30 Amazing Vinegar Uses in the Garden

Vinegar has myriads of uses in the kitchen, but it can also do miracles in the garden. Hard to believe? Well, take a look at these Vinegar Uses in the Garden!

Vinegar is a natural product and has hundreds of uses in the home. But do you know it can make gardening easier for you? Have a look at the best Vinegar Uses in the Garden that you must have never heard of before.

Check out some amazing Vinegar fertilizer recipes here

Vinegar Uses in the Garden

1. Clean Clay Pots

As these pots age, they absorb calcium, minerals, and salts from water and fertilizers, all making them look ugly. You can clean them easily using vinegar and water solution.

2. Remove Weeds on Walls, Walkways, and Driveway

Using vinegar is a great way to eliminate weeds and grass that pop up on the walls of your garden or from the crevices of the walkway and sidewalk. To kill them, simply spray the place with pure white vinegar or pour some over them.

3. Get Rid of Ants

Vinegar is very effective in getting rid of ants. To repel ants, mix equal amounts of water and vinegar (either white or apple cider) and spray the solution on the ant hills in your garden.

See effective more ideas to repel ants here

4. Keep Animals Away from the Garden

Many animals, including common garden destroyers like rodents, moles, cats, dogs, rabbits, and deer, loathe the strong scent of vinegar.

You can keep out these unwanted visitors from the garden by soaking several old clothes in white vinegar and placing them on stakes around your garden where they usually come most.

Resoak the clothes about every 6-7 days regularly for better results.

5. Extend the Life of Cut Flowers

You can use vinegar to extend the life of cut flowers: Add one or two tablespoons of white vinegar and a teaspoon of sugar per liter of water.

6. Kill Weeds

Vinegar is a weed killer and can be used for effective weed control. Spraying it kills weeds within 2-3 days after application. Here is how to kill weeds using vinegar.

7. Vinegar Garden Insect Spray

To create a vinegar spray that works on garden insects, combine three parts of water with 1/2 part of vinegar in a spray bottle and add half a teaspoon of liquid dishwashing soap. Shake the spray bottle to mix the contents thoroughly before use in the garden. You can increase the quantity of vinegar up to one part to increase the efficacy of this vinegar insect spray.

8. Deter Fruit Flies

Save your fruit crops from the fruit flies, and make a bait using vinegar. For this, you’ll need a cup of water, half a cup of apple cider vinegar, 1/4 cup of sugar, and 1 tbsp of molasses. Mix it all 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 them.

9. Make Acid Loving Plants Happy

Keep the acid-loving plants such as rhododendrons, gardenias, or azaleas happy with vinegar. Although its effect is temporary, you can give a quick acid boost to plants with vinegar.

Mix a cup of white vinegar to a gallon of water and water acid-loving plants with this solution.

10. Clean Rust from Garden Tools

Vinegar can be used to make the garden tools rust-free. Just spray or soak the tools in undiluted vinegar and leave them for a few minutes and then rinse and clean the tool.

11. Save Plants from Fungus

You can protect the plants suffering from fungus and mold; the vinegar fungicide recipe is simple and easy–Add 2 teaspoons of vinegar to brewed chamomile tea and spray this on the affected plants in your garden. It’s safe and organic!

Alternatively, you can also add 1 tablespoon of white or apple vinegar to a gallon of water and spray it on infected parts.

12. Kill Slugs and Snails

Of many uses of vinegar, this one is getting popular among gardeners. You can kill snails and slugs with the help of vinegar as it contains acetic acid–it works. Just spray it directly on them and on the areas where you spot them but beware not to soak your plants.

13. Facilitate Germination

To facilitate germination, soak the seeds overnight in water and vinegar solution. Don’t pour too much vinegar, as adding just a few drops of white vinegar will do the trick. Not only will the seeds germinate quickly, but the probability of germination will also increase.

Learn more about how vinegar can increase seed germination here

14. Outdoor Furniture Cleaning

Outdoor furniture is more susceptible to degradation, damage, and buildup compared to the one indoors. After all, it’s exposed to all the adverse conditions like rain, frost, sun, dust, and whatnot!

You can save the time and effort that scrubbing will take by wiping the furniture with a cloth soaked in vinegar to clean it. Vinegar is an effective cleanser that gets rid of the buildup and germs simultaneously. For best results, do this regularly.

15. Clean Birdbaths

Not keeping the birdbaths clean can turn your act of kindness into a disaster. The water might contaminate by harmful pathogens, which severely affect the health of the bird.

Weekly scrubbing with white vinegar keeps the birdbath in optimum condition and good as new. Also, it keeps germs, unwanted odors, and algae growth at bay.

16. Remove Water Lines

The formation of water lines on old vases is a common occurrence that diminishes the beauty of the otherwise beautiful vase. It can be a glass vase or a vintage glass container that’s not been cleaned in a long time. Hence mineral deposits form white lines or film.

Take a half tablespoon of salt and make its paste by adding an equal quantity of white vinegar to it. Rub this paste gently on the vase and leave it undisturbed for around 10-15 minutes. Wipe it clean with a paper towel, sponge, or bottle brush. It’s that simple!

17. Get Rid of Berry Stains

Harvesting berries take a toll on the hands as they get stained. If you got a berry stain on your hands, you already know how hard it can become to clean up that stain.

Use distilled white vinegar to wash hands as that’ll get rid of the berry stains quickly and gently without making the skin dry, dull, and bruised.

18. Deter Snakes

As you already know, white vinegar has a pungent odor, and snakes abhor it due to this. The best way to apply is to spray a white vinegar solution on the perimeter of your garden and especially on any entrances snakes can find into your property. This trick is useful when you have to do something quickly to ward off the snake.

19. Refresh Wilted Harvest

If your leafy greens have been lying around for some time and start to wilt away after harvest, mix cold water and 2 teaspoons of vinegar and toss the vegetables and leafy greens in that. Leave for a couple of hours and watch them perk right up.

20. Make Your Alkaline Soil Neutral

Most of the plants grow in neutral soil, so if your soil is alkaline, try this hack. Add 2-6 tablespoons of plain vinegar to a gallon of water. The exact quantity depends upon the result you’ll get after testing the water using a pH meter. Once you successfully acidify your water, pour it into a watering can and water the plants.

Note: You can not do this regularly as too much vinegar can harm the plants.

21. Run a Soil Test

Do you want to check the soil in your garden? Whether it’s acidic or alkaline? Here’s one easy hack with vinegar–Run a quick test by putting a little soil in a container and adding half a cup of vinegar to it. If you can see the vinegar is forming bubbles, the soil is alkaline. It happens because vinegar is too acidic in nature.

Want to improve your garden soil? Read this

22. Remove Calcium Buildup from Garden Bricks and Concrete

Most gardeners know how cleaning up the bricks could be tricky without scraping off a layer. But, vinegar is an easy, natural way to get rid of the calcium and lime deposits from garden bricks and concrete.

You can add one cup of white vinegar to every gallon of water in a bucket and then dip a scrubbing brush to scrub the spot. After the area is clean, wash away the calcium and lime.

23. Treat a Pond

Clean a pond well before you add plants and fish in it or even think of taking a dip (if you wish). To sanitize the pond, add one gallon of white distilled vinegar to every 200 gallons of water. Leave the added vinegar in the pond water for 3-4 days. Then, drain it all out and wash thoroughly for a cleaner pond.

24. Turn Pink Hydrangeas Blue!

The acidity of the vinegar can turn your pink hydrangeas into the blue. Just add half to one cup of white vinegar in every one gallon of water you add to dilute it and pour it on around your hydrangeas. You can do this occasionally, but beware, this trick is not for regular use!

Want to see more ways to change hydrangea colors? Click here

25. Catch Moths

Tiny moth larvae are capable of consuming at least one leaf a day from their favorite plants. Place a mixture of 1 part molasses and 2 parts white distilled vinegar in a tin container and hang on a tree to catch moths.

26. Clean Mirrors in Greenhouse and Garden

Glasses in the greenhouse and those beautiful mirrors installed in your garden tend to get stains and dust quite quickly.

Mix 1/4 cup white vinegar, 1 cup water, 2-3 drops of dawn dish soap, and spray directly on the glass. Wipe off the dirt easily with a soft cloth or dry paper towels.

Discover some of the best dawn dish soap uses in the garden here

27. Clean Paintbrushes

If you are spending time painting your planters or any other item in your garden but slacking off to clean the brushes after, do this–let the paint brushes sit in the hot vinegar for 30 minutes. Rinse well with water afterward.

28. Heal Cuts

If you’ve got a small cut or wound from working in the garden, you can use vinegar to heal it. Soak clean gauze in a mix of 1 tablespoon of plain white vinegar and 1 cup of boiled water. Squeeze out the excess liquid from the gauze and place it over the wound for 5-10 minutes.

29. Get Rid of Poison Ivy

Poison ivy can ruin your garden and also cause allergies to you and your pets. If you’re planning to remove this plant from your garden, make a spray by adding 1 cup of white vinegar with 2 teaspoons salt and 3 spoons of dawn dish soap.

30. Get Rid of Tree Sap

Tree sap often sticks on the skin while trimming plants and trees, and thankfully, you can clear up the messy hands with the help of vinegar. Soak a cloth with vinegar and rub it vigorously against the tree sap. Repeat the process if necessary.