Aspirin for Plant Growth – Tips On Using Aspirin in the Garden

By Bonnie L. Grant from GardeningKnowHow.com

An aspirin a day may do more than keep the doctor away. Did you know that using aspirin in the garden can have a beneficial effect on many of your plants? Salicylic acid is the active ingredient in aspirin and is derived from willow bark. This natural cure all really can boost the health of your plants. Try aspirin water for plants and see if your yields and overall plant health don’t improve.

Theory Behind Aspirin for Plant Growth

The use of aspirin on plants appears to be beneficial but the question is, why? Apparently, plants produce minute amounts of salicylic acid on their own when they are stressed. This tiny amount helps plants cope when they are under insect attack, dry, underfed or maybe even experiencing a disease issue. The component helps boost the plant’s immune system, just like it does for us.

• A diluted solution of aspirin water for plants provided accelerated germination and some resistance to disease and pests.
• Aspirin in vegetable gardens has been shown to increase plant size and yield.

Sound like a miracle? There is real science behind the claims. The United States Department of Agriculture found that salicylic acid produced an enhanced immune response in plants of the nightshade family.

The enhanced response helped prepare the plant for microbial or insect attack. The substance also seems to keep cut flowers living longer too. Salicylic acid appears to block the plant’s release of a hormone that impels death after cutting. The cut flowers will die eventually but, usually, you can add some time by the use of aspirin on plants.

Gardeners at the University of Rhode Island sprayed a mixture of aspirin water on their vegetable gardens and found that plants grew more quickly and were more fruitful than a control group left untreated. Aspirin in vegetable gardens produced healthier plants than the control group. The team used a rate of 3 aspirins mixed with 4 gallons of water. They sprayed this every 3 weeks throughout the growing season. The vegetables were grown in raised beds with drip irrigation and compost-rich soil, which probably aided the effects found from using aspirin for plant growth.

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