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If you are not using essential oils for your vegetable garden but are an essential oil user, let me tell you, you are missing out! My favourite use is for treating pests and powdery mildew and my next favourite is using a nice smelling, natural bug repellent when the mosquitoes are bad here in Alberta. Good quality essential oils are organic and plant based making them an ideal product for using in your garden! My favourite brand of essential oils are the Young Living ones. I find them extremely concentrated and very high quality compared to other brands I have tried.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links from which I may earn a profit from qualifying purchases.Essential Oils for Garden Pests and Disease
I have used the Young Living Thieves cleaner to treat spider mites, aphids, powdery mildew and small flies on my plants with fantastic results! The benefit of using the Thieves cleaner rather than concentrated essential oils is that you are unlikely to accidentally burn the leaves of your plants with the cleaner solution (yes I have burned my plants by mixing oils to concentrated!). This amazing cleaner is an all natural non-toxic multipurpose cleaner designed for use in your house but happens to also work so well for garden pests! I have been so pleased with the complete success I have had of eliminating pests after just 2 to 3 treatments with the Thieves cleaner spray! My favourite treatment is a concentration of 1 capful of Thieves cleaner with 1 cup of water in a spray bottle. Spray all leaves and soil, making sure to get underneath the leaves as well as on top. Spray again in two days. Keep an eye on your plant and treat it a third time if any sign of pests remains. This spray can also be used to treat mold on the surface of your soil
If you don't have any Thieves cleaner on hand another option is this Pest be Gone recipe.
Essential Oil Bug Spray
Another great use for essential oils in your vegetable garden is making your own natural bug spray! Not only does it smell wonderful but it keeps those annoying Alberta mosquitoes off me. Keep in mind you will need to repeat the use of this every two hours. Because this is all natural it diffuses after a few hours.
Here is a recipe to make your own natural essential oil insect repellent.
Essential Oils to Attract Pollinators
Did you know you can use essential oils to attract bees to your plants? If you notice you aren't seeing many pollinators around your garden, try using this recipe to spray on plants that you want pollinated. Bees sense of smell is 100 times stronger than humans and they can smell flowers from as much as 2 miles away! Don't underestimate the ability of using essential oils to attract those honeybees!
Essential Oils to Deter Dogs and Cats from Your Vegetable Garden
If you have trouble with cats using your garden for a toilet, try using essential oils as a deterrent! Here is a recipe to keep dogs and cats away from your garden. Because of the purity and therapeutic quality of Young Living oils I can safely recommend this recipe for pets. Do not try this with generic or HFS oils. Many of them contain fillers and synthetic ingredients that will make them toxic for animals.
Young Living Essential Oils
If you are interested in signing up with Young Living so that you can purchase their products at a wholesale price, click here to shop. There is no membership fee or monthly commitment. (Although there is an amazing rewards program that gets you an extra 10-25% back, but it’s completely optional and you can cancel at any time with no penalty). It’s not required to purchase a starter kit to sign up with a wholesale membership (although I highly recommend it if you are wanting to try many different oils as the starter kits give you the best discount)! Purchasing a starter kit is how I started with Young Living and I’ve never looked back! If you have trouble signing up or are interested in a little ‘trick’ to get you an extra free oil at no extra cost make sure to get in touch! Essential oils can be intimidating when you are first starting to use them so it’s important to plug in with a community that can empower you with ideas and a place you can ask questions! Again there is no requirements to purchase more. If you choose it can be a one time purchase, just like buying from Amazon.