my gardener’s favorite plant saving trick

Have you ever seen someone drive nails into a lemon? At first glance, this may seem surprising, but it is a technique that has been used for a long time for many reasons. Today, dear readers, we are going to explore together why and how this practice can be useful to you, as Hervé Vitrebert, a former gardener from my village in Cantal, often advised me. Explanations!

If you only use lemon to enhance the taste of your dishes or to clean the surfaces of your home, know that it can be used for much more than that! What if you first start by driving a few nails into your citrus fruit to use in your garden? The result will amaze you!

Drive nails into a lemon: the trick that will save your houseplants

Driving nails into a lemon – Source: spm

Whether for skin, cleaning or cooking, lemon has proven itself time and time once more. But did you know dear readers that it is also an excellent fertilizer for your indoor plants? What if we told you that to ensure its effectiveness, all you have to do is add a few nails? To feed your curiosity, we decided to share with you our simple trick to use this lemon-nail combo and breathe new life into your beautiful plants. It’s simple, just follow these steps:

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1. First, take a lemon and roll it on a hard surface.
2. Next, get a few nails and simply insert them into your citrus fruit.
3. Let the fruit rest for 12 hours in a dry place. (At this time the nails will release their iron oxide which will naturally transfer into the lemon).
4. Time is up ? Now remove the nails and squeeze the lemon juice.
5. All you have to do is add the recovered juice to a liter of water.
6. Mix everything well, pour the solution into a spray bottle and spray your liquid on your houseplants (especially those that prefer acidic soil).

This iron oxide water is beneficial for plants that lack iron and are not grown in acidic soil. This water provides them with the sufficient quantity of these minerals that they lack. No more yellow leaves resulting from a lack of iron, among other things.

And There you go ! It is a very simple and effective method to rebalance the pH of your plants and give them new life. We can see your famous question coming: how is lemon beneficial for plants? Read on to understand!

What are the benefits of lemon juice for houseplants?

Lemons – Source: spm

Lemon juice offers countless plant benefits, including:

1. Balance soil pH: in fact, lemon juice is acidic, so it helps lower soil pH, especially if the soil is too alkaline.
2. Provide Nutrients: lemon juice is packed with nutrients such as vitamin C, antioxidants, and minerals, such as calcium and potassium, which are beneficial to plants.
3. Repel insects: yes, indeed, lemon juice is considered a natural insecticide. It is therefore often used to repel harmful insects in a garden.
4. Eliminate bad odors: the deodorizing properties of lemon juice not only eliminate stubborn odors in the house, but it also does so in the garden (vegetable garden, pond, animal urine, etc.).
5. Promote flowering: the citric acid in lemon juice can stimulate flowering and prevent root rot in some plants, including orchids.

Our lemon-nail combo is not limited to this one and only use, think once more! It can be used for other purposes, and this trick will shed some light on you (literally and figuratively).

Did you know that with a simple lemon you can start a campfire? It is, however, completely TRUE! Don’t underestimate this little citrus fruit! Indeed, you can turn it into a battery and it has enough energy to start a fire. We show you how to do it safely!

Make a battery with a lemon – Source: spm

1. First start by rubbing the fruit between your hands to soften it a little (this is necessary to make it easier for you to insert the nails).
2. Then plant the nails regarding 1.3 cm apart from each other.
3. Then, forming a row parallel to that of the first nails, drive in zinc thumbtacks.
4. It’s done ? So now, using a piece of wire, connect the first thumbtack to the second nail, then the second thumbtack to the third nail, and so on.
5. Finally, connect a piece of insulated electrical cable to the first nail and do the same for the other end with the last thumbtack. To make it clearer, the copper nail (top line, far right) corresponds to the negative pole and the thumbtack (bottom line, far left) is the positive pole.
6. Your little lemon is now able to produce regarding 0.9 volts of electricity, enough power to start a fire.

To test if the trick works properly, all you need to do is place steel wool on a dry surface and add a dry fuel, such as toilet paper for example. Then all you have to do is touch the steel wool with both poles (positive and negative) to light your fire and you’re done!

Want to charge your phone using a lemon? Here is the video tutorial demonstration:

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Caution :

For your safety dear readers, note that it is imperative to carry out this experiment in a safe place, far from any flammable object in order to avoid the risk of fire. Needless to say, your safety is paramount, especially when it comes to handling fire!

Basically, driving nails into a lemon may seem strange at first, but it’s actually a fun and creative activity. Plus, it can have practical and beneficial uses for your home and garden. So why not give it a shot?

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