Potato haulm tea

[redimp]

I have boiled some of this brew up for my caterpillars.  It is a very dark brown colour - I did not cover leaves etc in the pan and boiled it for quite a while.  Does anybody know how strong it needs to be for the caterpillars to really appreciate it - and do they take milk and sugar?  ;D

[redimp]

[BAGGY]

Lemon I would have thought.  Caterpillers have lactose intollerance

[redimp]

Just for info - diluted it 50/50, put a garlic clove in it and misxed in a little milk.   Will let you know if it works.

[Svea]

who is this against, RC? cabbage white butterfly? or any others?

[redimp]

Yes cabbage whit butterfly as a preventative (I picked the b*****s off) and as a side experiment against the cabbage mealy aphid.

[Vez1]

This may be a silly question but I am new to gardening so please bear with me :). What is potato haulm tea? Also what do you use it for.

[redimp]

You take all the green stuff above ground when you dig your potatoes and boil it up.  You then strain it off, let it cool and it is supposed to kill and repel aphids, cabbage white butterflies etc.  Trouble is I do not know the proportion so it is a but hit and miss.  Might kill my cabbages at the strength I sprayed it.

[Vez1]

Thanks for that I will try that tip. I hope your cabbages survive :)