Fighting weeds with baking soda: Effective, but not always allowed

Created: 07/04/2022, 02:00 p.m

By: Ines Alms

Baking soda is said to help against many things – including weeds.

It does that too, but the use of the natural remedy is not possible without hesitation.

Munich – Soda is a broad term.

A distinction is made between baking soda and caustic soda.

While the use of the latter is often prohibited, baking soda is a useful aphid and weed control.

And definitely worth trying to get the wild growth in the garden under control.

Fighting weeds with baking soda: Effective, but not always allowed

Whether it is weed is mostly in the eye of the beholder.

(Iconic image) © Karina Hessland/Imago

Baking soda or baking soda, chemically sodium bicarbonate, was already used by grandmothers in the kitchen and at home to clean or neutralize odors.

Washing soda, on the other hand, more precisely sodium carbonate, is a chemically different substance and much more aggressive in its effect in the house and garden.

When combined with water or caustic soda, it is corrosive to the skin and eyes.

So can you use it to remove weeds?

Since the use of caustic soda also has serious consequences for the environment and groundwater, its use on sidewalks, sidewalks, driveways, terraces and other sealed surfaces is prohibited and will be punished with a fine.

This also applies to vinegar, salt or citric acid.

In the garden, on lawns and beds, baking soda is a permitted and proven remedy against pests such as aphids and fungal diseases on plants such as powdery mildew or gray rot.

It is a suitable home remedy for removing moss and green growth from the terrace, but it also helps against weeds in general.

However, it only develops its effect in combination with water.

There are two ways to do this:

• Direct application as a powder: Wet the plant with water and sprinkle the baking soda directly on it.

  This method is suitable for single plants, but not suitable for large-scale use, as it would require too much baking soda.

• A baking soda spray solution: Boil one tablespoon of baking soda (about ten grams) with one liter of water and allow to cool.

  Stir the solution, fill it into a spray bottle and spray the plants thoroughly several times, usually at least three times, from a distance.

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The effect of baking soda is based on the fact that the starch it contains forms a kind of paste with water, which clogs the pores of the plants and suffocates them, so to speak.

It also increases the pH of the soil.

If this is not desired, for example in the vicinity of plants such as rhododendrons or hydrangeas that prefer acidic soil, this should be considered before application.