Essentially Yours - Part 6

essentially yours - part 6

Plants and Gardening

by Denise Washburn 

Essential oils and gardening; I found it extremely interesting that these two subjects are related.  And, come to think about it, most of us Soapnuts enjoy both of them.  Essential oils play several roles in the garden.  They can be natural pest deterrents, and as the pests carry disease in the form of bacteria and viruses, the essential oils are a form of preventative medicine for your garden. 

Essential oils not only control pests, but they also make your crop stronger and better tasting; or if you are raising flowers, more fragrant.  This has been evidenced by several studies as recently as 1982.  The scientists discovered a sophisticated biochemical communication system operating in willow and alder trees. The webworm infested trees produced chemicals, which changed the makeup of their leaves, making them unpalatable and indigestible; thereby killing off the webworms.  The scientists believe that these scented chemicals deliver the warning messages by air, by aroma molecules.  This phenomenon has since been found to occur in other plants. 

Mutually beneficial relationships between plants are already well established, but not yet well understood.  This information is used commercially.  For example, in Bulgaria, roses are inter-cropped with garlic and onions, which not only protect the roses from predators and fungi but also enhance their fragrance, all while the companion plants flourish.  Why one plant variety should help another is not always easy to determine.

So how does this pertain to essential oils?  First, you must remember that essential oils are made directly from plants…so the benefits of the plant is carried within the essential oil.  Some examples of this are:

Ants can be deterred by peppermint and, indeed, they hate it and will go to great lengths to avoid it.  To clear a nest, just put two neat drops of peppermint oil directly onto the nest and wait for the exodus.  If ants are coming into your house, put 1 or 2 drops of peppermint essential oil on the threshold, or wherever they enter.  You can create a mobile barrier with a peppermint plant in a pot that can be placed at the back door and moved as the ants get smart and try to find another entrance point.  Alternatively, chop the leaves of a peppermint plant and scatter them to create a barrier.¹ 

Slugs can also be eliminated with some pretty simple principals. 

Bury old margarine or yogurt containers so that the top of the container is level with the ground, fill them with beer or cider and stand back and watch as the smell of beer attracts the slugs, which fall into the beer, get drunk and drown.  Slugs have an acute sense of smell and hate garlic in any shape or form.  The essential oil of garlic is so aromatically powerful as to be rather unpleasant to handle and an easier option may be to break a garlic bulb into cloves and place these in the ground, especially along the edges of the garden where slugs often lay their eggs.  French gardeners use crushed garlic; add 1 tablespoon to a watering can, mix well, and water the areas where the slugs are causing their damage.¹ 

Mosquitoes have an aversion to the aroma of lemongrass, citronella or lavender essential oils, among others, and their use in the garden can take the sting out of hot summer nights.  But all flying insects are a nuisance in the garden, especially if you are having a barbecue.  The answer again is lemongrass or citronella essential oil, which may be used in several different ways. 

• Add three drops to a cereal bowl of water and soak some ribbons in this before attaching them to the branches of trees.¹
• The pond can be cleared by putting some of the soaked ribbons on a pole and sticking this in the middle, or you may find it easier and prettier to put a couple of neat drops of lemongrass or citronella onto an artificial flower or water lily and float that on the pond.¹
• If you have candles or flares outside, simply drop the essential oil onto the was at the top, just as it begins to melt.¹
• If your summer evenings are being spoiled by moths, use the same procedures with lavender essential oil, which they hate.¹

Whether you plant to frustrate or annihilate, the secret of success in the battle is to know your enemies --- their likes and dislikes, their natural enemies and how to attract them, their life cycle, the parameters of their movements, and so forth.  With that information it should be possible to construct a battle plan that ensures you win!    

Certain aromatic plants have a beneficial effect on most flowers and vegetables when grown among them.  However you do not actually have to cultivate these helpful plants to take advantage of their capacity to enhance your garden because their essential oil can be used in the watering can instead.  You will only need 6 drops of essential oil to 2 gallons of water.  This is not a great deal but remember that each drop of essential oil has been distilled from a large number of the original plants.  Add the 6 drops of essential oil to a gallon bucket of warm water and swish it around well.  Leave it to cool, then take half this amount and put it in a gallon watering can.  Fill the can up with cold water and, again, mix around well.  If you use a spray, simply take half the volume you need from the bucket and half from the tap.  Should you prefer to cultivate the real thing; here are some companion plantings:

• Thyme and lavender are marvelous at protecting all vegetables in the patch; plant them near the vegetables or use their essential oil in the watering can.¹
• The African marigold, Tagetes minuta and patula, was considered sacred by the Aztecs and associated with their God of Agriculture – no doubt because grown next to so many plants, the marigolds increased their crop. ¹
• Sage is beneficial to many vegetables as is lavender. ¹ 
• Tarragon can be grown everywhere because it doesn’t leech the soil of nutrients, as many other plants do. ¹ 
• Yarrow increases the aromatic quality of all herbs and therefore makes a good companion for medicinal plants and herbs. ¹ 
• Valerian is good for most plants because it contains phosphorus and attracts earthworms.  The root can be dried and grated and steeped to make a seductive tea, which aids in sleep.¹
• Foxglove has a good effect on all plants when grown in a boarder at the back of the beds.  There is no essential oil of foxglove so make a tea and use that in the watering. ¹

Some other common companion plants and essential oils are:

• Asparagus does well when planted with parsley and tomatoes; essential oils of basil and parsley. ¹
• Green beans do well when planted with savory, potatoes and sweet corn; essential oils of lavender, basil, savory. ¹
• Broccoli does well when planted with valerian, nasturtium, cabbage, peas and tomatoes; essential oils of basil and thyme. ¹
• Cabbage does well when planted with peppermint, sage, rosemary and rhubarb; essential oils of peppermint, sage, thyme, clary-sage and chamomile. ¹
• Carrots do well when planted with chives, peas, lettuce; essential oils of sage.
• Cauliflower does well when planted with thyme, celery and carrots; essential oils of celery and thyme. ¹
• Cucumbers do well when planted with chives, peas and cabbage; essential oils of sage and yarrow. ¹
• Lettuce does well when planted with Tagetes, and carrots; essential oils of carrot and tagetes. ¹
• Onions do well when planted with summer savory, chamomile, roses and tomatoes; essential oils of chamomile and savory. ¹
• Peas do well when planted with caraway, nasturtium, sweet corn, carrots, broccoli, radishes, cucumbers; essential oils of geranium and carrot. ¹
• Potatoes do well when planted with horseradish, foxglove, beans, sweet corn, cabbage, and peas; essential oils of basil and sage. ¹
• Tomatoes do well when planted with basil, chives, parsley, marigolds, foxgloves, asparagus, celery, broccoli, and cabbage; essential oil of tagetes and basil. ¹

Now how about those indoor plants and flowers; how can we make them last and bloom longer? 

• Bicarbonate of soda used in the watering can has a miraculous effect on sweet peas and other flowers.  It increases the size and number of blooms and enhances their fragrance.  You only need to give flowers this treatment once a month; use ¼ teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda to 1 gallon of water, and water the roots.  Do not exceed this amount – under-use rather than over-use.  The same dilution can also be used in cut flower water.¹
• The vase life of any lower is easy to prolong with any number of effected methods.  One of the simplest is to add white or brown sugar to the water, but not use more than a quarter of a teaspoon of sugar to a quart of water. ¹
• A copper penny dropped into the bottom of the vase will prolong the live of some flowers --- this works well with roses.¹ 
• Flowers of the daffodil family, such as narcissus and jonquil, last longer if a pinch of salt is added to the water --- but no more than a pinch. ¹ 
• Tea brewed in a teapot need never go to waste.  Any leftover tea can be added to water in china vases.  And the tea leaves make an excellent mulching material for any plant in the garden.¹ 
• Foxgloves made into a tea which is added to the flower water provides an excellent feed for flowers, but this must be used in moderation.  First, make your infusion of foxglove tea by cramming a jar with fresh foxglove flowers and filling it with hot water.  Leave the flowers to infuse for 48 hours: this is then your tea.  It can be filtered and rebottled if there is a danger of the flowers rotting because you are going to leave them for a long time before using the tea.  From this jar take 1 teaspoon of liquid to each quart of vase water. ¹
• House plants and plants in window boxes can be watered with dilutions of milk or beer.  It is important to realize that only tiny quantities of these are of benefit.  It is thought that the plants benefit from the proteins in milk and the hormones in the hops.¹

A few more ideas for your indoor gardening…

• Essential oils that are too old to use for medicinal purposes, that is after about two years, can be used to wash out plant pots.  This will kill off the plant bacteria and viruses that destroyed the plant you are now having to replace!  There is no point in letting the disease carry onto your nice new plant. ¹ 
• Indoor plant growth will be encouraged by using a few drops of geranium, frankincense or lemongrass in a water-spray. ¹ 
• Basil and lemon grass used in the spray are very effective against aphids. ¹

Strong healthy plants resist disease and the essential oils.  Working on the same principals that apply to the biochemical and electromagnetic aspects of intercropping, build up the health of plants.  This seems not only to affect the yield, which is increased, but the fragrance or flavor of flowers, fruit and vegetables.  So…as the snow melts, and the spring flowers emerge (remember I’m writing from NW PA where we still have well over a foot of snow covering the ground) and you start preparing to garden…take this info and use it for whatever purpose you have for it. 

References used for this article are

Several issues of Organic Gardening Magazine

My dad’s Organic Gardening ‘big’ book…for the life of me the title escapes me at the moment.

The Complete Book of Essential Oils & Aromatherapy by Valerie Ann Worwood (all items followed by a superscript ¹ are directly quoted from this book.)