We all know that vinegar is great to use around the kitchen, but did you know it’s just as useful around the garden?
This is a great way to avoid using the common harmful chemicals and fertilizers on the market and save quite a few dollars in the process. The bottom line is that vinegar is eco-friendly and affordable with multiple uses and benefits for your garden.
I prefer using organic apple cider vinegar for most things garden-related except for germination and then I use white vinegar. Please read my notes below…
1. Gets Rid of Ants
Vinegar is the most effective organic insecticide. Spray the affected areas with vinegar, and you will get rid of ants in no time. Repeat the procedure after few days, and there would be no single ant in that area.
2. Destroys Weeds
By using vinegar, you can eliminate the weeds on your walkways and walls thus providing an impressive and neat look of your garden.
Vinegar is one of the most useful “anti-weed” products. You can get rid of weeds in the following way:
- Add a cup of salt, two tablespoons of dish soap and one tablespoon of lemon juice in a gallon of 5% white vinegar.
- Mix the combination well and pour it into a spray bottle.
- Spray all the weed around your garden.
3. Clay Pot Cleaner
Clay pots keep the soil moist and protect the roots during the hot summer days. Also, they are an attractive decorating element in your garden.
However, clay pots tend to absorb salt and minerals from the water, which makes them look unattractive. For this purpose, vinegar is the perfect solution. It will make your old clay pots look clean and bright.
You just have to:
- Scrub the pots’ crusty residues.
- Add a cup of 5% vinegar to 3-4 cups of water and sip the clay pots in it. Leave them for 30 minutes.
- If there are still more residues, wipe them off with some undiluted vinegar.
4. Scares Off Pests and Rodents
Dogs, cats, chickens, rabbits, moles (who’s gonna love a mole?) and rodents absolutely detest the smell of vinegar! You will keep out these unwanted visitors from your garden with vinegar. You just have to spray some white vinegar around the garden, and the animals will be all gone.
Also, you can soak some old clothes in vinegar and place them on stakes around your garden. After every rain, add more vinegar.
5. Cut Flowers Live Longer
Add two tablespoons of vinegar and one teaspoon of sugar in a vase. Put the flowers in the vase and change it every 3-5 days. In this way, your flowers will get the proper “food” that will extend their life.
6. Seeds Germination
Use white vinegar (we recommend this) instead of apple cider vinegar when germinating seeds, in particular for moonflowers, okra, asparagus, glories and other seeds that do not germinate very easily.
With a coarse sandpaper, rub the seeds. Make sure you do this one night before you plant them. Combine 125 ml of vinegar, 500 ml of warm water and a squirt of washing-up liquid. Then, soak the seeds in the solution. The following day, plant the seeds, and they will start growing very soon.
7. Removes Garden Insects
Mix one part of vinegar, three parts of water and a teaspoon of dishwashing agent into a spray bottle. Mix the combination well and spray throughout your garden.
8. Removes Fruit Flies
Save your fruits with this solution:
- Mix one tablespoon of molasses, half a cup of apple cider vinegar, a quarter cup of sugar and a cup of water.
- Pour the mixture into some container of your choice and hang it on your fruit tree.
- Fruit flies will attack the mixture and get trapped in the liquid.
- This is also an effective method against household flies.
9. Refreshes The Acid Loving Plants With Vinegar
Keep your azaleas, gardenias, and rhododendrons happy. Mix a cup of vinegar and a gallon of water and water the plants with the mixture. You will notice a significant growth.
10. Removes Rust From Garden Tools
Spray some undiluted vinegar on your tools or just dip them in it for several minutes. Then, rinse them well.
11. Fights Fungus
If you notice that your plants are not growing well or have some dark spots on the leaves and stems, they are probably affected by mold or fungus. White vinegar will solve this problem and protect the plants.
Brew some chamomile tea and add two teaspoons of vinegar. Spray the plants with this mixture and watch them become bigger and vivid.
For roses, apply some different technique:
Combine four liters of water and three tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. Spray the roses with this solution and the fungus will be gone.
12. Kills Snails and Slugs
Keep the snails and slugs away from your garden with white vinegar, a potent “anti-snail” product.
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