Checking to see if the soda bubbles!
Gardening is a funny old business. Many is the time the
lines between gardening and other domestic pursuits are blurred, especially in
the kitchen.
Is emptying the vinegar out of my pickle jars onto weeds
gardening, or recycling the kitchen waste, or both? Then there’s cooking, is
that just an extension of tending vegetables?
Sometimes I think too much.
One thing that I do know is that a lot of items in the
kitchen cupboards can be used for pest and disease control and if used
correctly could do away with buying any garden chemicals. I’ve mentioned
vinegar, but what about Bicarbonate of Soda? I’ve been looking through old
articles and apart from using it to whiten teeth, clean ovens, freshen carpets
and pet beds, stripping paint and cleaning toilets, I can’t see that I have
ever mentioned it’s virtues in the garden. Until now.
Baking Soda
Baking soda is an absolute 'must have' in the garden and
it’s very cheap to buy if you get the non-brand named packets in the baking
area of the supermarket. It’s a natural product but should still be used with
caution. Here are some of the things we can be doing with this white powder.
Just to clarify, baking soda is the pure Sodium Bicarbonate and baking powder
is soda with added ingredients like cream of tartar for cooking.
Make a Spray to
Prevent and Treat Powdery Mildew.
Powdery mildew can be a problem for many plants. Plants
prone to damaging powdery mildew include cabbages, tomatoes, potatoes, pumpkin,
melons, cabbage, squash.
Cucumber and squashes are particularly susceptible powdery
mildew which can eventually affect the plants immune system and kill it off. A
simple mixture of baking soda, water, and washing liquid can really save your
cucumber crop or deter the mildew from even happening.
Invasive Caterpillars
Sprinkle Baking Soda on cabbages (and other Brassicas) to stop
caterpillars, aphids, ants, silver fish and some beetles. Put directly onto
slugs to kill them.
Cabbage Worms
Make a 50/50 combination of flour and baking soda, and dust
it all over whichever plants the cabbage worms are eating. The mixture is good
for most vegetable plants particularly cabbage, broccoli, and kale plants which
caterpillars love. Repeat as necessary if the mixture is washed off.
More Ideas
Paving Cracks. Simply
pour or sweep a thick layer of baking soda into patio cracks. The baking soda
will kill any small weeds that are already there, and prevent new ones from
sprouting.
Tomato Sweetener –
Some say sprinkling baking soda onto the soil around the plants sweetens the
fruit.
Rabbit Deterrent
- Sprinkle baking soda around your garden to keep the rabbits from eating your
herbs and veggies.
Control Postharvest
Diseases on fruits. Baking soda is
more effective when combined with yeast organisms that prevent diseases from
growing than expensive chemicals.
Clean Garden Tools.
Baking soda is the perfect abrasive to
clean all of the gunk and organic build-up on your garden tools.
Keep Seeds Dry.
Keep an envelope, box, sash, or what have you of baking soda inside of your
seed box to keep your seeds dry.
Clean Nails &
Cuticles. All gardeners have at least one thing in common and that’s dirty
fingernails and feet. For soft, clean nails without a trip to the manicurist,
simply dip your hands and feet in a bowl of warm water mixed with baking soda.
Clean Fruits and
Vegetables . Add 2 tablespoons of baking soda and a drop of vinegar to a
bowl of water to clean fruits and vegetables. Rinse well afterwards.
PH level. Wet
soil and take a small amount of baking soda and sprinkle onto soil, apparently if
it bubbles your soil is acidic with a PH level under 5.
Black Spots on Roses.
Mix 1 Tbsp. of baking soda and 1 tsp. of washing up liquid in a bucket of warm
water. Spray on roses every ten days to prevent and treat black spot disease.
Keep cut flowers fresh longer by adding a teaspoon to the
water in the vase.
Soak dried beans to a baking soda solution to make them more
digestible.
Rubber Gloves.
Trouble getting on rubber gloves? Just sprinkle in some baking soda and they’ll
slip right on.
Baking Soda kills
moss and slimy green / black stains. Baking soda isn’t harmful to the rest
of your lawn and plants, but it will cause lawn moss to turn brown and die
within a week. Baking soda mixed with either water or vinegar to make a thick
paste will completely get rid of moss / fungal stains.
Remove labels from
garden pots and garden decorations . There's nothing worse than buying a
beautiful ceramic garden pot, pretty patio accessories or dishes for your next
bar-b-que and you can't seem to remove that pesky price tag or manufactures
label. Here's a homemade sticker remover that will save you money from having
to buy a professional adhesive goo remover. Mix 1/3 cup baking soda and 2/3 cup
of vegetable oil. It works every time. And you don’t even need to get the WD40
out.
