black fly killer

[j.flett]

black fly aphids on my broad bean tops are dead.how? put elder leaves plus rubarb leaves in a bucket filled bucket with water ,left until the water turned dark green & sprayed the aphids with the mix,result dead aphids plus a few dead ants .isnt nature a wonderfull provider of free stuff that works .

[eskymo]

wow...sounds good...hope it doesn't affect your broad bean crop though!

[Alice]

Thanks for that. I have plenty of elder leaves but no rhubarb leaves (yet, but I will have soon.) Is it essential to mix both kinds of leaves and does it work for other aphids. If you know lets know more about it as we are always looking for more natural ways.

[j.flett]

alice.i use a 50/50 mix.but elder on its own is a killer of insects.the two together is just stronger.elder on its own also kills cabbage white catterpiller.i wish i could spell.

[JennieAtkinson]

Oh thank you jflett. Digging up loads of elder and wondered what I could use it for. Makes all the hardwork worthwhile.

[Jaxom]

Jennie. are you digging up ground elder or tree elder [elderberry]?
JF. Which type of elder leaves are you using to get rid of the blackfly?

[JennieAtkinson]

Ah.... ground elder. Will it not work with that?

I have one elder tree growing in the garden. It was a bit of a poor specimen when we first came here, but I have nurtured it and it is looking good this year, although it is only about 4 feet high.

[Alice]

Thanks for the info jflett, I'm taking it you mean tree elder but let's know if that's wrong. As for spelling if you go advanced there's a spell checker in top right hand corner - ABC box Should make a point of using it myself but it really doesn't matter, I think we all know what we are talking about.

[j.flett]

elderberry tree,leaves .NOT ground elder ,tho no doubt nature has a use for ground elder,if only to keep us busy trying to get rid of it,