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When a small piece of soap is left behind while using it in the wash basin or bathroom of the house, we often consider it useless and throw it in the dustbin. But do you know that these small leftover pieces of soap (Soap Scraps) can become a magical solution for the plants in your home garden and balcony? In this era of zero-waste and eco-friendly gardening, you can not only protect plants from harmful insects with waste soap bars, but can also increase the greenery and shine of your garden manifold.
If you also want to see your plants blooming and shining without expensive chemicals, then try these remedies made from leftover bar of soap. 5 Smart and Easy Gardening Hacks Must try:
Rose, hibiscus, chilli and tomato plants are often attacked by white mealybugs, aphids and spider mites, which suck the juice of the leaves and dry up the plant.
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Hacks: Grate the remaining bar of soap or cut it into small pieces and dissolve it well in 1 liter of lukewarm water.
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Method of use: Fill this mild soap solution in a spray bottle and spray it thoroughly on the affected leaves and stems. Soap suds break the outer protective covering of soft bodied insects and kill them naturally.
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Caution: Be careful not to spray in strong sunlight; Spray only in the morning or evening.
Often the beautiful flowers, green vegetables or fruits grown in the garden are destroyed by squirrels, rats and stray animals by gnawing them.
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Hacks: Tie the remaining pieces of strongly scented bar of soap (like mint, neem or herbal soap) in a thin mesh bag or old sock.
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Method of use: Hang these bundles near the pots, on the fencing of the beds or on the branches of plants. Due to the pungent and unfamiliar smell of soap, animals and rats avoid coming near the plants.
Snails/Slugs and ants crawling around the pots during rainy or humid season cause huge damage to the roots and leaves of the plants.
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Hacks: Rub the remaining slightly moist bar of soap in a line on the outer edges of the pot, the legs of the stand and the boundaries of the beds.
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Benefit: The slippery and alkaline layer of soap acts as a natural Lakshman Rekha. Snails and ants are unable to cross this dry layer and the plants remain safe.
Gardening tools like spuds, pruners, scissors and trowels get rusted or jammed frequently due to frequent exposure to wet soil.
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Hacks: After gardening, wash and dry your iron and steel tools, then rub the remaining dry bar of soap on the blades and hinges of the tools.
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Benefit: Soap forms a thin, moisture-resistant protective layer on the metal surface, preventing tools from rusting and soil from sticking to them the next time you use them.
While weeding the pots or pruning the plants, black soil and dirt gets deposited deep inside the finger nails, which is very difficult to clean later.
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Hacks: Just before starting the clay work, scrape your nails inward on the slightly damp bar of soap remaining, so that some of the soap fills the empty gap of the nails.
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Benefit: This leaves no room for soil to enter the nails. When you wash your hands after completing gardening, the soap will dissolve immediately with water and your nails will be completely clean and shiny without any extra rubbing.