Tansy is a herbaceous plant with very capricious foliage and yellow summer flowers that has been cultivated for a long time as a decorative, medicinal and aromatic plant. In addition, this plant gives off a distinct scent that repels many insect pests. Tansy is indeed also one of gardeners’ favorite allies thanks to its fungicidal and insect repellent properties. Simply in association with culture, but also thanks to simple recipes with its leaves and flowers, it can even be transformed into a powerful natural insecticide and fungicide!
The myriad uses of Tansy:
Tansy finds very interesting applications in the garden and/or vegetable garden thanks to its natural repellent properties. against whiteflies, beetles, mites, codling moths, snails, bed bugs, ticks, moths and fleas. For this use, it is the dried flowers that are prepared in decoction. In manure, maceration and infusion it is also: effective in repelling insects and preventing cryptogamic diseases such as mildew or rust.
-The infusion of tansy: For this preparation, harvest and chop 300 grams of fresh tansy and pour into a non-metallic container. Boil a liter of rainwater and pour it into the container. Allow to infuse for a day and filter. Before using the infusion, you must dilute it to 10%. This is effective in protecting peas, spinach, salads and beans from corn maggots or blackberries, raspberries and strawberries from mites.
– Tansy maceration: Finely chop 30 grams of dried flowers and let them macerate for three days in a liter of rainwater, always in a non-metallic container. Maceration is effective in preventing rust or mildew on your potato and tomato plantations.
– Tansy: Making fertilizer requires mixing ten liters of water and two kilograms of tansy (leaves and flowers). Put everything in a shady corner, put a lid on it and stir it every day. Bubbles should normally form after two weeks. This phenomenon indicates that manure can be used. Spray the fertilizer diluted to 20% on all above-ground parts of the plants you want to protect against parasites or fungal diseases. Tansy can also be used for watering, diluted to 10%. This also keeps pests away in the soil.
-The decoction of tansy: Chop 30 grams of dried flowers (or 150 grams of fresh flowers). Macerate it in a liter of rainwater for a day. Then boil and simmer for 20 minutes, covering the pan. Continue filtering after a day. Your decoction is ready to be used on your various plants, fruits and vegetables to fight against the many insects that are decimating your vegetable garden.
It’s important to remember here that using any insecticide, even all-natural and herbal, isn’t completely harmless! In fact, killing an insect of any kind creates an imbalance in the garden’s ecosystem. The curative use as an insecticide should therefore be reserved for the most extreme cases.
Tansy is also used in cooking, but in moderation!
Formerly used as a spice for its powerful camphor smell and bitter taste, this aromatic plant is also used in infusion for the production of syrups, liqueurs, lemonades, wines. Farmers also used tansy as a substitute for pepper in the Middle Ages. The Russians, on the other hand, used it to make beer, replacing hops in brewing.
Today, the English traditionally taste Easter pudding with tansy. In small doses, it gives an original touch to salads, sauces or stewed meat. Be careful though, as tansy can be poisonous, it should be used in low doses and with utmost precaution!
How to grow Tansy in the vegetable garden?
Tansy is a vigorous plant that grows very easily. It appreciates sunny locations as well as very cool, rich and permeable soils. Very resistant to cold or drought, it fears only one thing, which must be applied to avoid: excess water, especially standing water at the root level. In the vegetable garden, it is best to grow it a little away from other vegetables, as it has an inhibiting effect on the growth of certain herbaceous plants. Rather put it on the edge of the vegetable garden.
Sow these seeds is carried out from April to June or from September to October, sown directly in the field or in boxes. The seeds are small, when sowing they should not be covered. Simply tamp to bring them into contact with the substrate and keep everything slightly moist. Germination usually takes place between 20 and 30 days, depending on growing conditions.
When transplanting into the ground, keep a distance of 40 to 60 cm between each plant. It can also be grown very well in a pot, don’t forget to put clay balls in the bottom of the pot for drainage. It needs little care and only needs a little water.
