aphids are suckers...

if the populations explode... they can suck a plant dry ...

the simplest way to keep the populations in check.. is to spray them off with water .. and you can be as aggressive as you wish.. short of damaging the leaves ...

try a hand held quart spray bottle.. before you use anything else ...

oils can be very tricky in heat and humidity ... be very careful .. if the water doesnt work..

i am sure you can find a bazillion links in regard to such using the GW search engine.. or something such as google ...

ken

I have sprayed them with Windex or diluted ammonia and then washed the plants off with plain water. I think a nitrogen based water soluable fertilizer might also work as a spray. I use these only in very small amounts and have not noticed damage to the plants.

Some organic oils will kill beneficial insects, such as ladybugs, and so you might want to avoid those if you have ladybugs.

Lars

Neither windex or diluted ammonia are a recommended control for aphids and certainly not on an edible plant. And I fail to understand why a nitrogen based liquid fertilizer would have any more effect than just plain water. Typically it is excess fertilization that stimulates aphid activity in the first place.

Water is always the fallback solution, then followed with something like insecticidal soap or neem oil. Both are accepted organic controls, fine for any edible crops and have minimal impact on non-target or beneficial insects.

And one would have to have an enormous infestation of aphids to do any serious damage. Nasty on any brassicas cuz they get down in among all the leaves and who needs that kind of protein in the diet but a healthy plant can withstand aphid predation easily.

Another in agreement with the use of plain water. I've not found that spritzing with a squirt bottle to be particularly effective, though. Your goal is to knock them off! Repeat treatments a couple of times a week to keep the population down to a dull roar.

The simplest, easiest, and most environmentally friendly method of Aphid control is simply a sharp spray of water that will knock the wee buggers off the plant. There is no need to add anything to that water, particularly with materials that can harm the plants.

Here is a link that might be useful: Aphid control