Making Rhubarb Gardening Spray

This post is for Mrs Z who asked about making a garden spray with rhubarb leaves. I finally found the link and hope this answers your questions. I have not used this because I very rarely have to spray but find it interesting and may need it in the near future as I see an aphid colony starting in my Autumn Joy Sedum. Love the plant but boy those aphids love it too. Let me know if you use it how it works.

The Canned Quilter

How to Make Rhubarb Garden Spray

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit
Rhubarb garden spray is an effective spray for controlling aphids and other sucking insects, as it suffocates them. It is excellent for plants such as roses, which tend to suffer from aphid problems.

 Ingredients

• 1kg / 2.2lbs rhubarb leaves (not stems - use the stems for cooking rhubarb for dessert)
  
•  2 litres / 67 fl.oz water
  

 Steps

1.  Place the rhubarb leaves into a large pot.
   
2.  Bring to the boil and then simmer for 20 minutes to half an hour.
   
3.  Strain off the leaves.
   
4.  Dilute. The solution should be diluted 1 part solution and 9 parts water; in other words, add 9 litres / 2.3 gallons water to create the spray.[1]
   
5.  Use. This spray should not be stored but should be used within 24 hours to achieve the best effectiveness.
   

 Tips

• Do not boil this mixture in a tin pot; it will react with the rhubarb leaves.
  
• Be sure that you really need to use this spray, as it is indiscriminate. It will kill beneficial insects like bees, as well as the pest insects.
  

 Warnings

• Rhubarb leaves are potentially toxic to human beings and concentrating them may increase this potential. Do not consume any plants that have been sprayed with rhubarb spray within 48 hours after spraying.
  
• See Use Homemade Garden Sprays Safely.
  

 Things You'll Need

• Non-tin pot; preferably ceramic coated - ensure this is not a pot used for cooking purposes but only for making organic garden sprays
  
• Chopping board and knife to remove stems from leaves
  
• Bucket for dilution process
  
• Spray bottle or spray pack
  

Related wikiHows

• How to Make a Garden in Florida
  
• How to Use Homemade Garden Sprays Safely
  
• How to Make Chamomile Garden Spray
  
• How to Make Garlic Garden Spray
  
• How to Keep Bunnies out of Your Garden Organically
  
• How to Start an Organic Garden
  

 Sources and Citations

1. ↑ TROPO's Organic Info Library, Rhubarb Spray

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Make Rhubarb Garden Spray.  All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.