Vinegar

The dictionary defines it as 'a sour liquid made from acetic acid fermentation of mildly alcoholic brews.' The rest of us call it vinegar.

Vinegar remains a mystery to me on how its made. I was shown a vinegar mother used in homebrewing vinegar and the look of that mushy, pale gunk kept vinegar even more a mystery.

Aside from that vinegar's uses in and around the garden abound.

For those wanting to grow acid loving plants like gardenias, azaleas, hydrangeas and hibiscus know the benefits of vinegar. Monthly they supplement the water and acid fertilizer by pouring a cup of vinegar diluted in a gallon of water on the soil.

The mild acid drenches down and bathes the rootstemporarily releasing some locked up nutrients like iron, zinc and manganese. The plants then can absorb these nutrients because the roots are in a mild acid environment. Its almost as if the roots are tricked into thinking they are in Virginia somewhere.

The sloppy gardener fins the damage when the vinegar solution lands on the leaves. It defoiliates any part of the plant the vinegar touches.

With this knowlege I suggest another use for vinegar that I stumbled upon accidently.

Once I was asked to prepare and give a talk titled 'Weed Control in an Age of Environmentalism.' For the talk I cleaned out all the liquids, sprays and granuals from beneath the sink and cleaning closet. I applied all these products on a continuous stand of prostrate spurge, a tenacious summer weed.

Written by Terry Mikel, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the University of Arizona, 602-470-8086.
Material originally appeared in Arizona Republic
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