Say goodbye to chemical products for plants and flowers! Here are 13 situations in which you can use baking soda
Baking soda is an inevitable product in every home, considering its versatility that makes it indispensable!
Employed in the kitchen as a natural leavening agent, it is also an excellent solution for digestive disorders. It is also very useful in other rooms in the house. For example, in the bathroom, to whiten teeth and to clean and sanitize the environment, but also in the living room, to remove stubborn stains from the carpet.
Yet few know that baking soda can also be used outside the home --- in the garden! Let's see how.
1. Insect repellent
Mix a tablespoon of olive oil, two tablespoons of baking soda and a couple of drops of liquid soap in four cups of water (one liter). Put the preparation in a spray container and spray it on the plants every three days!
2. Sensational fungicide
Mix 4 teaspoons of baking soda in four cups of water (one liter) and use it to water the mushroom-infested areas of your garden.
3. Natural outdoor cleaner
Just like the inside of the house, baking soda works wonders in cleaning all the objects in the garden, without polluting! Sprinkle baking soda on the surface to be cleaned and rub with a damp cloth.
4. Useful for controlling the pH of the soil in the garden
In a very simple way, baking soda allows soil to be analyzed to verify whether it is alkaline or acid Take two soil samples and place them in two containers, then pour half a cup of vinegar into one of them --- if there are bubbles, your soil is above pH 7, i.e., it is alkaline. If it does not react, take the other sample and add half a cup of baking soda, together with half a glass of water and if this produces bubbles, your soil is below pH 7, i.e., acid.
5. Sweetens tomatoes
Do you love sweeter and tastier tomatoes? If you have discovered from your previous analysis that your soil is acidic, you can reduce its acidity by simply sprinkling baking soda around the tomato plants, letting it be absorbed naturally.
6. An enemy of mold
Considering that baking soda is a useful and natural fungicide, it is also effective for eliminating mold from plants. Mix one tablespoon of baking soda with 2 and a half tablespoons of horticulture oil in 4 quarts of water (4 liters). Pour the mixture into a bottle and spray it on your plants, creating a protective layer against mold.
7. Compost deodorizer
Pavel Ševela / Wikimedia Commons
To reduce the bad smell of compost, you can sprinkle some baking soda on the compost pile. Be careful not to overdo it, however, because by lowering the level of acidity you can slow down the decomposition process.
8. Elixir of long life for flowers
Have you just received a bouquet of flowers? You can enjoy it for much longer by adding a pinch of salt and a pinch of baking soda to the water in the flower vase.
9. Growth supplement for (some) flowers
As we have already seen, baking soda makes the soil more alkaline, and can, therefore, prove useful to make certain types of flowers thrive that love soil that is less acidic --- just add it to the water in the watering can.
10. Detergent for garden paths
You can make your garden pathway shine by dissolving 2 tablespoons of baking soda in 4 cups of lukewarm water (one liter) and using the mixture obtained to wash the external surfaces; add a little extra baking soda for the most stubborn stains.
11. Against crabgrass
Oregon State University/flickr.com
Are you familiar with those annoying weeds that grow between the tiles in the garden? You can get rid of them by simply wetting the area and then applying a thick paste composed of baking soda and water. Just insert the baking soda paste well into each slot between the tiles, but be careful to keep the paste away from the plants and herbs you wish to keep!
12. Makes plant leaves shiny
Particularly useful for plants in the house, which collect dust or dirt! In fact, baking soda, dissolved in hot water, can be used to make plant leaves shine! Gently dry the plants after washing and avoid pouring the water into the soil because this would make it too alkaline.
13. Hand cleaner
Have you tried all or almost all the uses of baking soda that we have proposed for your garden? Well, now use baking soda to eliminate all the dirt that has accumulated on your hands! Use baking soda like normal soap, then clean your nails well with a nailbrush.
