M Pope

Right now I live in an urban environment and my balcony and windows are where I can grow plants. I have a tiny lime tree that is successfully fruiting for the first time in the three years I have had it (the first two years it produced only a handful of limes, this year it has around 15 ripening fruits/blossoms.) Every summer the ants arrive, however, and they love to build aphid farms on the underside of the leaves. I have resorted to an organic deterrent spray and even sitting and wiping down the underside of each leaf with organic soap and water when the aphid buildup reached a critical point, but I am hoping for a better, simpler solution this year. I also tried wrapping plastic wrap around the trunk but they eventually figure out how to get over it as natural buildup of city sediment on the plastic quickly allowed them to traverse the plastic wrap.

My question is... will my tree suffer if i use mint essential oil on its trunk to stop ants' aphid farms on the leaves? I applied it once to see if the ants would react to the "barrier" and they would not cross it, but I want to ensure that the application of mint oil to the tree itself will not harm the tree? Might there be a better way to stop the ants?

Hi!
I just bought a 6.5 acre finca in southern Catalunya, near L'Ametlla de Mar. Planning to go full permie on it, starting with the home renovation (doubling the cistern capacity and rainwater catchment system, passive solar, eco-construction, and installing a graywater system.) :) I would love to start meeting other permies in the area/region and learning what systems work best here, what everyone is growing, adaptations to this region in particular.