Beer and gardening might not seem like obvious partners, but using beer can actually provide multiple benefits for plants The yeast, hops and nutrients in beer make it a surprisingly versatile addition to a gardener’s toolkit While moderation is still advisable, a bit of beer can give certain plants a helpful growth spurt.
Let’s explore some of the top vegetables. herbs and flowers that benefit from an occasional beer boost
1. Tomatoes
Tomatoes thrive when given small amounts of beer. The phosphorus and potassium in beer promote larger, tastier tomatoes The yeast also contributes beneficial microorganisms to the soil
How to Use:
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Mix 1 can or bottle beer with 2 gallons water. Feed plants weekly.
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Bury beer cans up to rim near plants. The nutrients will slowly leech into soil.
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Pour a little beer directly on roots every 2-3 weeks.
2. Peppers
Like tomatoes, pepper plants enjoy occasional beer fertilizer. The minerals give them an extra growth spurt. The yeast provides micronutrients.
How to Use:
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Add 1 can flat beer to 5 gallons water. Use to water plants weekly.
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Work a spoonful of beer grounds into soil around each plant.
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Spray plants with mixture of 1 beer to 5 waters monthly.
3. Radishes
Radishes grow quickly anyway, but beer makes them pop up faster and larger. The yeast gives their rapid growth cycle a boost.
How to Use:
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Water seeds and transplants with diluted beer mixture.
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Work beer grounds into soil before planting.
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Side dress growing radishes with a diluted beer drench monthly.
4. Carrots
The phosphorus in beer promotes root growth and development in carrots. More robust roots mean larger, tastier carrots at harvest time.
How to Use:
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Soak carrot seeds in beer for 12-24 hours before planting.
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Pour diluted beer on growing carrots each month.
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Work beer grounds into carrot beds prior to sowing.
5. Onions
Onions are heavy feeders that require lots of phosphorus. Fresh beer provides readily available phosphorus. The sulfur compounds may also deter pests.
How to Use:
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Water sets and plants monthly with 1 beer to 5 water.
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Work beer grounds into soil before planting onion sets.
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Side dress growing onions with diluted beer drench.
6. Celery
Celery’s long growing season gives it time to benefit from multiple beer fertilizations. The minerals spur lush vegetative growth.
How to Use:
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Add beer to your compost pile, then use compost to start plants.
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Water transplants and growing celery with beer weekly.
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Boost plants monthly by burying beer cans near roots.
7. Sweet Corn
Corn is a heavy feeder that quickly depletes soil nutrients. Beer’s readily available minerals give corn a needed mid-season boost.
How to Use:
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Water young plants with diluted beer solution.
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Side dress rows monthly with beer drench.
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Work beer grounds into soil before planting.
While many plants relish occasional beer fertilizer, it’s important to use moderation. Too much alcohol can harm plants and soil life. Dilute any liquid beer treatments at a 5:1 or 10:1 beer to water ratio. Limit beer feeds to once monthly for most plants.
With a little common sense and restraint, beer can be a simple, inexpensive way to give your tomatoes, peppers, root crops and other favorites an extra growth spurt. Relax in your garden with a cold one occasionally, and share a bit with your plants. They’ll thank you with bigger, better yields at harvest time.
Ways Beer Can Help Your Garden Grow
Ladies and gentlemen, spring is almost here. That means ice cream vans will be playing music, people will smell like sunscreen, and you should have a few beers ready. To get the most out of your garden, not just to taste good or feel better.
Yes, those half-drunk beers you find lying around after a BBQ can still be very useful: they can help your lawn grow, and the best part is that they’re completely natural.
That’s because the yeast in beer has some pretty epic superpowers (as if you didn’t already know that). Because of this, homebrewed beer is the best because there is always a thin layer of yeast at the bottom of each bottle. But it can also work with your favorite store-bought beers.
It works like this: the acid in beer is strong enough to kill most garden pests, and the sugar and yeast in your favorite drink are full of good bacteria. Think yeast, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus. Long story short: these nutrients work well as soil microbes to help your lawn thrive.
Don’t believe us? Here are 7 ways to help your garden grow using beer:
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Add Beer To Your Compost
You may already know this, but you can compost a lot of strange things, like chopsticks, vacuum dust, and that gross gunk that builds up in aquariums. It’s crazy. But two of our favourite things to put in your compost are beer and wine. What’s going on is that the ammonia and yeast in it work well together to help the composting process go faster.
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Beer As A Spot Fertiliser
After everything is over, you can show off the pizza oven you bought in Lockdown 2. 0, hopefully you’ll have some bottles that are only half full so you can pour the leftovers into a plastic jug. When you have enough, put this beer mix into a spray bottle. Then, use this homemade solution to cover any brown or bare spots on your lawn. The beer will act as a fertiliser and help any affected grass areas grow back healthier and stronger.
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Beer As A Whole Lawn Fertiliser
If it’s not just patches of your lawn that are a bit weak and thin and brown, but your whole lawn, you can still use beer as an epic fertiliser. That said, beer can attract slugs and snails (which isn’t ideal), so we recommend you dilute your beer with water before you start adding it to your lawn. To do this, you can use that old garden sprayer in the back of your shed, fling it around using a bucket or just pour it out and spread it around using the attachment on your hosepipe. Either way, using beer as a fertiliser will help build up your garden soil.
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Beer To Get Rid of Slugs and Snails
We agree that snails and slugs (mostly snails) are cute and lovely, but we have also seen how badly they can damage your garden, starting with your leafy plants. Slugs and snails can eat everything in your garden, from the green vegetables you’re growing to the herb patch you started. This leaves your garden open to disease. Fill a small dish with beer and set it next to your favorite plants as a trap to stop this from happening.
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Beer As A Fruit Fly Trap
If you grow berries or have a compost pile in your garden, you’ll know the struggle is real. Fruit flies relish those two things until they become a real nuisance. But there is an easy solution: using beer to make a fruit fly trap. Just put the remnants of an old beer and a few drops of dish soap into a jar. Then, put this mixture in places where fruit flies are a big problem. They’ll find the smell irresistible, fly towards it and get trapped.
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Beer Bottles As Watering Globes
We’ve all seen those pricey plant watering bulbs for sale on Facebook or in those annoying Buzzfeed emails we can’t get rid of, but we’ve never bought them because, well, they’re pricey. Thankfully, beer bottles can do the same thing. Simple: take an empty bottle, flip it over, and push it into the soil of your favorite plants until it stands up on its own. Now remove it, fill it with water and place it back in the flower bed / plant pot. The expensive plant watering bulbs work the same way. When the soil around your plant dries out, the beer bottle will let water out to keep the soil moist. What a garden hack.
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Beer Brings in Butterflies
Not only does beer catch bugs, but it can also bring in beautiful and useful pollinators like butterflies, which will help your garden grow and more fruit bloom. Here’s how to attract butterflies from miles around to your garden.
- Take a bowl and put five ripe bananas, one cup of brown cane sugar, and one and a half cups of beer in it.
- Once the bananas are mashed, add the rest of the ingredients and mix them together until you get a thick paste.
- Don’t put this mixture on the ground; instead, put it somewhere high up to keep bugs and other pests away.
- Enjoy seeing butterflies dance in your garden and help your plants grow.
That there is our top tips with 7 Ways Beer Can Help Your Garden Grow!
The Unexpected Benefit of Beer in Plants (Mind Blowing)
FAQ
Is beer good for any plants?
Does beer keep bugs away from plants?
Is beer a good lawn fertilizer?
Is beer good for plants?
️ Yes, giving beer to plants in general is good as it is an excellent source of nutrition. Since beer contains beneficial bacteria, yeast, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus. These nutrients complement each other well, allowing gardens to thrive and make a great addition to your garden. Beer and wine are excellent composting materials.
Is drinking ginger beer beneficial for health?
Ginger beer can have health benefits, especially if it is prepared with natural ginger extract, which provides bioactive compounds and nutrients that improve health.
Is dark beer good for plants?
Fun fact: Dark beer has more antioxidants, helping your body fight against free radicals. The major nutrients vital for plant growth are: Phosphorus (P): Vital for root development and energy transfer from sunlight to the plant, phosphorus contributes to robust and healthy root systems.
Why is stale beer good for plants?
Stale beer has yeast, proteins, sugars and other beneficial nutrients like potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and more. Beer also has carbohydrates which feed the microbes in the soil, who in turn feed the plants. Plus after sitting out overnight the alcohol has evaporated.
Can beer boost plant growth?
To harness beer’s nourishing properties and ability to boost plant growth, you can: Incorporate beer into your watering routine: Beer can be a powerful organic fertilizer if used properly. Just mix beer with water and apply it to your plants evenly with a spray bottle (or a spray attachment on your garden hose).
Is Beer Bad for plants?
Too much beer can actually be harmful to plants, so be sure to use it sparingly. Additionally, it’s always a good idea to do some research on the specific plants in your garden to determine whether or not beer is a good addition for them. 3. Use beer as a whole lawn and garden fertilizer