Every day around plants is a good day. Plants are uplifting to the soul! My grandma and my mom always had such beautiful flower gardens and indoor plants when I was growing up (my mom still does!). Maybe that’s why I decided I needed to become a plant lady, even though I’ve never felt like I had a true green thumb. I’m still a novice gardener. I don’t recall having vegetable gardens growing up, I could be wrong, but it’s something we have been learning over the past few years!

At our old house we bought a bunch of untreated wood barrels that were safe for planting. We grew strawberries, blueberries, lettuce and snap peas. We even planted several fruit trees, a few weeks before we sold our house (I’ve been sad about that ever since. Sigh.)

The summer after moving into this house we discovered a plentiful harvest of wonderful blackberries spilling over the fence of a neighbors house that they didn’t want, so we got to enjoy them every summer (but new neighbors wanted to cut them down so we won’t have those this year. I would love to plant our own!). We also used the same barrels we brought from our old house for planting various lettuce and kale the last couple of years.

A few weeks ago we planted broccoli, too, but as I shared on my Instagram stories sadly some critter decided to partake of the leaves. That got me thinking about the need to protect our vegetables. We tried various netting and fencing but it didn’t stop that guy from finding his way in (he is probably a small little critter).

A local garden center recommended some treatments that didn’t sound appealing. I started researching some DIY options and much to my joy I found so many effective organic ways I can use the essential oils I already have to protect and grow a healthy garden.

Growing an organic garden is important to me. If we grow plants in chemically treated soil, the plants soak up the chemicals as they are absorbing the nutrients from the soil. When you grow vegetables in a toxic environment, you and your family will be eating those chemicals. Nope! We don’t want that.

We use all organic soil and organic plants, so I won’t use chemical treatments to grow my plants or keep pests away. I also want my dogs to be safe in our yard, so it’s important that we don’t use any toxic chemicals on our trees, grass, plants, or anywhere on our property.

Even if your vegetables are organic, they will need to be thoroughly washed before you eat them. We use a safe essential oil fruit and veggie wash to clean all of our produce (what we grow and what we bring in from the store or farm delivery) because it not only gets them clean without chemicals, the essential oil plant wash keeps them fresher so they last longer! It’s amazing what gunk stuff comes off of broccoli you buy at the store when you clean them with oils.

Plants love plants. I have an indoor plant spray that I make with my plant-based household cleaner, my Fiddle leaf loves it! I call it my Happy Plant Spray. I’ll share about that on Monday. I also have an essential oil spray we use on our succulents so I will share that with you, too. All of our plants and people perk up and thrive with pure oils and love when we diffuse our oils near them!

The last two years I’ve made my own aphid spray for my roses with essential oils and it worked great! No more bugs destroying them.

Here’s the recipe I used for my roses:

Essential Oil Aphid Rose Spray:

5 drops each of:

Thyme
Peppermint
Clove
Rosemary

1 tsp of Castile soap in a spray bottle with water.

Spray every day until they are gone!

I also just learned that you can use a few drops of orange oil in a spray bottle of water to spritz the upper foliage and blossoms on a rose to attract pollinators like bees and butterflies. Can’t wait to try it!

This year I’ll be using essential oils in and around my vegetable gardens, too! They are the perfect companion for a gardener as they naturally rid the garden of pests, support your plants, attract helpful pollinators and amend the soil!

Monday I will share my Happy Plant Spray. This summer I’ll be posting more about our garden and have lots of organic gardening and plant tips and inspiration photos for you in future posts!

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Where to get safe essential oils to use in your home and garden:

It is vital to use only trusted pure essential oils around plants, pets, people and places you want to protect.

You don’t want “oils” that are filled with preservatives or are from plants grown in chemically treated non-organic soil, etc. If you don’t know for sure where the oils come from or what is really in the bottle, it’s not safe to use them around people or pets or plants.

You can order oils and over 600 natural products for your home and personal care from the brand I trust HERE. I’ve been to their farms to see their process and can attest to their incredible quality after using them for over five years! The oils are great for you and many of the oils that come in the premium starter kit will also be beneficial for your garden!

The wonders and use of these oils and toxin-free products never cease to amaze me. I use them every day in our home. If you already have your starter kit you’ll be able to use so many of those oils for your plants, flowers and vegetable gardens!

If you don’t have the kit yet, you can grab it HERE so you can get started on an organic and toxin-free lifestyle.

Are you planting gardens this year? What are your favorite vegetables or plants to grow?

Related plant-based home posts:

Get the household oils kit you need to do all the things
DIY Succulent Diffuser
How I Use Essential Oils
Lavender, Vanilla + Lime Essential Oil Spray
Calming Stress with Essential Oils
Make Cleaning Spark Joy