Beer Lawn Fertilizer - Effective or Bunk?
It is true that microorganisms in the soil need and use carbohydrates, but they use complex carbohydrates that originate in plants, not the plain sugars found in soft drinks and beer. Many homemade lawn fertilizer recipes are made with beer. But, is it effective or simply a fancy snake oil? I am no scientist, but I do have enough common sense to put an end to nonsense.
With the popularity of organic fertilizer recipes, many old wives' tales have surfaced pertaining to home products that claim to produce great results. Some are true, some are hardly effective, and others are completely false.
*Popular claim - Beer and soda will help feed grass roots. Beer recipes can help with weed control.
You're Gonna What?
Beer has how much sugar? A can of beer has around 10 grams of carbohydrates. A gram is a really small amount. A can of beer has as much sugar in it as taking a couple sugar packets in your coffee. Visualize sprinkling that over your entire yard. It really is not that effective.
However, beer is excellent at protecting your lawn and plants from slugs. A container of beer set out overnight will often be full of slugs in the morning. It seems that the slugs are attracted by the yeast smell and fall into the beer, where they are anesthetized by the alcohol and drown.
Conclusion: Beer has no substantial worth except as an innovative marketing ploy and to kill slugs. Besides, who in their right mind would pour perfectly good beer on their lawn?
I prefer to use my trusty fertilizer spreader and a nice bag of Scotts® fertilizer. I know it works!
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