Using baking soda in the garden might not be obvious for most people but the truth of the matter is that there are so many benefits that come with its use. If you are a house owner, then your probably know too well of the fact that baking soda plays a vital role when it comes to green cleaning in the houses where it has so many uses. However, the same also applies to the garden as well and there are so many benefits that come with it including:
Natural fungicide
When used in the garden, the baking soda works as an effective natural fungicide and this can benefit your garden in so many ways than you would probably imagine. To make a natural fungicide using the baking soda, just mix 4 tablespoonfuls of the baking soda with a gallon of water. The mixture should then be used on the roses having black spot fungus as well as vines and grapes when you start seeing the appearance of fruits.
Powdery mildew
You can also use the baking soda for powdery mildew where it also works incredibly well. For gardens that have high humidity, it is needless to say that powdery mildew can be one of the major causes of problems. As a gardener, you might realize that it affects so many plants while impatiens, zinnias, cucumbers and squash are very badly affected. To ensure that the baking soda is more effective, make sure that you mix it with dishwashing liquid and vegetable oil as well. Make sure that you use it on a weekly basis and avoid using it at a time when it is too sunny.
Garden Grime buster – cleaning your hands
After you are done gardening, just rib the baking soda on your wet hands and then rinse well and you will enjoy incredible benefits. It is of paramount importance that you clean your hands thoroughly after leaving the garden. Baking soda is very effective in eliminating the dirt completely and killing the bacteria that could cause diseases.
Rejuvenating your rose bushes
You can also rejuvenate rose bushes using baking soda in an incredibly simple way. You just need to mix together a tsp baking soda, add some clear ammonia and then a tsp Epsom salt which should then be mixed with some water. A gallon of the mixture should be enough for treating about four bushes of rose which have unfortunately lost their luster.
Weed killer
Killing and preventing weed is yet another incredible benefit of baking soda in your garden. This works in a rather simple way as you just need to pour full strength baking soda on to the cracks of your walkway or patio. This is capable of killing most of the small weeds sprouting and you can be sure than new ones won’t be growing there any time soon. Still on the same note, you can use baking soda for weed control at your garden and you can be sure of getting some incredible benefits by using it.
Killing cabbage worms
Cabbage worms can wreak havoc in your garden and it is essential that you come up with an effective way of controlling them. Fortunately, baking soda offers an effective solution of killing cabbage worms and getting your garden rid of these worms. You just need to meet baking soda with equal parts of flour and then dust plants like cabbage, kale and broccoli which cabbage worms find to be very attractive. After the worms eat leaves that have been mixed with the baking soda, they will die within a day and you can even repeat the process for a couple of times to enhance its effectiveness.
Sweeten your tomatoes
It might come as a surprise that you can use baking soda for sweetening your tomatoes but this is truly the truth of the matter. This can be done in an incredibly simple way as you just need to sprinkle the baking soda on the established plants and your tomatoes will start getting sweeter over time.
Killing crabgrass
You can also kill crabgrass in your garden easily by using baking soda. In this regard, you will need to wet your crab grass and then a heavy dust of the baking soda on top. After some few days, the crab grass is going to die. Do the sprinkling carefully to ensure that the surrounding grass is not touched by the baking soda as it will simply die.
Pest control
The use of baking soda for pest control is something that has been done by many gardeners for many years now. Baking soda is incredibly effective when it comes to controlling pests that are annoying you and you have every reason in the world why you shouldn’t hesitate to use it for controlling pests at your garden. In this regard, the baking soda should be sprinkled on the soil and it will deter away a wide range of pests such as rabbits, silver fish, roaches and ants. For slugs, put then right in the baking soda but avoid getting on your plants.
Testing soil PH
Testing the acidity or alkalinity of your garden soil is very important and you should then adjust it accordingly to suit the requirements of what you are planting in your garden. To do this, just wet the garden soil with some water and sprinkle the baking soda on top of the soil. When the baking soda start bubbling, this should tell you that the soil is acidic and its ph is below 5.
As you can see, baking soda has so many benefits when used in the garden and you certainly stand to benefit a lot from its usage. However, it is very important that you use the baking soda in a careful manner. Sprinkling your plants with baking soda should be avoided at all costs as it can burn and even kill the plants in your garden and then having negative effects in your garden.
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