Essential oils are extracts of plants. Gardeners can extract natural oils from plants' flowers, stems, and leaves. Essential oils have many uses, including moisturizing the skin, cleaning the home, and improving health. And, plant essential oils also allow to benefit your greenhouse garden.
(different essential oils)
Many people overlook the benefits of plant essential oils for greenhouses. Here's what you need to know about using plant essential oils in your greenhouse.
What are the benefits of essential oils for greenhouses?
Plant essential oils have many benefits for greenhouses, such as protecting plants from insects and diseases. Here are five benefits of plant essential oils for greenhouses.
Keeps pests away from greenhouses
To be successful in a greenhouse, you will have to use chemicals and pesticides. While these harsh chemicals will keep pests away from your greenhouse, the plants and soil leaves will also suffer. To keep your greenhouse plants healthy without the use of harmful chemicals, essential plant oils are a great way to go.
Some essential plant oils help control pests in your greenhouse. Plant essential oils such as peppermint, clove, lavender, sage, and rosemary can help repel pests.
Fighting fungus
Fungus is a frequent challenge for greenhouse plants. Fungi can damage the stems, leaves, and fruits of plants. Fungal infections can lead to a variety of plant diseases and even ruin an entire greenhouse.
Some essential oils can fight fungus and protect your greenhouse. Tea tree oil, peppermint, oregano, and clove can prevent and kill fungus. Lemongrass essential oil can control fungal infections.
If you wish to use essential oils in your greenhouse to fight fungus, avoid using them in hot conditions. Essential oils may burn plant leaves during the hot season.
Suppressing weeds
Weeds can be a difficult nuisance in a greenhouse garden or outdoor garden. In addition to affecting appearance, weeds can rob plants of needed nutrients and stunt their growth.
Gardeners will use herbicides to eliminate weeds, but this can also harm plants. Clove oil, peppermint oil, and cinnamon oil can all help to inhibit weed growth.
Keep animals out of the greenhouse
Keep rodents and your pets out of the greenhouse, they can damage your plants. Plant essential oils can help you keep animals out of the greenhouse.
Rodents detest the smell of peppermint oil, and you can hang cotton balls or rags soaked in peppermint oil on shelves in your greenhouse.
Cats and dogs don't like orange oil essential oil. If you don't want your pets in the greenhouse, you can spray the greenhouse with essential oils.
Creating a good greenhouse atmosphere
Plant essential oils can relieve stress and put gardeners in a good mood when caring for their plants. Lavender, lemongrass, and bergamot essential oils all have calming properties.
Six essential oils for Greenhouses
1. Clove essential oil
Clove essential oil has many uses, such as suppressing weeds, chasing away insects, and controlling mold and fungus on plants.
(clove oil)
2. Sweet Orange Essential Oil
Sweet Orange Essential Oil has a captivating aroma that attracts bees and birds. This essential oil can also kill pests because it contains limonene.
(Sweet Orange Essential Oil)
3. Peppermint Essential Oil
Peppermint essential oil is one of the most popular essential oils for gardening. The strong odor of peppermint essential oil repels insects, pests, and rodents.
(Peppermint Essential Oil)
4. Cinnamon Essential Oil
Cinnamon essential oil is the most recommended essential oil for gardening. The cinnamon essential oil can help you get rid of pesky weeds in your greenhouse and can also keep pests out of your greenhouse. However, cinnamon essential oil is highly toxic and can harm plants.
(Cinnamon Essential Oil)
5. Tea Tree Essential Oil
Tea tree essential oil can help protect your plants from fungus. To protect the plants in your greenhouse, it is recommended to spray them with a dilution of tea tree essential oil and water.
(Tea Tree Essential Oil)
However, tea tree oil can make plants more sensitive to sunlight and more prone to burns. Please spray your plants carefully with tea tree essential oil in the morning or at night.
6. Rosemary essential oil
Rosemary essential oil can help repel pests such as spiders, greenhouse whiteflies, ants, and aphids. Rosemary essential oil has a nice aroma, but this odor is unpleasant for cats.
(Rosemary essential oil)
If you don't want to let your cat into the greenhouse, spray the greenhouse with a diluted solution of rosemary essential oil and water.
Your essential oil recipes
1. Greenhouse Pest Repellent Spray Recipe
- Add ten drops of each essential oil to an 8-ounce spray bottle: peppermint oil, lavender essential oil, rosemary essential oil, lemongrass essential oil, and clove essential oil.
- add 1/2 of teaspoon olive soap extract
- pour water into the bottle and shake to mix.
- keep the bottle in a convenient place away from children.
2. Natural Essential Oil Weed Killer
- add 25 drops of cinnamon essential oil or clove essential oil to a 4-ounce spray bottle.
- add 15 ounces of white vinegar (do not use apple cider vinegar, which may attract fruit flies)
- add a pinch of salt
- shake well and spray over plants and soil.
3. Fungus Eliminator Essential Oil Spray
- add 6 drops of tea tree essential oil and 2 drops of oregano essential oil to a sprayer.
- add 3 tablespoons of baking soda and 1 tablespoon of liquid olive soap to the sprayer.
- add 2 gallons of water to the spray bottle and shake well to mix.
4. Gardener's Natural Hand Sanitizer
- Prepare a small bowl and add 1/2 cup of sugar, 7 drops of sage essential oil, 5 drops of tea tree essential oil, and a good amount of olive or coconut oil to it.
- Pour in water and mix well.
- Pour into an airtight container and place by the sink next to the greenhouse for easy access.
Conclusion
Essential oils can be used to promote greenhouse gardening. Some essential oil ingredients are toxic and may harm your plants and should be used with caution. Spray a moderate amount of essential oil dilution in the greenhouse, don't spray too much plant essential oils in a small greenhouse, this may harm your plants.
