Baking Soda in Fertilizer: Why Use It?

The many benefits of baking soda on plants are well established. So it’s no surprise that this white powder is the latest trend for amateur gardeners. The web is full of tutorial videos explaining how to use them in the garden. But what about fertilizer? Can you add baking soda to compost? for what What are the benefits?

Why put baking soda in fertilizer?

Simple, economical and ecological, composting offers many advantages. However, maintaining compost is not the easiest task, especially when you are just starting out. Compost has a bad smell, flies, snails or other insects, material that is too acidic… waste in your bin can cause many inconveniences. This is why it is important to know what to put in it. And no, this time, we won’t be talking about the types of organic matter to add (or not). It would rather be a question of your compost’s best friend. A magical ingredient that you must put in your canister. We explain why!

To encourage the decomposition of your compost pile

Think you’ve done everything, but your compost isn’t decomposing? Here’s a quick and easy recipe for making your own homemade compost activator:

1. Place a 20 liter bucket on solid ground. Choose buckets that do not contain chemicals or harmful materials. Clean it well before using it.
2. Pour 180 ml of beer into the container. Beer contains yeast that speeds up the decomposition process in compost. Additionally, you can alter the beer by adding active dry yeast.
3. Add ½ cup of ammonia to the beer and watch the reaction. Ammonia provides an important supply of nitrogen. It also helps in speeding up the decomposition of compost material.
4. Pour 8 liters of hot water into the mixture and mix everything together.
5. Add 200 grams of baking soda to the mixture. These contain extra sugars that help feed the microbes during the decomposition process.
6. Pour the mixture into a garden sprayer.
7. Spray the solution onto the compost pile. Using a shovel, mix the pile thoroughly to ensure that the homemade compost catalyst gets into all corners.
8. When the heat reaches the first peak in temperature, it will kill the yeast, so reapply the mixture to your compost.

To neutralize the bad smell in the bin

Why does your compost smell bad? We have often said that compost does not smell if it is done well. Bad odors develop only when certain foods decompose too slowly or the compost is too wet. Then sprinkle some baking soda on it to fight the odor. However, be careful with the dosage! You should not overuse it, as this risks killing the good bacteria in the tank as well as the earthworms.

To combat rodents and unwanted pests in manure

When you shake your compost pile, you come face-to-face with a good number of small creatures: slugs, snails, flies, aphids, worms, larvae, voles, and even rats and mice. And while the presence of some like snails and flies is a sign of good health, rats can be a concern. A real pest ally in the garden, rely on baking soda to repel pests from your compost bin. This home product is perfect for getting rid of mice and rats. The right move? Sprinkle it around your compost bin to keep them out.

To control the acidity of organic matter

Did you know ? Adding a little baking soda directly to the compost pile prevents it from becoming too acidic. Pour 1 to 2 tablespoons and that’s it. This same tip also works if the soil in your garden is acidic. To check, put some soil in a plate, then sprinkle some baking soda. If it bubbles, it means it is acidic.