Gardening work is sometimes inexpensive at all, especially when you use natural gardening methods. For instance, banana and citrus fruit peels can be used to make garden mulch or compost. These are all organic. They not only do goods to your garden soil and plants but are also friendly to the environment. We wrote an article about the uses of cinnamon in your garden and it has still raised the concern of gardeners and garden owners. This brings us motivation to write more to give you handy tips.
This post is about 10 amazing uses of beer in your garden. It sounds weird but actually works. Add to your compost, repel slugs and snails, trap flying insects, keep mosquitoes away… this beverage does an excellent job. If you prefer natural gardening methods, you should give beer a chance to show off its ability in your garden. By knowing these, you also don’t need to throw all leftover (or stale) beer after parties or gatherings. Ready to apply these for your garden?
#1 Keeps Mosquitoes Away
Beer can help in keeping mosquitoes around you away. All you have to do is to mix stale beer and mouthwash in equal measures. Add 2 spoons of Epsom salt and pour the solution in a spray bottle and spray it in your garden. The solution will remain potent for up to 2 months.
#2 Attracts Butterflies and Bees
Beer can be used to attract valuable pollinators like bees and butterflies to your garden. Just pour beer in a pan and place it in your garden. The smell of it will lure bees and butterflies from miles away!
#3 A Great Compost Starter
Beer is an excellent additive for your compost. It can improve the fertility of compost and return those nutrients to the soil. Added to the compost, beer also helps increase the rate of decomposition.
#4 Repel Slugs And Snails
Do you know that beer can attract slugs and snails? To eradicate these pests out of your garden, you can install a jar filled with stale beer and bury it up to its rim in a place where you have noticed them. Slugs and snails will slip and fall in the jar. Change the stale beer when it gets filled with them. Easy, right?
#5 Promotes Lush Grass
You can use beer to rectify brown patches on your lawn grass. Just pour beer in a spray bottle and spray it on the patches. The fermented sugar in beer will feed your grass, and its acidic nature will kill any fungi or pests causing brown spots.
#6 A Fertilizer
Stale beer can be used to water plants to enrich the soil. Combine one part of beer, one part of soda with one part of water, stir to dissolve, and use this solution to water the plants occasionally. Using beer can be expensive, so stale beer is a good choice.
#7 Trap Flying Insects
Wasps and fruit flies are common insects found in your garden. They annoy your plants. To deal with this, you can create a mini trap with beer. Here is how to make it: pour the stale beer one third in the cup and add 1 tablespoon of dish soap in it. Cover it with plastic and make some holes in it. The smell will attract the insects and they’ll fall into the cup. Change the solution when the cup gets filled with insects.
#8 Polish Garden Tools
It’s great to use beer to clean up rust from the old garden tools. Here is how to do it: pour beer in a spray bottle and spray it on the rusted tools. Let it sit for 15-20 minutes and then wipe them off with a cloth.
#9 Eliminate Unwanted Bugs
Bugs in your garden bother you? Don’t worry! The beer will come to your rescue. All you need to do is to mash 4-5 overripe bananas and mix with 1 cup of brown sugar. Add in 1 cup of beer and make a thick paste. Transfer it in a deep pot and place it at the spot where bugs frequent the most and you’ll trap them in no time.
#10 Polish Metal Pots and Accessories
Aside from polishing garden tools, beers can also polish metal pots and accessories. Simply pour beer in a spray bottle and spray it in on the pots. Let it sit for 15-20 mins and rub with a clean piece of cloth. Easy, right?