Are you looking for a natural insecticide or fungicide to combat pests and diseases this season? If so, you can stop looking, because I know for sure that you already have it. Sodium bicarbonate has enormous potential and use in the world of gardening.
So much is its effectiveness that it has already been proven through research, that applying baking soda can prevent outbreaks of any type of spore from developing and spreading through the rest of the plants in your garden. Of course, it is not as powerful as expected since it does not kill them completely.
Benefits of baking soda for your plants
Yes, yes, you may not believe me, but the truth is that if you have a pot of baking soda stored in the kitchen, your search has stopped. And if you do not have a boat at home, do not worry because thanks to our website you will be able to buy it at the best price and all the guarantees by clicking here.
It is cheap, very easy to obtain and, above all, it does not harm the environment. What more could you want? Baking soda has antifungal and insecticidal properties, depending on what you want to use it for. There are several ways to do it, and each one is prepared differently.
For example, If we want to prevent or fight fungi, we must mix four teaspoons of bicarbonate in 3 liters of waterand add a small spoonful of biodegradable soap.
But if what we want is to fight against the parasites that want to feed on our plants, what we must do is add a tablespoon to a liter of water and spray, or sprinkle a little on the surface of the substrate.
Don’t forget to clean your hands using this productThis way you will eliminate any risk that any intruder (bacteria or fungus) could affect your health.
Another interesting use for baking soda is as follows: if mixed with vinegar carbon dioxide levels increaseThus, the photosynthesis speed is higher and the plant has more leaves and looks stronger.
But as in everything, precautions must be taken. Some plants may not be very good at it and it is very important that if you choose to spray it, you test it first on one or two leaves to see how it reacts. If after 24 hours they are still just green and healthy, then you can spray it all.
Research done with sodium bicarbonate in plants
There is no denying the fact that the use of baking soda is widely used all over the world. But this does not mean that it is a miracle cure because it is not. Simply helps reduce or prevent the appearance of fungi, bacteria, spores and others.
Of course, its effectiveness increases significantly when it is used with other methods to deal with the problems already mentioned. This is how various tests have been done over the last few years and it was determined that it is effective against mushrooms and bacteria.
But the same studies revealed a compound in baking soda that is not entirely beneficial to plants. That is there is a compound with the potential to seriously damage the plant if not used properly.
In the studies carried out, sodium bicarbonate was used in different proportions or amounts in plants. This in order to determine the potential of the element. Clearly favorable results were seen, but by increasing the dose or amount used, the problems began.
For you to keep in mind the next time you use baking soda on your plants, remember that it can affect them in the following way:
- It can burn the surface of the leaves.
- Increases the likelihood of burning roots or taking away their vitality.
- Excess baking soda can affect other parts of the plant.
If used in excessive amounts and continuous with the substrate, it can cause the soil to lose nutritional propertieswhich will affect the growth of future plants.
Despite all the above, you can rest easy, since you have to use a huge amount and for a long time baking soda for something like this to happen. However, it never hurts to take precautions and only use what is necessary.
How does baking soda work in plants?
In previous paragraphs, it was explained how this element has to be used. However, its operation has not yet been explained. The good thing is that it is super easy to understand since once you use it as a fungicide, this will affect the stabilization of the ions found in the cells of the fungus.
This imbalance ends up affecting the integrity of the fungus and after a certain time, they collapse, dying completely. Of course, this is not as easy as making a diluted preparation and that’s it.
You have to know exactly the amount of baking soda and the amount of water to use to dilute the material. And this is where most people usually make the mistake and instead of killing fungi and / or bacteria, they end up affecting the physical integrity of the plant.
In case you don’t know how to detect whether or not your plant is being affected by the dew you are applying, you have to look at the outside of the leaves. When the effects are negative, the leaves begin to turn brown or yellow. This is the most notable indication and can easily be countered by using less baking soda.
For practical purposes, you only have to use a 1% solution, the rest of the material will be waterAlthough we preferably recommend that you use vegetable oil or, failing that, soap, to increase effectiveness and reduce the risks of burning the plant.
Is baking soda only used to clean plants?
The answer to this is no. Generally, the use that is given is mainly to eliminate fungi, spores, bacteria and pests that a plant in an orchard or garden is having. However, the applications of this material do not end there.
So, you can employ the use of baking soda in such a way that you can clean the products or harvest that you are having in your garden. That is, if you have a small vegetable crop, you can maintain it naturally and safely with this material, always remembering that you have to dilute it very well.
The truth is that it is not complicated at all, you can take a container and fill it in half with water if it is a two-liter container, just have 1.5 liters of water or vegetable oil and then add only a teaspoon of baking soda.
When you have the mixture ready, you just have to take the fruit or vegetable you want to wash and put it in the container. You can carefully use your hand to rub the mixture on the surface of the product and remove any dirt or foreign material.
When you do this, don’t quickly remove the mixture from the fruit or vegetable. Wait at least 10 minutes and then with clean water remove the mixture. As a curious fact, you can do exactly the same when you already have your harvest or if you prefer to clean fruits or vegetables that you are going to eat.
Special use of baking soda
Everyone who owns a garden must have tools to properly maintain it and maintain the integrity of the plants. Many people make the serious mistake of taking gardening shears for example, cutting the clusters, leaves or stems of a plant and do the same procedure over and over with a different plant.
You have to avoid doing this at all costs since you can transmit a plague or disease without knowing it. For it you don’t need alcohol to clean your tools since sometimes it is expensive or not available at home.
Just use the same baking soda to clean your tools. You already know the preparation because it is exactly the same as the one you use to spray your plants or clean fruits or vegetables.
Now, Assuming the case that you find a stain that is not easily removed, you can directly use the baking soda in the area and wait for it to take effect. Then you just have to take a damp tissue and rub until the stain is removed.
So as you can see, sodium bicarbonate not only has no limited functions, but rather you have the complete pack in order to have a quality gardening job and all while keeping your plants safe, since they are natural methods that do not harm your plants if you are aware of the amount to use.
