Green Plants: Why Put Matches In The Pots?
You may have already noticed that some people have this strange habit of putting matches in the pots of green or flowering plants... But do you know the benefits of this surprising gardening trick? We tell you all about the benefits of matches for the health of your plants.
A grandmother's trick
Putting matches in the pots of Green plants and flowers is not a new idea. Quite the contrary, it's an old and time-honored grandmotherly trick.
So, while it may seem surprising to you to plant matches in the substrate of your Green plants or in your flower pots, know that this simple gesture can contribute to the good health of your plants!
This simple trick could even save you a lot of trouble with your houseplants and/or flowers.
A repellent for midges and other pests
Do your plants have trouble growing despite the care you give them and/or show signs of disease (leaves that turn yellow, dry out or become deformed)? This may be related to an attack of parasites.
The pests are hard to see and proliferate if you water too often or over fertilize. They attack the rootlets of your plants and cause them to wither
However, putting matches in the pots is a simple way to avoid this type of problem. Matches act as a repellent to various undesirable insects: midges, but also whiteflies, cutworms, aphids and fungi.
A contribution in minerals beneficial for the plants
Putting matches in pots is not only an effective pest control trick, but also a harmless, even beneficial move for your plants.
Unlike Insects that don't like the sulfur in matches, your plants appreciate the minerals in them.
It's not uncommon for Green plants growing in pots to eventually run out of nutrients. By drawing essential minerals from the soil, they deplete their substrate and wither away if you don't provide them with fertilizer and/or a fresh substrate.
Planting matches in the soil is a simple trick to enrich it with minerals because their red tips contain potassium chlorate, diantimony trisulfide and ammonium phosphate.
An easy-to-implement tip
As you can see, putting matches in your plants' pots is beneficial to them in more ways than one.
It's also an inexpensive trick that's not very complicated to implement.
In practice, all you need to do is follow these steps:
1- Plant about ten matches per pot, placing them head down in the soil all around the plant.
Note: preferably place them halfway between the edge of the pot and the plant's stem so as not to damage the roots.
2- Water your Green plants as usual.
To note: each time you water your plants, the moisture in the soil dissolves the match heads and gradually releases small amounts of beneficial sulfur, phosphorus and potassium into the soil to nourish your plants.
3- Leave the matches in place for a while, then replace them with new ones for more efficiency.
4- Repeat the operation as long as necessary, until the pests are completely gone.
