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In Today’s post, Let’s look into 10 best uses of Vinegar for plants and garden. Can it be used as a fertilizer in gardening? Can you use apple cider vinegar for plants? Let’s check it out!
Introduction to Vinegar
Vinegar is chemically called Acetic Acid. It’s an inexpensive product easily available worldwide. It’s used in kitchens generally in a concentration of about 5 percent. By saying Vinegar, we refer to the 5% white vinegar or the distilled white vinegar.
Can You Use Vinegar For Plants as a Fertilizer?
The Answer is Both Yes and No! Let me explain:
NO: Not directly because it’s chemically made up of Carbon Hydrogen and Oxygen – CH3COOH and the plants can easily get these elements from the air.
YES! It can be used Indirectly using a simple trick to help your plant growth and treat acute deficiencies. We will discuss and demonstrate this in this article. Please watch a video in the end.
Can I use Apple Cider Vinegar For Plants?
No!! Due to Sugar content.
10 Powerful Uses of Vinegar for Plants and Garden
Soil pH Amendment
Acid-loving plants like hydrangeas, gardenias, roses, hibiscus, and many others need an acidic soil pH of around 6 or even less. First, test your soil pH. This simple pH testing gadget is a really handy and inexpensive device to test your soil pH. If your soil tests neutral or alkaline, then you need to amend your soil pH. To do this, mix one tablespoon of white vinegar to one litre of water and water your acid-loving plants with this solution once every 15 days to reduce the soil pH.
As a Pesticide or Insect Spray
Vinegar is an effective solution for eliminating unwanted garden insects and pests. To make this vinegar spray, add one cup white vinegar to 1 litre of water and load it in a spray bottle and now add some 10 drops of dishwashing or hand wash liquid soap. Shake the spray bottle well to mix the contents thoroughly before spraying on the plants. This is a reasonable remedy to control pests like whiteflies and mealybugs, especially for those who do not have neem oil.
Treatment of Powdery Mildew Fungus
To make this spray, add one cup of white vinegar to 1 litre of water, shake well, and spray it on the affected leaves to treat the fungus.
Animal and Rodent Repeller
Yes, the pungent smell of vinegar can drive away some animals like cats, dogs, deer, squirrels, rodents, and many other animals. How to use vinegar for this purpose? Well, the simplest method is to soak a cloth in vinegar and place it in those potential spots or entrances of these animals into your garden. But the problem with this is the pungent smell fades away within a few hours, and you might have to do this daily to prevent the animals. Another method to do this is using food grade diatomaceous earth powder, DE powder in short. Mix some peppermint or lemon oil along with some vinegar in DE powder and keep it in small containers or caps in your garden. This DE powder has the ability to retain this odour for a longer time. You can watch a detailed video on DE powder from a link in the description below.
To Control Slugs and Snails
To kill slugs and snails, spray the vinegar directly on the snails and wait. The vinegar will dissolve the snails. Though this looks a bit cruel, if you want to save your food grown out of your hard work, you need to control these creatures.
Ant Control
Vinegar can be used to drive away ants from your garden. Just pour undiluted solution around the ant hills or around the plants – I mean around your potted plants and not into the soil or near the roots.
Weed Killer
Just spray undiluted white vinegar on the unwanted weeds or unwanted grass in your garden. This works very well in cracks and crevices. But you have to be very careful when applying close to your favourite plants. The mechanism of action involved is it dissolves the cell membranes resulting in desiccation of tissues and death of the plant.
Drive Away Fruit Flies from Your Plants
You need to make a vinegar bait with a cup of water and half a cup of vinegar, ¼ cup of sugar, and 1 teaspoon of honey. Mix it all together and put that solution in an empty container or tin can and hang it on the affected fruit tree. You’ll see how it will attract and trap the fruit flies. This solution can be used for housefly control in your home or garden.
Cleaning Your Garden Stuff
It can be used to clean rusty and dirty garden tools. Pour or dip the tool in vinegar for about 20 minutes and then rinse. You can also clean your pots and containers. Just immerse the pots in a vinegar solution like 1:2 or 1:3 dilution in water and clean after 20 to 30 minutes.
To Provide Free or Soluble Calcium to Your Plants
Particularly in acute deficiency of calcium, which causes blossom end rot (BER) disease in tomato and pepper plants. Adding egg shells, lime, gypsum, or calcium tablets to treat acute deficiency of calcium will not help. You need to provide free soluble calcium that can be easily absorbed by the roots. To make this, you can take a source of calcium like lime or even powdered egg shells and add white vinegar to this, shake well for an hour, and then add more water to this. Water this solution to your plants and give them an instant source of free calcium for absorption.
Please Watch a detailed Video on the Vinegar Hacks for Your Garden below:
