for two, which turned out to be plenty strong. The amazingly hot and sunny day we're having here certainly didn't hurt the process. Sun tea is not a rainy day activity, folks.

I tried a few different teas, all fair trade and organic... because every dollar we spend supports something, somewhere, and I'd like to think I'm supporting good things when I can.

I still have dreams of a tea garden, but that'll probably have to wait for more space...

The teas started steeping immediately, and I screwed the lids back on to protect from our lovely Southern friends, the gnats, as well as the love bugs that have exploded in our neighborhood the past few days.

A few hours later (3-4 seems to be the consensus), the teas had taken on these gorgeous colors, and I may have done a little dance on my porch.

It's okay if you want to do a happy dance too... I'll wait here...

I packed a glass with ice, and immediately poured some to enjoy. The rest will cool in the fridge, and there may even be some left when Lee gets home for him to try.

You know, in today's world of constant updates and bombardments, there's something timeless and special about sitting on the porch, watching the colors swirl while tea steeps in the bright sunlight.

Ah, the blessings of naptime...

My favorite so far is the tropical hibiscus, which has great lemony undertones and begs for a sprig of mint. The green tea is lovely, too, though definitely enhanced by a squirt of lemon juice. The black tea breakfast blend is probably the most classic sun tea flavor, and has the cleanest base for flavor add-ins. Take a gander at your herb garden, there are some great possibilities out there!

I also have grand plans to freeze some of the hibiscus tea and use the ice cubes in the green tea... yeah, Lee might just have to wait for the next batch...

Enjoy, friends!