Vinegar is a useful natural product for the home and garden. 1. Clean clay pots Clay pots help keep the soil inside the pot cool in the summer, prevent water from getting trapped, and their warm reddish color also gives them an attractive look. However, as they age, they absorb calcium, minerals, and salts from water and fertilizers, making them ugly. If you want to bring them back to their original glory, use vinegar to clean them. 2. Remove weeds from walls and walkways Using vinegar is a great way to get rid of weeds that appear on your garden walls or in the crevices of the driveway. To kill them, simply spray the area with pure white vinegar. 3. Get rid of ants Vinegar is very effective in getting rid of ants. To repel ants, mix equal amounts of water and vinegar (white cider or apple cider) and spray the solution on the anthills in your garden. At home, look for ants in entrances, counters, sinks, and windows. The strong vinegar scent will cause ants to avoid areas sprayed with vinegar. 4. Keep animals away from the garden Many animals, including common garden pests such as rodents, moles, cats, dogs, rabbits, and deer hate the strong scent of vinegar. You can keep these unwanted visitors away from the garden by soaking several old clothes in white vinegar and placing them around the post where they most often come. 5. Extend the life of cut flowers You can use vinegar to prolong the life of cut flowers: add 2 tablespoons of vinegar and a teaspoon of sugar per liter of water. 6. Kill Weeds If you want to get rid of those pesky plants in your garden that keep popping up again and again: Use vinegar. Vinegar is an herbicide and can be used for effective weed control. Spray kills weeds within 2-3 days of application. 7. Vinegar Garden Insecticide Spray Vinegar is an effective solution for eliminating garden insects. To create a vinegar spray that works on garden bugs, combine three parts water with one part vinegar in a spray bottle and add a teaspoon of dish detergent. Shake the spray bottle to thoroughly mix the contents before using it in the garden. 8. Fruit flies Save your fruit from fruit flies, and make bait out of vinegar. For this, you will need a cup of water, half a cup of apple cider vinegar, a quarter cup of sugar, and a tablespoon of molasses. Mix everything together and put this solution in an empty container or tin can and hang it on an affected fruit tree. You will then see how this will attract and trap them. A similar solution can also be used for house flies. 9. Make acid-loving plants happy Keep acid-loving plants with vinegar Pickle acid-loving plants, such as rhododendrons, gardenias, or azaleas. Although its effect is temporary, you can still give plants containing vinegar a quick acidic boost. Mix a cup of white vinegar with a gallon of water and water acid-loving plants with this solution. 10. Clean rust from garden tools Vinegar can be used to make garden tools rust-free. Simply spray or soak the tools in undiluted vinegar and let them sit for a few minutes, then rinse and clean them. 11. Save Plants From Fungus You can protect plants suffering from fungus and mold; the vinegar fungicide recipe is simple and easy– Add 2 tbsp. vinegar in brewed chamomile tea and spray this on affected plants in your garden. It's safe and organic! 12. You can get rid of slugs and snails Among the many uses of vinegar, this one is becoming popular among gardeners. You can kill snails and slugs with vinegar.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Mich - Our Eco-Superstar Hello Mich! Tell us a bit about yourself! Mich - Our Eco-Superstar is from Secret Hope. After several years in the Hospitality industry and four years in Canada, I came back to take care of my mum who was on dialysis. How did you start your creative recycling career? Secret Hope started after my mum’s death in 2017. During a bus trip, I wrapped the bus ticket around my finger to make a ring and it stayed there the whole day. This remained in my thoughts and together with my deep connection with the preservation of the environment, I made some research on how I could recycle paper (used ones as newspapers and magazines). And why were you concerned with paper waste especially? Paper accounts for 25% of waste in landfill. It takes around 6 weeks for the paper to break down, so if we don't recycle the paper that we used, it all ends up in the landfill. I raised awareness around me of not throwing away what can be reused, and this is the way I got newspapers and magazines I worked with. I make dustbins, wine holders, coasters, earrings, necklaces…and so much more! The sky is the limit! Keep posted here on ecomauritius.mu - I'm also working on some exciting and pretty new products for Mother's Day! THANK YOU, MICH! Learn more about ecomauritius HERE.