wups...mistake here. It's 6 tsp per fluid ounce, not 3. So that "about 5 -
10 fluid ounces of the mix to one gallon of water" should read "about 2
1/5 - 5 fluid ounces of the mix to one gallon of water" . Apologies for the
goof.

"Lawrence Akutagawa" wrote in message
t...
My tried and true is:

1 cup vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon kitchen detergent

Mix thoroughly and store in container.

For use, dilute 1 to 2 teaspoons of this oi/detergent mix to one cup of
water. That's about 5 - 10 fluid ounces of the mix to one gallon of
water. Pour diluted mix into a sprayer, shake well, and apply. Non toxic
and non persistent. Great for aphids, scale, mealy bugs, etc. But
because it is non persistent, you need to keep spraying at regular
intervals. It works, I understand, by the oil basically suffocating the
pests. The kitchen detergent serves to emulsify the oil.

I've had success against powdery mildew by adding 2-4 or so teaspoons of
baking soda to one cup of the diluted mix and spraying.

I use on all plants, food or not. If recently sprayed upon with this
mixture, wash/rinse vegetables/fruit thoroughly...but then again, you're
talking basically vegetable oil and kitchen detergent.