With everyone stuck in their houses, people are beginning to lean toward new ideas in the culinary arts by growing herbs indoors. There is nothing the smell of fresh basil in the kitchen. Suddenly the dried basil in a jar is not so tempting. Growing your own herbs indoors has become a thing. A thing that I have nurtured from a young age. I have always had plants in the house even after it was cool.
My Indoor Greenhouse
A few years ago I received an indoor greenhouse for my birthday. I started some plants to transplant out side. All was well. Then I thought I would grow some fresh herbs in the house. It will be amazing. I had visited an Italian friend that spring, she had a pot of basil which she put on everything. This is going to be great!
In my little greenhouse with the special lights from Lee Valley, I planted basil, thyme and cilantro. They all came up, spindly at first, I was so excited. I could taste the pesto and spaghetti sauce, the Mexican dishes hmmmm. But then I looked at the leaves, they were silvery and shiny. Argh, aphids! By the hundreds on my baby plants. That is when I turned to the internet. Just blast them off with warm water from the tap, all will be well. For a fews days they were gone but then, somehow many had survived and started the cycle again.
Back to the internet for more solutions. Spray them with soapy water was another idea. So I found a small spray bottle, put dish soap in it and filled it with water then I sprayed them like crazy. I even filled the sink with sudsy water and turned the plant upside down. Haha, that will fix them, I thought! It may have slowed them down but again they were back.
Dreams of having a lush herb garden were fading, I would just have to buy the fresh herbs in the grocery store, use some, let the rest rot, end of story. My lovely greenhouse sat in the corner forlorn and empty. As a last resort, I posted my problem on a Facebook. Someone suggested Diatomceous earth. This is fossilized Diatom shells. Found in huge deposits, it is mined and ground into a powder. It is very sharp causing damage to joints and by getting under the exoskeleton and causes cuts to the body, the insect then dries out and dies. Be very careful not to breathe it in, it is almost pure silica and can injure your lungs.
Opening my Amazon account, I ordered the diatomaceous earth and Neem Oil, (more on that later). I will try again. I am too stubborn to let this go.
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