Organic aphid control?

[Irish-Veg]

I made up a homemade spray with water, a chilli and garlic, seems to have helped the eggplant along with squishing... but on the plot my brassicas, mainly my cabbages /sprouts are very popular with the purpleish aphids.. and the green ones are on my parsnips, any tips? apart from squishing as many as I can find? natural/organic options preferably

[rustylady]

Use the same spray as you used on the aubergine.

[mothhawk]

Next spring, edge your plot with poached egg plants (limnanthes) - grows easily from seed - hoverflies love this, and hoverfly larvae love greenfly. Make some bug hotels to encourage ladybirds and aphid lions to overwinter in your garden, so you have a ready supply of predators in spring.

[mothhawk]

The problem with sprays is they kill predators as well as pests. I don't spray anything at all and find after a couple of days of greenfly infestation the numbers drop dramatically as predators chomp their way through them. Ladybirds, hoverflies, lacewings (aphid lions) all have larvae that munch greenfly, plus many birds will eat them, also wasps and some beetles. Nature balances out mostly, if you let it.