Using Beer As Garden Fertilizer

in #homebrewlast year

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I am an avid homebrewer. I brew all kinds of beer, but my two main styles of beer are lager and IPA.

Lager is a refreshing kind of beer you have after you've just finished mowing the lawn or doing hard work and it's hot. IPA style beers you drink when you don't have anything to do and you want to relax.

Anyway, I recently was having a discussion with a friend of mine and I told him how I just finished bottling my latest brew. I mentioned how I pour out the sediment and left over beer from the fermenting vessel into my gardens as fertiliser.

He was shocked. "Pouring alcohol into the garden, isn't that bad for the plants?", he asked.

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It's a valid concern. In theory, you would think beer poured onto plants would kill them. It turns out the opposite happens. Plants (like some humans), LOVE beer.

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Despite the negative connotations, beer is rich in; yeast, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus. The acid in beer is also strong enough to kill most garden pests.

Not only does this apply to homebrew, but standard bottled beer can also be poured into the garden. It's just been filtered, so lacking some of the nutrients homebrew has.

So, even if you don't brew your own beer, the next time you have a party and there are bottles of beer around, pour the leftovers into your garden and it will love you for it.