30 Ways To Use Natural Baking Soda In The Garden

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If you’re like most people, you probably have a box of baking soda in your kitchen cupboard and in your fridge.

This simple, useful, natural product has so many uses in health, personal care, and household chores that it’s really a “must-have” for just about everyone.

Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is a vital part of green cleaning and has many uses in the house, but what about the garden?

This article will share some great ideas to help you get even more use from versatile, affordable baking soda in your yard and garden beds. Read on to learn more.

What Is Baking Soda?

This simple, natural product is made up entirely of sodium bicarbonate, a highly alkaline substance.

When it comes in contact with acidic substances, it bubbles. The bubbles give off carbon dioxide gas.

This is the property of bicarb soda that makes it a good leavening agent for bread baking.

This property also makes it a good choice for settling upset stomachs.

Its cleansing and mildly abrasive properties make it a good cleaning agent. It also possesses the ability to absorb and neutralize odors.

Is Baking Soda Good For Plants? How Can These Properties Be Helpful In Your Garden?

When it comes to using baking soda for:

  • Natural Cleaning
  • Soil Amendment
  • Plant Care
  • Weed And Pest Control
  • Fungal Diseases
  • And More

The humble sodium bicarbonate can be a powerful allyUse natural baking soda for sweeter tomatoes, control powdery mildew on roses, battle slugs, weeds, and more!

6 Ways To Use Baking Soda For Plants

#1 – Clean Plant Leaves

Plants need photosynthesis to survive and thrive. To help your houseplants make the most of the sunshine they receive, keep their leaves clean by wiping them gently with a damp sponge or soft cloth dampened with a very dilute solution of baking soda and water. 

Add about half a teaspoonful of bicarbonate soda to a liter of pure, filtered water to make this gentle cleaning solution.

Related: Learn more about Cleaning Houseplants and using Neem Oil for leaf shine.

#2 – Give Your Plants A Boost

If your plants are looking listless, try watering with a combination of the following:

Do this monthly to perk up all plants. Roses are especially appreciative of this treatment.

#3 – Stimulate Blooming

Geraniums, Begonia, and Hydrangea types are all alkaline soil and baking soda is an alkaline product.

Make these plants a special monthly tonic consisting of one tablespoonful of baking soda and two quarts of water. You’ll soon see enthusiastic blossom production.

#4 – Keep Cut Flowers Fresh Longer

Two quarts of water and a tablespoonful of bicarbonate soda is also excellent solution for keeping cut flowers fresh. Be sure to change the solution every couple of days for the best results.

#5 – Grow Sweeter Tomatoes

Use baking soda to make the soil in your tomato patch less acidic. Also, add some Epsom salts for a “sweet” tasting tomato.

Just sprinkle baking soda lightly over the surface of the soil surrounding your tomato plants, and then water as usual. Less acidity in the soil adds up to less acidity in your tomatoes.

a collection of uses for baking soda in the gardenPin
Use natural baking soda for sweeter tomatoes, control powdery mildew on roses, battle slugs, weeds, and more!

#6 – Use Baking Soda For Soil Testing and Amendment

Perform informal pH testing on your garden soil. Your garden plants absorb minerals from the soil through their roots.

This process could be hampered if your soil is too acidic or alkaline. To get an idea of your soil’s pH, use baking soda and white vinegar to perform a home experiment.

Begin by collecting a couple of soil samples in small cups from your yard or garden. Pour half a cup of vinegar into one sample.

If you see the soil bubbling, you know it is alkaline and has reacted with the acid in vinegar. This typically means that it has a pH level of 7 or more.

If there are no bubbles, try testing your other sample with about half a cup of water and a tablespoonful of baking soda.

If this causes bubbling, you will know that the soil sample has a pH level of 7 or below. This soil is acidic and has reacted with an alkaline substance.

If your testing reveals acidic soil, you can amend it with baking soda by sprinkling the powder over the surface of the soil just before watering (as you would when sweetening tomatoes).

This should gradually reduce the acidity of the soil. Test your soil occasionally, as described here.

When it no longer bubbles when exposed to baking soda and water, you will know you have succeeded.

Video: DIY Soil pH Test without a Test Kit

Related: Over at “The Creek Line House,” Courtenay shares how she used baking soda to improve her “sad-looking” hydrangeas.

4 Baking Soda Recipes to Cure and Prevent Plant Fungal Diseases

#1 – Prevent Fungal Disease Growth

Baking soda does not kill the fungus but creates pH conditions hostile to its growth. [source] It also helps in reducing fungal spores that typically occur in high humidity.

Mix a liter of water with a few drops of dishwashing soap and a teaspoonful of baking soda as a preventative. Mix well and decant the mixture into a spray bottle.

Spray both the top sides and undersides of leaves in the cool of the morning so that the leaves will have plenty of time to dry during the day. This is a good treatment for all manner of garden plants.

Video: How to Make a Baking Soda Anti-Fungal Garden Spray

#2 – Treat Powdery Mildew with Baking Soda in The Garden

If powdery mildew or fungus has already set in, make a stronger mixture consisting of the following:

  • 1 gallon of water
  • 1 tablespoon of baking soda
  • 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon of dishwashing liquid

Spray affected plants once a week on cooler, overcast days. Spraying this mixture in the heat of the day or when the sun is very strong can cause plants to burn. 

This is an especially effective mixture for use on zinnias, squash, cucumbers, and lilac trees.

Details on:

#3 – Treat Tomato Diseases

Make a spray with an aspirin and baking soda solution to prevent and treat fungal infections and other diseases in tomato plants. Use this formula weekly.

  • 2 tablespoons of baking soda
  • 2 gallons of water
  • 2 aspirin

Combine all ingredients in a spray bottle. You’ll need to let the soda solution sit for a few minutes to allow the aspirin to dissolve. Shake and spray.

Video: Baking Soda & Aspirin Tomato Prevention Spraying: Stop Leaf Spot & Early Blight from Showing!

Tomato blight treatment baking soda:

#4 – Mix Up Your Own Cornell University Organic Spray

This all-natural recipe is very effective and very popular for treating a wide variety of plant ills, including aphids, killing red spider mitespowdery mildew control, and black spot.

You’ll need the following:

Mix all ingredients together and decant them into a spray bottle or pump sprayer.

Spray plants monthly, late in the evening, for best results.

It’s a good idea to give your plants good spraying with the water hose first to knock off beneficial insects, as this mixture will kill them.

Spray the entire plant thoroughly to deal with fungal disease problems such as black spots.

Be sure to follow this recipe exactly, and don’t add vinegar (even cider vinegar) or any substance containing sulfur.

If the Sunspray product you purchase lists “emulsifier” on the ingredients label, leave out the dish soap. [source]

More Plant Pest Tips:

8 Ways to Use Baking Soda For Garden Pests: Discourage and Eliminate Pests Naturally

When used regularly, carefully prepared, homemade baking soda plants concoctions provide a safe and effective defense against a wide variety of garden bugs and pests, such as:

  • Spider mites
  • Aphids
  • Silverfish
  • Cockroaches
  • Slugs and snails

… and more.

  1.  Baking Soda as a pesticide – For a very gentle deterrent that will effectively combat spider mites and aphids but will not harm beneficial insects combined:
  • 1 cup of warm water
  • 1/3 cup of olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon of baking soda

Use this baking soda pest control spray mixture carefully onto the affected areas of plants every few days until aphids and spider mites are gone. 

This concentrated mixture is also effective against black spot fungus on roses and grape vines.

  1.  Eradicate harmful insect infestations. If your plants are swarming with harmful bugs, try this combination:
  • 1 gallon of water
  • 1 tablespoon of olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon of baking powder
  • A dozen drops of dishwashing liquid

Spray once every three days until the insects have been eradicated. Follow up with weekly baking soda sprays using one of the lighter formulations to prevent re-infestation.

  1.  Eliminate ant hills. Use baking soda and powdered sugar to create a fatal bait. Just mix the two ingredients 50/50 and sprinkle the mixture over the offending ant hill. The ants will eat the mixture and carry it into their nest, where others will eat it.

The sugar will attract them, but the baking soda will kill them. Be sure to use powdered sugar (not granulated) to blend the two ingredients thoroughly.

If you use granulated sugar, the ants will pick it out and leave the baking soda behind.

It may take a while to kill ants this way, but it will eventually kill them all because they will continue to carry the mixture into the nest to be consumed by one and all.

  1.  Kill gnats in leaf piles or the smelly compost pile. Mix four teaspoons of bicarbonate soda with a gallon of water and a teaspoonful of biodegradable soap (e.g., Dr. Bronner’s Castile soap). Pour or spray this mixture over your compost heap or leaf pile to kill off gnats lurking within.
  2.  Repel a wide variety of insects. Mix up a concentrate consisting of:
  • 1 teaspoonful of baking soda
  • 1/3 cup of mustard oil

Store this in a plastic or glass container with a tightly fitting lid at room temperature. When making an insect repellent spray, measure two teaspoons of this concentrate into one cup of warm water. Stir and decant into a small spray bottle to disperse around areas where you do not want bugs!

  1.  Prevent ground-dwelling pests. Sprinkle baking soda lightly on the soil around your crops to deter slugs, roaches, and silverfish. Leave it dry and reapply after rain.
  2. You can also kill slugs on the spot by sprinkling slugs with baking soda but don’t sprinkle straight baking soda for plants as it will burn the leaves.
  3. Cabbage Worms Baking Soda. Get rid of these hungry caterpillars that love to eat brassicas such as cabbage, broccoli, and kale. To kill them off, mix white flour and baking soda 50/50. Put this mixture into a shaker or powder dispenser and dust your brassicas.

Because the flour buffers the baking soda and because brassicas are rather rugged, this mixture will not damage their leaves.

Apply the dust every day for three or four days. The caterpillars will ingest it when they eat your plants and soon die off.

2 Ways to Use Baking Soda to Combat Weeds

Will baking soda kill grass? Does baking soda kill weeds?

The answer is yes. Baking soda is an effective weed killer.

Weeds and crabgrass growing along the edges of your walkways and patios and in cracks between pavers can be dealt with easily with a generous application of baking soda. 

It burns back foliage and feeder roots to eliminate current weeds and prevent future weed growth.

  1.  Kill crabgrass and weeds in your lawn. Begin by wetting down the weeds or crabgrass. Follow up by applying a thick coat of baking soda directly to the plant’s leaves and around its root base.

Be careful to apply it only to the plants you want to kill. Don’t sprinkle it around randomly. Avoid applying on a windy day. Apply it thickly in a focused manner.

  1.  Get rid of weeds along walkways and patios and in cracks and crevices. Pour baking soda heavily on and around the weeds to eliminate weeds growing around paved surfaces. Use a whisk broom to sweep the powder into sidewalk cracks or the space between pavers.

Check back and reapply as needed. Although a heavy application of baking soda will have some residual weed-killing effect, be advised that rain and watering will dilute these effects fairly quickly.

This natural powder works by desiccating foliage. It may not kill deep roots.

10 Ways to Clean Up Around Your Yard and Garden With Baking Soda

Bicarbonate soda is a very safe cleaning product to use in the garden. It is non-toxic and will not harm birds and other desirable wildlife. 

Use it as a non-abrasive scouring powder or mix it up with other gentle ingredients to create custom cleaning products.

#1 – Deodorize your compost pile or bin. Add a tablespoonful of baking soda to a gallon of water to pour over your compost, or simply sprinkle the dry powder over the pile and turn it in to help eliminate unpleasant odors. Don’t overdo it, though. Excessive amounts will slow down composting.

#2 – Deodorize your garbage cans. Sprinkle a thick baking soda layer on the can’s bottom to absorb odors.

#3 – Make a simple baking soda and water cleaning spray consisting of 2 tablespoons of baking soda and a quart of water to use when wiping down lawn furniture, gardening equipment, and the like.

#4 – Make a baking soda and liquid castile soap paste for use when scrubbing flowerpots, bird baths and feeders, and more. Allow these items to air dry thoroughly before storing them.

#5 – Make an abrasive scrubbing paste with equal parts salt, baking soda, and warm water.

#6 – Use plain baking soda as a soft scrub powder to clean just about anything safely. [source]

#7 – Clean garden furniture. You can make resin garden furniture almost as good as new with a thorough cleaning using a simple solution consisting of half a cup of baking soda, a tablespoonful of dish soap, and a gallon of very warm water.

Use a gentle scrubbing sponge to scrub the items, and then rinse with the garden hose. For stubborn stains, make a scrubbing paste as described above. 

Use a soft scrub brush or soft scrubbing sponge. Don’t use a wire brush or steel wool (naturally), as this will damage the surface.

Rinse the item and sprinkle baking soda over it to clean outdoor furniture made of webbing material. Allow it to sit for a few minutes and then scrub it off, as shown here.

Video: Use Baking Soda to Clean Patio Furniture

#8 – Clean your walkways and patios. Mix up a mild solution of baking soda and water (2 tablespoons/1 quart, respectively) to wash down your sidewalks, driveway, patios, and other paved surfaces. Tackle tough stains with baking soda and dishwashing detergent paste.

Once you’ve finished scrubbing, clean the whole area with copious amounts of water from the hose. This dilution will help prevent plant damage in the surrounding area.

Although some baking soda can benefit soil and plants, don’t overdo this cleaning routine. Excessive buildup of bicarbonate of soda around your walks and patio could result in plant death in these areas.

#9 – Soak up oil stains in the garage with dry baking soda. Just sprinkle on a thick layer and allow it to sit for 15 minutes or so. Sweep it up and clean up the oil stain with baking soda, salt, and dish soap paste.

#10. Wash and beautify your hands. Baking soda makes an excellent, gentle scrub for grimy garden hands. At its simplest, just pour a bit of the powder into the palm of your hand and scrub away. Use a nail brush to get dirt out from under and around your nails.

For a little more “oomph!” add a few drops of liquid castile soap. If you have sticky sap on your hands, mix baking soda and a few drops of olive oil (or cooking oil, mineral oil, baby oil, or petroleum jelly) in the palm of your hand and scrub your hands. Rinse with very warm water.

As an added advantage, the mild abrasive properties of baking soda will help exfoliate the skin on your hands, leaving them nice and smooth. Be sure to follow up with a good moisturizer, or the skin will feel quite dry very soon.

Precautions When Using Baking Soda In The Garden

  • Use concoctions of baking soda spray on plants carefully. Don’t spray plant parts willy-nilly or use them excessively because buildup can cause damage to your plants.
  • Do a patch test before spraying any solution over your entire garden. Just apply the mixture to a couple of leaves and wait 24 hours before treating your entire crop. If the solution seems to burn the leaves, dilute it and try another patch test. Keep adjusting until you hit the right strength.
  • Protect heating elements, electrical wiring, and metal items from exposure to baking soda, as it can cause corrosion.

What Are The Drawbacks of Using BakinforSoda In The Garden?

Although baking soda can be a very effective tool in your collection of natural gardening techniques, you should not rely upon it entirely.

If overused, its efficacy will dwindle with time. You will soon find yourself using more and more of it with less and less effectiveness.

This is why it’s always a good idea to establish a schedule for sound garden management.

Be sure to properly plant your seeds, seedlings, and grown plant specimens with the right soil, drainage, and sun exposure.

Keep your plants properly pruned for good air circulation. These steps will keep your plants strong and help prevent problems with pests and fungus.

Use baking soda and other natural methods to deter pests and weeds, such as heavy mulching with coarse organic matter, to prevent weed growth and protect your plants’ roots.

Rotate natural garden spray recipes to prevent pests and fungus builds resistance to any single product.

Remember that an ounce of prevention is always worth a pound of cure. Baking soda and other natural garden remedies all work best as preventatives.

If you do not practice good garden management and your plants become heavily infested with pests and fungus, these types of solutions will probably not be of much use to you. 

Consistent care is key to success with all-natural plant care products.

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