Who said Coca-Cola was bad for you? Gardening experts reveal that this sugary drink can actually be incredibly beneficial for helping your plants grow strong and healthy
If you’re looking to spruce up your garden in time for summer, then don’t skip this handy hack. According to gardening experts, Coca-Cola is a great way to help your plants grow.
As we come into spring, the sun is shining, the birds are chirping and the weather is beginning to warm up. Unsurprisingly, more of us are getting outside into our gardens. In fact, according to the Royal Horticultural Society, an estimated 30 million Brits plan on doing a spot of gardening this year.
There are a multitude of benefits to getting outside into your garden. Not only does it bring you close to nature, being out in the sun allows you to soak up some much needed vitamin D.
READ MORE: Gardeners told to place lemons in soil immediately this spring
Being outside can boost your immune system and physical health, too. Given that gardening can be quite physically intensive, it allows you to fit a bit of exercise into your daily routine.
Some of the most popular plants to grow in the UK include fruit and vegetables, like tomatoes, strawberries and broad beans. Many people also enjoy growing flowers like rhododendrons and azaleas.
The one issue? After a long winter, many of us find that our lawns are in need of some TLC. This is because the cold weather, harsh winds and heavy rains cause problems like soil erosion.
Weeds also pose a common issue. Most of us aren’t regularly maintaining our gardens during the long winter months, which means they can become overrun by dandelions, couch grass and buttercups.
Of course, weeds aren’t necessarily visually unpleasant. But when they run amok in your garden, they can leach nutrients from the soil, in turn making it harder for your plants to grow.
You can give your soil a boost by using things like compost and vegetable scraps. However, if you don’t have these to hand, gardening experts also recommend using Coke.
Experts at House Digest explain: “The reason cola helps azaleas grow is because of its genetic makeup: the beverage contains elements like potassium, carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, sulfur, and sodium.” This is because these elements all work together to make your plants healthy.
However, you should be mindful of how much cola you’re giving your plants – otherwise you could risk damaging them. They continue: “This isn’t something you ought to be doing on a daily basis. At most, you should give your azaleas a cola bath every once in a while.”
While these nutrients are good for plants in small doses, giving them too much can be damaging. An overdose of nutrients can cause leaf wilting, stunted growth and even death.