If you plan a winter flower and vegetable garden in the yard or on the roof, first check whether caterpillars have moved into the plants you already have. Writing in the lifestyle pages of the Kolkata daily Ei Samay, Megha Mondal notes that caterpillars can strip more than half a plant's leaves, and new seedlings will suffer the same fate.
Signs to look for: leaves eaten in a ragged pattern, chewed tips and sometimes only the veins left. The damage does not show equally on every plant, so check the undersides of the leaves too, where caterpillars and their eggs may be hiding.
Spray one, vinegar: mix 2 tablespoons of vinegar into 4 to 5 litres of water and spray it on the caterpillars and the leaves.
Spray two, garlic and pepper: crush a few cloves of garlic with a little black pepper, boil the paste well in water, let it cool, strain it and spray the whole plant. The strong smell of garlic may keep caterpillars away, the article says.
Spray three, neem oil: in 1 litre of lukewarm water, mix 1 to 2 teaspoons of neem oil and a few drops of liquid dish soap or shampoo, and spray the tops and undersides of the leaves. Repeating it every two to three days can give good results.
Photo: Jodelet/Lépinay / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.5)
Source: Ei Samay
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