Homemade Pest Control for Collard Greens

Overview

Collard greens are an ideal garden plant. They are quite easy to grow and contain a significant amount of vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium and fiber. But collard greens are also highly susceptible to a wide variety of pests. The best and cheapest way to control these pests is with a homemade insecticidal soap. This broad-spectrum pesticide kills most common collard green pests and is safe to use on vegetables--just remember to wash them before you eat.

Step 1

Pour 1 tbsp. of soap into the bucket. Use a liquid soap and not a detergent. It is the fatty acids in soap (absent in detergent) that kill the insects by dehydrating them. Also, don't add more than 1 tbsp. no mater how bad the infestation. Too high a concentration of soap may kill your collard greens.

Step 2

Add 1 liter of water to the bucket and mix well.

Step 3

Transfer the solution to your spray bottle.

Step 4

Spray your collard greens with the soap solution when there is no rain forecast for the next 48 hours. Spray the greens so that they are well covered, but not so much that the solution is dripping off of them.

Step 5

Re-apply the spray in one week, if necessary.