How To Use Baking Soda In The Garden

Baking soda has a wide variety of uses in the kitchen and around the house. It can be used as a leavening agent for baked goods, it can be used to remove odors and stains, and it can also be used in your vegetable garden. 

What is Baking Soda?

Baking soda is a natural alkaline substance that produces carbon dioxide gas when combined with an acid. Also called bicarbonate soda, it often appears as a fine powdery substance. It has a slightly salty, alkaline taste resembling that of washing soda (sodium carbonate).

It is often used as a leavening agent and a natural cleaning agent. It can also be used to care for plants in the garden. It is especially helpful for gardeners who want to maintain an organic garden

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Ways to Use Baking Soda in the Garden

Clean Foliage

Houseplants can be susceptible to dust and grease buildup which can affect photosynthesis. To help your plants stay healthy you can dilute it, you don’t need much baking soda just a pinch in a liter of water. Moisten a lint-free soft cloth or damp sponge with this effective solution and wipe the top and bottom surface of leaves of your plant.

Improve the pH Level of Soil

If you have acidic soil in your garden, you can sprinkle some baking soda on it to keep its soil ph levels balanced. As the acid in the soil reacts with the baking soda, the soil is neutralized.

Fertilize Plants

Baking soda can be used to give garden plants a boost. Mix 1 teaspoon of baking soda with ½ teaspoon clear ammonia and 1 teaspoon Epsom salt in a gallon of warm water. Give each plant a quart of this solution to perk up, rejuvenate, and promote lush green leas.

Plant Fungus

You can kill many different types of fungus with baking soda like fungal spores, powdery mildew, and black spot fungus these can occur in high humidity. Make this baking soda solution by dissolving 1 teaspoon of baking soda into one quart of water. You can add a few drops of dish soap to help the solution spread and stick to the plant leaves. You can also mix neem oil and baking soda (1 tablespoon baking soda plus 2.5 tablespoons of cooking oil in 1 gallon of water.

Eliminate Odor in Your Compost Pile

Your compost pile can give off an unpleasant odor as it breaks down. You can use a small amount of baking soda to prevent acidity build-up and eliminate odor in a compost heap.

To clean a bird bath

Use this solution: for every nine cups of white vinegar you need 3 quarts of water to scrub the birdbath thoroughly. Scrub the basin, lip, and any area of the birdbath where the birds can land, perch, drink or bathe. 

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Get Rid of Pests

If you’re battling slugs in the garden, you can fend them off using baking soda. Simply sprinkle this powder on your garden beds to get rid of these pests.

Cabbage worm-infested brassicas will also benefit from a sprinkling of baking soda. These pests will end up eating the powder this will kill cabbage worms.

Meanwhile, a mixture of 1 teaspoon baking soda and 1/3 cup olive oil or vegetable oil, mixed with 1 gallon of water can be sprayed on entire plant to repel aphids, scales, and spider mites.

For ant hills combine 1 part baking soda with 1 part powdered sugar. The sugar attracts the ants, and the baking soda is what kills them: It reacts with the acid in their digestive system and they explode

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