I think the 4oz recommendation on the bottle is too much. I mistakenly used 2 capfuls (which, for my measure is 4 oz) in a gallon of water and the plant got badly burned when I did a soil drench. I did it early in the morning and, even at that, it took nearly a week to recover.
I didn't recall reading anything about using orange oil as a foliar pest repellant, so was very interested in everyone's comments and experience with that. Thanks for sharing!
Finally, you can make your own orange oil. We are, and it works just great. We routinely use orange oil on our squash plants and we are getting beautiful, bountiful squash.
I save orange peels until I have a gallon freezer bag full. Then put them in a stock pot and cover with water. Bring it to a boil and then simmer it, covered, for a loooooooooong time. What you're looking for is for the peels to be totally soft where they easily break up if you pierce them.
That said, I have learned that it's better if you don't break them up. More on that in a moment.
Back to the simmering: I leave the pot on the stove and just turn it on whenever I'm in/around the kitchen and let it simmer for a couple or 3 hours at a time (adding more water if needed).
A guess is that I boil the peels anywhere from 7-12 hours total. Between times, allow the peels to sit at room temperature, which makes the oil more intense. My final process has ended up where I take 3-4 days to make the oil, simmering, then allowing to sit at room temperature many times over that time period.
Once you finish, drain the oil from the peels and you're done! One stockpot with a gallon of peels nets me one 2-liter bottle of quality orange oil.
My comment about not breaking up the peels is a result of experimenting. I thought it would be easier to cut through the peels while they were in the stock pot, rather than waiting until I poured all the liquid/oil off. However, when I did that, the membranous portion of the peel breaks down and adds a grainy pulp to the oil. Solution? Cook the peels, pour off the oil and containerize it, then chop or blend the peels and add them to the compost pile.
It's all win, win, win, win, win!
Homemade orange oil has a short shelf life. Again, I learned this by experimenting. After just a month, it started fermenting inside the 2 liter bottle. Fortunately, I froze 2 bottles, so those are still on hand. Next year, I plan to save the orange peels and make the oil as we need it, instead of making it ahead of time (which is what I did this year).
Happy Gardening!
_________________
God speed!
Cara
**
Take time to stop and smell the flowers!
(or... as my ladybug refrigerator magnet says
"take time to stop and
eat the flowers!"
)