The next time you pick up groceries, consider adding a bag of table sugar to your cart. While it's commonly used for baking sweet treats, livening up a coffee in the morning, or helping the medicine go down (just a spoonful), table sugar also has alternative uses. Specifically, it can come in handy when working in the garden.
Support Cut Flowers
Before adding sugar to your outdoor garden, take a look around at the plants inside your home. If you have cut flowers sitting in a vase, they may be a perfect candidate for some added sugar.
During harvesting, flowers are often cut before fully blooming. This is done to ensure they have yet to reach their peak bloom and will continue to flower by the time they've found their way to your vase.
A flower's buds require carbohydrates, its energy source, to continue growing. Carbohydrates are stored in the flower's leaves and stem. The problem is that once the flower has been harvested if the plant happens to have a low supply of carbohydrates, it can impact the plant's overall growth. As a result, you may not see full blooms.
A quick and natural fix is sugar! Add it to your flower vase for an essential boost of carbohydrates.
You don't need a lot of sugar; roughly 2 percent, or 4 teaspoons per 1 US quart, will do the trick for most flowers. Be mindful that no two flowers are the same as each one will react differently. Chrysanthemums and China Asters, for example, won't require any sugar water. When in doubt, run a small experiment with one flower first to ensure you're not harming your bouquet.
Note that it's important to add a biocide, like household bleach, along with the sugar solution to eliminate or regulate harmful microorganisms. Using only sugar in your plant's water may lead to the growth of unwanted bacteria and fungi that can slim the flower stems and hinder the absorption of nutrients through the stem. Add ¼ teaspoon of bleach to 1 US quart of your sugar and water solution for optimal results.
Welcomes Beneficial Insects
Insects in your garden are inevitable. Some, such as aphids, can be an unwanted visitor. They feed on plant sap and will wilt or discolor your plants as a result. As an extra inconvenience, aphids typically live on the underside of plant leaves. Their hiding spot can make insecticide sprays less effective as they won't be able to reach and exterminate the aphid properly.
On the bright side, not all insects are pests that will harm your crops. In fact, there are beneficial insects that gardeners often try to attract to their garden thanks to their appetite for aphids. Adult weevil parasitoids, adult hoverflies, and lady beetles, for example, make a great addition to gardens as they are known to be biological controls of these pests.
If you want to add beneficial insects to your garden this season, consider spraying sugar water among your crops. Researchers at Utah State University, have shown that lady beetles are drawn to gardens that incorporate sugar. The study found that female lady beetles who consume sugar will produce more eggs than lady beetles who were denied sugar, which means a garden populated with beneficial insects feasting on the pests that cause harm. Another study by Wageningen University, Department of Plant Sciences, found that lady beetles stayed between 20 to 30 percent longer in gardens with sugar incorporated compared to untreated gardens.
To create the sugar water mixture, dissolve 10 tablespoons of white table sugar into 1 US quart of warm water. Pour the solution into a spray bottle and spray on the leaves of plants. Remember to reapply after each rainfall, as water will dissolve the mixture. If you have an aphid problem, be sure to focus on saturating the plants with infestations specifically. This ensures that the lady beetles are attracted to exactly where you need them.
The sugar water mixture is also a great way to attract pollinators to your garden. Butterflies, bees, and moths are commonly known pollinators, but adult lacewings are another insect that can get the job done. In the same study from researchers at Utah State University that found lady beetles were attracted to sugar-infused gardens, it was proven that adult lacewings were also drawn to the sugar among the plants. As adults, lacewings feed on pollen, honeydew, and nectar. Their larvae, similar to lady beetles, feast on the unwanted aphids. Together, they do their part in keeping your plants pollinated, free of aphids, and looking healthy all season long.
Kills Weeds
From pests that deform your plants to mammals that view your vegetable garden as a free meal, there's always something to protect your plants from. A silent and unwanted guest are weeds.
The definition of a weed is simple: a plant that is not valued where it is growing.
Having one or two weeds pop up in your garden isn't likely to do much damage to surrounding plants. The issue stems from the fact that weeds use the same nutrients as plants, including water and sunlight. Eventually, your healthy plants will suffer and die off if there are too many weeds to compete with.
There are many ways to tackle this issue, but it's best to leave chemicals out. If you're looking for an easier and more natural way to kill weeds, sugar may be an option.
Weeds thrive when soil is rich in nitrogen so, take it away! Sugar has no nitrogen, so by adding it to weeds you force the plant to look other places for the valued nutrient. This method will favor your native plants and foliage.
To use sugar to kill weeds, sprinkle a handful of white table sugar around the base of the unwanted weeds. Be sure to coat the soil thickly. If the soil becomes saturated or after rainfall, you will need to repeat this process, as the sugar will dissolve in water and become ineffective.
Note that this tactic won't work on every weed. It may only be truly effective on herbaceous annual weeds, that is, weeds with flexible green stems and little to no wood.
Controls Nematodes
Nematodes are different from the earthworms you see slugging through the soil. These unsegmented roundworms are very tiny and hard to see with the naked eye.
While some nematodes can be beneficial as they graze on harmful bacteria, plant-parasitic nematodes feed on live plants and can be a nuisance to have in your garden. They can damage a plant's root system, reducing its ability to obtain water and essential nutrients from the soil. As a result, your plants may end up looking yellow, wilted, and even stunted in growth.
If you suspect you have a plant-parasitic nematode problem, you can start by examining your plant's roots. If you notice that the roots of your dying are wilted or knotted, nematodes may be the culprit.
One way to combat pesky nematodes is to apply sugar water to your plant's soil. Start by measuring the square footage of your garden to determine how much sugar you'll need. Calculating 5 pounds of table sugar for every 250 square feet will do the trick here. Dissolve ½ cup of sugar into 1 gallon of warm water and pour this mixture directly on the soil around the plants you're targeting.
In turn, helpful microorganisms will consume the sugar, which increases the amount of organic matter in the soil. This creates an uninhabitable environment for nematodes.
Be mindful that sugar water may not entirely benefit your plant's roots. Discontinue treatment if you notice that your plants continue to wilt or die off, as sugar will impact how your plant absorbs water.
Kills Ants
Having ants in your garden isn't always a bad thing. They're excellent diggers, ensuring your soil is properly aerated. But just because ants can be helpful, doesn't mean you want a garden overtaken with them.
There are many different techniques to remove unwelcome ants from your garden. One quick solution is by using ingredients commonly found in the home. All you need is powdered sugar, baking soda, and a jar lid or a shallow vessel to hold your mixture.
To start, combine ¾ tablespoons each of both powdered sugar and baking soda and mix it together directly in the jar lid. Place the mixture in your garden where ants can easily access it. You can also sprinkle the mixture in various places where you notice ants tend to frequent. Be mindful that if you place it where it can be exposed to the elements, you will have to replace the mixture after rainfall as it will dissolve when wet.
Because the powdered sugar particles are similar in size to baking soda, ants are unable to tell the difference between them and will ingest the mixture. While the powdered sugar will attract the ants, the baking soda will react with the acid in their digestive system, killing the ants.
Some Sweet Ideas
Adding sugar to your plants and gardens might seem unconventional at first but, ultimately, it's an eco-friendly way to promote growth, welcome natural predators and pollinators, and kill off unwanted weeds.
At the very least, if you're growing fruits this year, you'll have some spare sugar in your pantry to make a delicious dessert with, so there's really no losing.
Have you tried adding sugar to your garden? Did you have success? Share your thoughts below!