Baking soda is a natural product known for its different uses. It can be used in home maintenance to clean, degrease and disinfect surfaces or to preserve the shine of linen. This versatile product is also popular for taking care of the skin and preserving its youth. But its uses don’t stop there. Indeed, baking soda is beneficial for your plants too. Find out what happens if you spray your plants with a mixture of water and baking soda.
Used in home and laundry maintenance or to take care of the skin, baking soda also has several virtues for taking care of plants.
What happens when you spray plants with a mixture of water and baking soda?
Baking soda is a natural fungicide, effective in preventing fungi that cause cryptogamic diseases, but also in treating plants in the event of infection. To prepare your natural fungicide, mix 4 teaspoons of baking soda with 4 liters of water. Transfer your solution into a spray and spray on the foliage of your plants to limit the proliferation of fungi. This treatment can be used to treat plants with downy mildew or powdery mildew. These fungal diseases thrive in the presence of moisture, and can cause your plants to dry out and wilt. In case of infection, act quickly to avoid contamination of other plants.
Note that overdosing on baking soda does not speed up the treatment of plants, but it will burn the foliage of your plants. It is therefore recommended not to exceed a dosage of one teaspoon of baking soda per liter of water.
To make your natural fungicide more effective, you can add oil to your mixture. This allows the baking soda to better adhere to the foliage of the plants. To do this, mix 3 teaspoons of horticultural oil or olive oil with a teaspoon of baking soda in a liter of water. Spray your solution on the leaves of your infested plants as soon as the first symptoms appear. Note that this mixture can also be used to combat aphids and mealybugs that ravage plants.
What are other uses for baking soda in the garden?
Besides preventing and treating fungal diseases that may affect your plants, baking soda has other uses in the garden. It can, in fact, be used to naturally weed paths. To do this, simply sprinkle a little baking soda on the weeds to eliminate them and also prevent them from growing back.
This economical and biodegradable product can also be used as a natural repellent, to protect your plants from harmful pests, such as ants, cockroaches, slugs and even rabbits. To do this, sprinkle the baking soda on the soil, being careful not to get it on your plants.
Known for its deodorizing properties, baking soda can help you deodorize compost. The latter is composed of organic waste and mineral materials, which aim to fertilize the soil. However, the maceration of this waste causes bad odors, especially in summer. To avoid this inconvenience, add a little baking soda to your compost.
Baking soda is also useful for stimulating the growth of rose bushes and promoting their flowering. To do this, mix in 4 liters of water, a teaspoon of baking soda with 5g of Epsom salt. The latter is effective in stimulating the growth of plants, and promoting their flowering or fruiting, thanks to its magnesium content. Spray this liquid fertilizer on your rose bushes in spring, when the leaves begin to open, and a second time, when the roses begin to bloom.
Thanks to baking soda, you will protect your plants from parasites and fungi that ravage them, in order to ensure healthy growth and promote their flowering, without resorting to chemicals.
