Are you surprised or not? Sugar can be used in the garden! We’ve listed 8 uncommon ways to use SUGAR in the garden.
1. Use sugar to clean dirty hands
You can always use hand wash (probably it’s the best option too) or other chemical cleaning product to clean hands after gardening, but do you know sugar is one natural solution to get your hands cleaned easily. Read more on Lifehacker!
- You can also use sugar to wash your face, more of it here.
To clean, use 1 tsp of sugar and little water and wash as normal. This works well for cleaning soiled, greasy and oily hands.
2. Make cut flowers last longer
Adding sugar in the vase can increase the longevity of cut flowers. Just mix a tablespoon of sugar in the vase of water and all done. Sugar nourishes the blossoms and helps them to last longer, however, this solution also promotes the bacterial growth, which can make the water smell bad and negatively impacts the cut flower. To prevent this from happening, add a tablespoon of vinegar to the vase. Head over to Reference.com for more information.
3. Natural trap for pests
Fruit flies and house flies can cause a lot of problems in the home and garden. If you are battling with them in your garden, try this sugar fly trap. This solution also works well for other insects that are attracted to sweet things.
To make this, boil the 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup honey and 2 tablespoons of water in a saucepan over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Dip pieces of kraft or brown packaging paper in the mixture, then hang them to try with a drip pan underneath. Check out the detailed tutorial here.
4. Get rid of nematodes
If the plants in your garden are wilting and dying for no reason, check out their roots for knots that are caused by nematode feeding. You can use the sugar as it encourages the activity of beneficial microorganisms and bacteria that may create a hostile environment for the nematodes. You can also grow marigolds to prevent nematodes!
To get rid of them, sprinkle 5 pounds of sugar for every 250 square feet of garden.
5. Grass stain remover
Got grass stains on your clothes after working in the garden? They can be very challenging to remove but if you have little sugar and water you don’t need to worry.
Take 1/2 cup of sugar in a bowl and add enough warm water to it to make a paste. Apply this mixture on the stain, let it soak for at least half hour, and then wash normally. More of it here.
6. Ant Killer
If you want to get rid of ants, try sugar. Combine 1/2 cup of sugar and 1-1/2 tablespoons Borax and pour it in 1-1/2 cups of warm water. Soak cotton balls in this mixture and place in areas where ants are. Ants love sugar so they’ll surely get these balls and the borax will kill them. Step by step tutorial here.
7. Feed the butterflies, bees, and hummingbird
Found a bee or any other nectar feeding creature? You can help it by feeding a clean solution of sugar water! Read more about this here.
8. Feed Plants
Give your plants extra nutrients with a solution of vinegar, sugar, and water. First, mix 1 tablespoon of vinegar and 1 tablespoon of sugar for every 8 ounces of water. Then feed your plants as needed! Read more on thethriftycouple.com. For the better insight on sugar uses in soil, visit The Telegraph!
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