How to Fertilize With Beer & Borax

Overview

Beer and borax have widely different functions as fertilizers. Borax is added to soil because it contains boron. Boron is necessary to the growth of certain plants such as strawberries, plants in the cabbage family and certain tuber vegetables. Other plants don't need it. Some, such as young bean plants, cannot tolerate its presence. Beer has less concrete value as a grass fertilizer. It contains carbohydrates and sugar, and may stimulate microbial growth to a degree. But that is as far as science is willing to go in support of beer's use as a fertilizer. But, some gardeners still swear by it, and it may just perk up your lawn.

Step 1

Take a sample of the soil to a local garden center or county extension office to determine the nutrients it contains before adding borax to the soil.

Step 2

Fertilize with borax only if the soil contains less than 1 ppm of boron. Too much boron can harm plants that need it to grow.

Step 3

Fertilize boron-needy plants with borax once every three years. Mix a solution of 1 tbsp. of borax in 1 gallon of water. Give each plant exactly 1 oz. of the solution at its base.

Step 4

Apply beer fertilizer to the lawn. Mix 11 cups of beer, 1 cup of ammonia, 1 cup of baby shampoo, 1 cup of liquid lawn fertilizer and 1/2 cup of molasses per 1,000 square feet of lawn. Fill a lawn sprayer with the solution and distribute it evenly over the entire lawn.