6 yard maintenance hacks that are not effective
Lawn and yard maintenance is a hands-on task. You must tend to the plants and ensure essential tasks like mowing, weed removal, and trimming are done regularly. That’s one of the reasons why homeowners are always looking for hacks and tips to save money and effort. But, some gardening hacks found on popular social media platforms claiming to be the best for lawn maintenance are the ones to avoid. Here are six such examples.
Using eggshell as a plant base
It’s vital to be conscious of environmental issues and find ways to repurpose waste material that accumulates in the kitchen. Eggshells, for example, are the most commonly thrown-out trash items. And there is a good chance you’ve already come across this gardening tip to use empty eggshells as a base for your new plant saplings. Rumor has it that the egg will provide all the necessary nutrition for the saplings to quickly sprout and break through the shell once it starts growing. However, the roots of the saplings mature even before they can break through the eggshell. So essentially, using the eggshell means you’ve restricted its growth and will have a decomposed sapling that’s been deprived of ground nutrition. The hack only works to stabilize the roots, but it certainly does not work when it comes to the sapling actually maturing into a full-size plant.
Substituting pest repellent for bar soap
This is most definitely one of the most disappointing hacks you’ll come across posted on social media. Whoever said that using a bar of soap works as a pest repellent was sadly mistaken. Instead, all you are doing is exposing the soil to chemicals, synthetic dyes, and artificial fragrances that seep into the soil as the bar of soap melts. Toxins from the plant can easily damage the roots of healthy saplings and render the soil inert due to its chemical composition. This type of pest control does not work.
Using marigold as an insect repellent
Yes, the marigold flower does have some natural qualities that make it an organic insect repellent. Its natural scent keeps common pests like mosquitos and cabbage worms away to some extent. However, the same scents will also attract unwanted insects that prefer this fragrance. This may force you to plant a bunch of extra marigolds to make this gardening hack work. The end result may only lead to a waste of time, money, and a lot of water.
Banana peel as a fertilizer substitute
Bananas contain phosphorus, potassium, and nitrogen, which are some of the top nutrients that plants need for growth and survival. However, this banana hack that you may have come across on social media does not serve as a viable substitute for organic fertilizers. The hack is simple, all you need to do is chop up some banana peels and soak them in a jar of water to create a liquid fertilizer of sorts. But you’d actually need a couple of gallons of this brew for the hack to be remotely effective. Even if you go a step further by creating a mixture of banana and other fruit peels to decompose, the hack is not very good.
Using vinegar remedies for weeds
Weeds can be a real nuisance if you don’t have the time to trim and prune the overgrowths. Over the years, the concoctions suggested as home remedies to eliminate weeds are also quite bizarre. One such remedy involves the use of vinegar sprayed over the weeds. While vinegar is a potent solution that deters weeds from spreading, you’ll also end up damaging small plants and patches of grass in the spray area. It is extremely difficult to spray vinegar accurately just over the weeds as these overgrowths generally grow over healthy plants and grass. So don’t try this hack; instead, invest in a professional-grade herbicide designed to specifically target only weeds.
Mowing the grass too short
Trimming everything down to the bare roots is never a solution. In fact, if you shear down the grass more than one-third of its length, more damage is done as you will be cutting off the part critical for natural photosynthesis. The remainder of the top grass portion simply starves and decomposes, exposing the roots. Mowing the grass too short also allows the weeds to grow taller as they grow faster compared to other types of vegetation.
