"Brian Clifton" wrote in message
...
Looking for a way to prevent new growth from being eaten by bugs/aphids,
and
control brown spot & mildew.

Have bee using a GardenSafe 3 in 1 spray, but heard Rubbing Alcohol is a
good trick. What do y'all think about putting this in a hose-end sprayer?

Putting any type of flammable material in any type of sprayer is not a very
good idea. Imagine spraying gasoline around your house and waiting for
someone to throw a cigarette on it. This is essentially what you would be
doing. Also I don't think it would be a very good control for your problems
and would probably be just as expensive (if not more) than the 3 in 1
product you are currently using.

If you are looking for a cheaper solution, try this: Mix 3 Tbs baking soda,
1 tsp of Ivory dish soap per gallon of water and apply with a garden
sprayer. If you want to use a hose-end sprayer, mix 1 cup of baking soda
with 3 cups water until dissolved, then add 1 oz of Ivory dish soap. Put in
your hose-end sprayer and set the sprayer to 5 oz.

The baking soda slightly changes the PH level of the plant's leaves. Fungus
and mildew can only live in a narrow PH environment. The soap washes off
the waxy coating on soft bodied insects and will kill them.

I prefer to use commercial fungicides rather than baking soda. The reason
being fungicide is pretty cheap and it works by messing with the fungus
and/or mildew's reproductive system rather than changing the PH, which could
harm the plant if used in excess.