Do you have bugs or birds eating your garden produce this year? Try cooking up this garden spray and giving the leaves and surrounding ground a good spritzing. Before you know it, you will be on your way to gorgeous, bite-free leaves!

Garlic Peppermint Garden Spray

Time: 5–10 minutes active; 8 hours inactive | Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

• 4 cloves garlic, roughly diced
• 4 cups water
• 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 8–10 drops peppermint essential oil
• 3–4 drops liquid biodegradable dish soap or Castile Soap
• 16 oz. Glass Bottle with Trigger Spray

Instructions:

1. Place garlic, water, and cayenne in a pot. Bring to a boil, and then remove from heat.
2. Cover the pot with a lid, and allow the mixture to steep overnight.
3. Remove the garlic cloves from the pot.
4. Place peppermint essential oil and dish soap in a glass spray bottle.
5. Carefully pour the garlic-cayenne water into the glass spray bottle. A funnel is helpful for this step.
6. Screw the spray top on the bottle, and shake a little to combine the ingredients.
7. To use, spray the tops and bottoms of the plant leaves. It is best to spray on a cloudy day or in the evening so the sun and cayenne combination doesn’t burn the plants. Apply every couple weeks or as needed. Wait 2–3 days after spraying to harvest any food.

Extra Idea:

Use two 8 oz. Glass Spray Bottles instead of the 16 oz. bottle so you can have someone else help you spray. Note: if using 2 smaller bottles, place 4–5 drops of peppermint oil and 2 drops of dish soap in each bottle.

Do you use essential oils in your garden? And if so, what do you use?