Apple cider vinegar..

[Vorguen]

Hello, I have heard in many places that apple cider vinegar is a good organic way to treat and get rid of bugs and deter pests... is this good and safe to use in your garden? I know it won't harm you, but will it harm your plants?

thanks

[Bobberman]

Very dilute or you will kill everything! I would only use a teaspoon per quart of water! I would put garlic in the blender with water and strain it and add the teaspoon of vinegar and use that!

[rainbowgardener]

Yes, Bobberman is right. Vinegar (full strength) is an herbicide! Good for getting rid of weeds, but not something you want to put on your plants.

[Vorguen]

Ugh that stinks.. I can always try neem oil, but question, neem oil's main drawback is that it gets in flowers and that affects bees right, but what if you don't put any in your flowering plants???

[rainbowgardener]

Here's a sticky that we had on the question of Neem oil and beneficial insects including bees:

https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=925

Bottom line is that Neem oil does not kill on contact, it only kills if ingested. So mainly it only kills leaf eaters. That means it is less effective for sucking insects like aphids and stinkbugs, but it also means that it is not harmful for beneficial predators, like the predatory wasps that keep the hornworms and other things under control. Honeybees are a little bit in between, because they do ingest pollen. They don't seem to be harmed by small quantities, but given their vulnerable status these days, if you can keep the oil off the pollen, that is probably a good thing. You could still spray the leaves of flowering plants, if you do it without blanketing the plant.

[Vorguen]

Amazing information thank you!


I also thought of something, so apple cider vinegar is highly acidic, so lets say I want to kill some weeds and I use it because it is natural, am I harming any surrounding plants or the future of any plants to be planted on that particular spot?

[rainbowgardener]

Nope, it's not poison, it's organic, that's why you would be using it. Since it is organic, any residue left in the soil will just compost away.