Gardening: 9 Secret Ingredients That Can Make Your Plants Grow Rapidly

The ingredients we are about to list are common pantry ingredients that most people overlook but are bound to transform your garden within a short period of time. They are listed below.

1. Baking soda: It is one of the most versatile pantry ingredients, but not many are aware that when you sprinkle it on the soil surface, it will act like a fertilizer for your geraniums, coneflowers, daylilies, and clematis, making them bloom faster than you can imagine. This is because baking soda is alkaline, and those flowers thrive in alkaline soil.
   

   

2. Cream of Tartar: Everyone hates seeing ants crawling around the dining table. If you’re not interested in using chemicals to keep them away, then cream of tartar should be an option for you. All you have to do is sprinkle a little on the perimeter of the table or along whatever path the ants use.
3. Cayenne Pepper: This can be used to repel  squirrels that dig up your bulbs. Simply sprinkle cayenne pepper around your bulb gardens. You can do this again if the squirrels return.
   

   

4. Vinegar: White Vinegar can help you get rid of unwanted algae. Just spray it with full-strength distilled white vinegar which is yet another versatile pantry ingredient. It can also be used to turn your pink hydrangeas blue because when applied to the soil, it becomes acidic.
5. Liquid Dish Soap: You can get rid of  Japanese beetles by hand-picking them off your plants and drowning them in a mixture of water and dishwashing soap.
   

   

6. Baking Soda for Tomatoes: Baking soda infused soil is more alkaline and this will make the tomatoes you grow on them much more sweeter. To grow these kinds of tomatoes, sprinkle baking soda on the surface of your soil in your tomato garden.
7. Olive Oil: You can add olive oil onto the cutting and digging surfaces of your garden tools, as well as on your lawn mower blades as it can repel dirt and rust, making it easier to clean them next time.
   

   

8. Baking Soda to Fight Fungus: To be clear baking soda doesn’t kill fungus, however its alkalinity creates an environment that is toxic to fungal growth. To use it for this, stir a teaspoon of baking soda into a liter of water and spray the leaves of your fungus-prone plants.
9. Coffee Grounds: These can attract earthworms and microorganisms — both of which make your soil healthier and more fertile.