Translated by Nick R
Around the world, few people don’t like soda drinks, much less cola. Although they are not the most nutritious or healthy drinks, they do offer many benefits to the garden, as well other functions such as tools cleaner.
These drinks are very easy and economical to obtain. That is why, on this occasion, I want to talk to you about the uses you can give to Coca-Cola or any other cola drink in your garden.
We’ll start with something very important, the use of this product as an insecticide and repellent for those annoying pests. Then we’ll talk about its function as a homemade fertilizer for plant growth.
Finally, I’ll tell you about its function as a compost accelerator and some other uses it can have for the garden. So stay tuned because I’ll give you some incredible facts about Coca-Cola and its role in the garden.
Table of Contents
How to use Coca-Cola in the garden?
I know that at this point you must be wondering if actually using these fizzy drinks helps in the garden. The answer is yes, for example, it’s a technique whose use has been very noticeable in India.
There, farmers use these cola drinks to protect several crops, including rice, from pests. They choose this option because it’s much cheaper than other pesticides and yet has the same result.
But what makes Coca-Cola effective against pests? Some components of this beverage, such as sugar, carbohydrates and phosphoric acid, prevent the appearance of pests while providing nutrients to the plant.
However, this product must be used properly or it could affect the plant. And this is obviously not what we want. Therefore, I’ll show you how you can apply cola drink to your plants as an insecticide and repellent. In addition to other important uses, you can give to this product in the garden.
Coca-Cola as an insecticide and insect repellent
With Coca-Cola, you can eliminate mealybugs, whiteflies, aphids, powdery mildew, downy mildew, and red spider mite, among other pests. In addition, it’ll work for your garden and vegetable garden plants.
You can test it on a branch of the plant you want to treat to ensure that it’ll work.
You must keep in mind that it doesn’t work if you apply it only once, be consistent when using this and other types of homemade insecticides. By doing this, you can make sure that the pests will go away and your plants won’t suffer.
You should use a diffuser, water, and Coca-Cola. The first thing you should do is remove the gas from the drink. You pour a little into a glass and with the help of a folded napkin, you remove all the gas. You should dip the napkin as if it were a tea bag and move it around until the drink stops foaming.
Once this process is done, mix the cola drink with the water. The measures can be ¼ cup of Coca-Cola and 1 cup of water. Finally, you add this mixture to the water diffuser so that it can be applied to the plants.
You should spray the mixture both in front and behind the affected leaves, this is where the pests commonly hide. This process should be done at dusk when the sunlight is not at its maximum splendor so that it can act during the night.
You can use it for a week or until the pest is completely gone from your plant. The wonderful thing about this is that it’ll also work as a repellent, and because of the nutrients that Coca-Cola provides, it’ll be almost immune to a new infestation.
Another way to use this fantastic product is as a slug trap. All you have to do is pour the product in a shallow container and leave it in the garden or the place where you have your plants overnight.
The drink’s sugar will attract slugs, including ants and wasps which will die by drowning in the product’s acids. As I mentioned before, these are components included in this drink.
Coca-Cola as fertilizer
If you are of those who have your plants indoors or in pots, you surely know that the use of fertilizers is essential. What you may expect is that Coca-Cola works as well. The important thing here is the preparation it must have before being used.
The first step is to remove the gas from the drink with the napkin, just as I mentioned before. You’ll also mix it with water, but this time the proportions of each element are a little different. You must follow the recommendations in the letter to avoid damaging the plant.
In the container in which you can measure the amount of water and Coca-Cola, you’ll add: 1 part of the drink and 10 parts of water. In this way, the product will be very well diluted and perfect to apply to the plant’s soil.
Once you have the mixture ready, transfer it to the watering can with which you water the plants. The frequency and season of application will depend on the characteristics and conditions of the plants.
Coca-Cola as a compost accelerator
If you use composting with organic residues, Coca-Cola will become your best ally in this process.
Composts can be a bit slow and take up to 1 year to be used. However, using cola drinks, it can be up to a month and a half to two months for these wastes to decompose and be available. This is due to the beverage’s phosphoric acid, which is a component used for compost.
In addition, the sugars in this product serve as a food source for beneficial microorganisms living in the compost. Now, the application frequency is every 10 days until the composting is complete.
As the compost is made up of wet and dry layers of waste, you’ll add the Coca-Cola when putting a new dry layer. You can pour the product directly from its original container or dilute it with some water.
Once you apply the drink, keep the normal care of the compost and, as I said before, add the product again after 10 days. When you use the compost on the plants, the nutrients that Coca-Cola gave to the microorganisms will be preserved. it’ll do wonders for your plants.
Other uses of Coca-Cola in your garden
As I mentioned at the beginning of the blog, there are other uses you can give this product in your garden. So I’ll tell you a little about them.
Coca-cola to treat insect bites
Maybe it had happened to you that when having a nice time in the garden and working with your plants, you get bitten by a mosquito. This can be annoying, but you can use Coca-Cola to alleviate this little problem. Simply apply a few drops of the drink to the affected area and rub with your fingers. The acid in it’ll break down the insect’s saliva or venom.
Coca-cola can as an irrigation system
In this case, we won’t use the drink as such, but the container. In another blog, I talk about the types of irrigation that you can use in your garden and one of them is by diffusion. The sprinkler of this system can be fixed and has a range of 1 to 7 m distance.
You can save a little money by using the bottle as a sprinkler for this system while achieving the same result and reusing the container. All you have to do is drill a few holes in the bottle and connect a hose to it so that the water can reach it under pressure.
Another way to use the bottle is to make a homemade watering can. For this option, you just have to make a couple of holes in the container lid, add water and use.
Coca-cola to clean garden tools and accessories
I know it has happened to you that your scissors, rake, other tools or some garden furniture get full of rust. You may use various products without getting them properly cleaned. But that’s over, with Coca-Cola you can easily remove this annoying rust.
To clean the tools, you just need to fill a large container with the liquid, pour them into it and leave them there overnight. The next day, take them out of the container and dry them with a cloth, you’ll see how quickly all the rust will come out.
And for the furniture, you’ll only have to take a rag and soak it in the drink. Then you pass it all over the furniture wetting the affected areas. Finally, dry well with another cloth and that’s it. Without much effort, you’ll be able to clean all your garden tools.
We've arrived at the end of this interesting blog about the uses of cola drinks for the garden. I hope it has been helpful and that you can apply what you have learned to your garden. Also, share it with your family and friends who have an orchard or garden. I know they'll love it.