Do you want to know how to use essential oils in your garden? Learn about the best essential oils for gardening and grab some helpful recipes for gardeners.
If you are already an essential oil user and a gardener, then this post about the best essential oils for gardening will be just what you’re looking for! If you have yet to use essential oils, then read on and see if they sound like something you would like to try.
They have many, many uses from cleaning your home to making your own beauty products – and gardening is one of the many uses too.
I read somewherethat 85% of all plant issuesare fungal-related. Many pests and fungal threats can really hinder your gardening fromgrowing and flourishing the way you dream. Unfortunately, this canpreventyour plants from producing as they should.
One problem we have is that so many of the things sold on the market to help with these issues can be harmful. So while you might be trying to grow your own vegetables, you end up using a harmful spray or mixture of some kind on the plants that has the opposite effect.
The good news is that there are all-natural alternatives to those things that you can make yourself and feel good about.
Essential oils and benefits for plants in your garden
1. Rosemary Essential Oil
This oil has a wonderful, woodsy scent and works wonderfully to help repel many pests in the garden. It has been shown to even repel the larvae itself.
Place a few drops right on a pot to keep the bugs from chewing up the leaves of your plants. Rosemary essential oil is also a butterfly attractor. They love it, so if you have a butterfly garden it can benefit you in this way as well.
2. Peppermint Essential Oil
This oil has a sweeter scent and repels several garden pests like aphids, flies and beetles and even spiders can’t stand it! You can place peppermint oil around baseboards or in cupboards in your home to keep spiders away. I use it for ants too (more essential oils for repelling pests)!
3. Melaleuca Essential Oil
This oil is great for dealing with anything that has to do with getting rid of fungus on your plants. You can make a spray with it to mist your plants and soil.
Use melaleuca essential oil on the stems more so than the leaves though, as it does cause the plants to be more sun-sensitive. So be aware that a thick application could cause burn on the leaves.
4. Lavender Essential Oil
Lavender’s scent is another one butterflies love, so you can spray lavender oil near the plants to attract them. It will draw them in even more!
Lavender essential oil also attracts bees, which we need for pollination. Place a drop or two on a cotton ball and place in pots or in the garden to attractthem too.
5. Orange Essential Oil
Orange oil has a really clean and sweet aroma that draws both bees and butterflies. You can make a blend of rosemary oil, lavender oil,orange oil in a spray bottle or combine a few drops of each on cotton balls to help attract them both.
6. Cinnamon Essential Oil
Cinnamon oil is one of the best essential oils forgetting rid of weeds. Make a spray bottle with water and several drops of cinnamon essential oil and get to spraying those weeds!
Essential oil recipes for your garden
1. Garden Insect Deterrent
- Add 10 drops each of the following essential oils toa 4-ounce glass spray bottle:Rosemary oil, peppermint oil, clove oil and thyme oil.
- Fill the rest of the bottlewith water and shake to mix.
- Apply anywhere you would like to get rid of insects.
2. Plant Fungus Suppressant
- In a 4-ounce glass spray bottle, combine water with 25 drops melaleuca essential oil.
- Spray on plants and soil to help keep away the fungal growth.
3. Pollinator Attractor Spray
- In a 4-ounce glass spray bottle, add 6 to 8 drops orange oil and top off with water.
- Shake to blend and spray on flower and buds to attract bees for pollination.
4. Fruit and Veggie Wash
You can use either plain vinegar or apple cider vinegar to make a fruit and veggie wash. Add 6 to 8 drops oflemon essential oilor orange essential oil for extra cleaning power.
Want to keep bugs off you while you’re gardening? Make a DIY Bug Repellent with essential oils.
List of Best Essential Oils to Use for Pest Repellents
You can repel these specific bugs and pests with these essential oils – using a drop or two on a cotton ball or spraying on stems of plants, depending on the case.
| Insect | Essential Oils |
| Ants | Peppermint or Spearmint |
| Aphids | Cedarwood, Peppermint, Spearmint |
| Beetles | Peppermint, Thyme |
| Caterpillars | Spearmint, Peppermint |
| Chiggers | Lavender, Lemongrass, Sage, Thyme |
| Fleas | Peppermint, Lemongrass, Spearmint, Lavender |
| Flies | Peppermint, Lavender, Rosemary, Sage |
| Gnats | Patchouli, Spearmint |
| Lice | Cedarwood, Peppermint, Spearmint |
| Mosquitos | Lavender, Lemongrass, Arborvitae |
| Moths | Cedarwood, Lavender, Peppermint, Spearmint |
| Plant Lice | Peppermint, Spearmint |
| Slugs | Cedarwood |
| Spiders | Peppermint, Spearmint |
| Ticks | Lavender, Lemongrass, Sage, Thyme |
| Weevils | Cedarwood, Patchouli, Sandalwood |
Best Place to Buy Essential Oils?
I have been buying my essential oils from Rocky Mountain Oils. They are very high quality, you don’t have to have a membership to buy them and the scent lasts a really long time. Be sure to check out my Rocky Mountain Oils Review to learn why I think they’re the best!
If you love gardening and the outdoors, you may also be interested in learning about essential oils for pest control.
