Before you begin:
- Please note that this process takes about 1 hour to complete.
- You’ll need to cover your Gardyn’s lid with a towel to protect the wood and electrical components from getting wet with the soap solution.
- Harvest as much of your plants as you can.
- Remove any heavily infested leaves from the plants that remain.
How a Castile Soap Dunk Works
A Castile soap dunk is an effective way to treat certain pests at all levels of infestation. It works by covering the entire plant’s surface area, reaching the pest wherever it’s hiding, and interrupting its life cycle at all stages.
We recommend doing a dunk every 4-5 days for a total of at least 4-6 dunks, depending on your infestation level, to effectively end your pest problem.
Get Started
- Turn off your Gardyn’s lights by tapping the Light Tile on your app’s home screen.
- Using a ratio of 2.5 tablespoons of Castile soap per 1 gallon of warm (not hot!) water, mix in a large bowl or bucket. We recommend creating a 4-gallon batch to ensure your larger plants can be fully immersed in the solution.
- Remove all of your plants from your Gardyn, even if they don’t show obvious signs of pests.
- Gently dunk one plant at a time into the soap solution up to the rockwool. DO NOT dunk the rockwool or roots. Shake the plant while it’s submerged.
- Pull the plant out of the solution and gently shake off excess drips.
- Place the plant back on your Gardyn, letting the towel on your lid catch any drips.
- Leave the towel on your lid and your Gardyn’s lights off for 4 hours after to ensure the soap has time to fully dry. Otherwise, the lights will burn your plants.
Wait 24 hours before harvesting plants to let the soap fully dry and impact pests. Rinse before eating.
Is Castile soap safe to use?
Yes! Castile Soap is an excellent and natural option for Gardyn pest control.
Unlike detergents (which aren’t actually soaps), dish soaps, or other products with degreasers, skin moisturizers, or synthetic chemicals, Castile soap is made purely of vegetable oils rather than animal fat. This means it is naturally derived, biodegradable, and sustainable. Castile soap is safe to come into contact with humans, pets, and your food.
Questions? Reach us at support@mygardyn.com, or chat with us! We're here to help.