In our recent blog on the many uses of vinegar, I was surprised to learn all the uses that vinegar can be used in the garden. Now in my research on baking soda, I have come to discover how baking soda is useful in the garden. Here are some ways.
Sweeten Tomatoes – To sweeten your tomatoes, lower their acidity, and discourage pests, sprinkle baking soda lightly on and around the soil they are in.
Use it as a Natural Fungicide – Just mix 4 tsp of baking soda and 1 gallon of water. Put solution on a cloth and rub the mixture for black spot fungus and also on grapes and vines when fruit first begins to appear.
Use as an Organic Pesticide – Make a safe and organic pesticide spray that can kill insects harmful to plants, like aphids, while not harming beneficial insects. Take 1 teaspoon of baking soda and mix with one third cup of cooking oil. Use about two teaspoons of the mix with one cup of water and put into a spray bottle.
Magnificent Blooms – If you have flowers that thrive in alkaline soil, baking soda offers a simple way to get them to bloom magnificently. Geraniums, begonias, and hydrangeas get a huge benefit from being watered with a slight, weak amount of baking soda.
Powdery Mildew –Powdery mildew can cause major problems in gardens with high humidity. It affects many plants like zinnias, impatiens, squash and cucumbers and roses. Mix 1 tbsp. of baking soda, 1 gallon of water, 1 tbsp. of vegetable oil and 1 tbsp. of dishwashing liquid. Mix and put in a sprayer. Use it weekly and when it is not sunny.
Get Rid of Pesky Bugs and Ants – by sprinkling baking soda on the soil in your garden, you can keep away rabbits, roaches, silver fish. For ants, sprinkle it on top of their ant hill, wait for a bit and then add some vinegar. The ants will ingest this and die.
Kill Cabbage worms. Mix equal parts of baking soda and flour and dust plants such as broccoli, cabbage and kale that are attractive to cabbage worms. The worms will eat the mixture on the leaves and die in a day or so. Repeat the process as often as needed.
Smelly Compost – To prevent the acidity from building up and keeping the smell of a compost area down, put baking soda right on top of the compost pile.
As a Weed killer/preventer. You can use baking soda or vinegar to kill any weeds that start sprouting out of cracks and from growing new ones. Just pour baking soda full strength onto cracks in a patio or walkway.
