# Is beer bad for plants? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 3, 2008, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-beer-bad-for-plants/455247 "2008-07-03T23:18:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-beer-bad-for-plants/455247/1 "2008-07-03T23:18:29Z")
So say I decided that the ficus looked a little parched and decided to give it a nice cool drink of some Turbo Dog. Are the nutrients in beer in anyway beneficial, or is the alcohol going to damage the plant? Or even might it be neutral? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-beer-bad-for-plants/455247/2 "2008-07-04T02:35:44Z")
It would be beneficial if your ficus is being attacked by snails. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-beer-bad-for-plants/455247/3 "2008-07-04T03:07:13Z")
Recycled beer is bad for plants. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-beer-bad-for-plants/455247/4 "2008-07-04T03:08:10Z")
I don’t have any good cites but I used to be an semi-enthusiastic, small-scale, amateur, window-box gardener. I definitely read a few times that beer is good for some plants. I have tried it myself but I truthfully never noticed any effects whether good or bad. I am fairly certain that it won’t hurt any of them right away. OTOH, I got inexplicably sick off of only four Abita Turbo Dogs once which was definitely an odd reaction for me. Abita Amber may be a safer choice for them. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-beer-bad-for-plants/455247/5 "2008-07-04T03:40:28Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] I definitely read a few times that beer is good for some plants. [/QUOTE] For anything more than a one off experiment, I’d be concerned about the carbohydrate content of the beer. It can range from [3 to over 20 grams per serving.](http://www.beer100.com/beercalories.htm). Carbohydrates are favorite foods for yeasts, bacteria, slime molds etc. etc., so your plant may end up having to contend with some pretty wierd soil fauna. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-beer-bad-for-plants/455247/6 "2008-07-04T03:46:09Z")
Alcohol has a dehydrating effect, doesn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Kuboydal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecb155/32.png) [@Kuboydal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kuboydal)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-beer-bad-for-plants/455247/7 "2008-07-04T13:39:29Z")
From notes I found in an old job tending the plants at a student center where ridiculously intoxicated tailgates would congregate during football season, I remember a line stating that alcohol wasn’t so bad, but coffee was deadly. Beer really doesn’t have much that a plant could use. Nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, molybedenum, copper, boron, and manganese, off the top of my pointy head, are some of the minerals required to sustain plant gowth. If the Turbo Dog has significan quantities of these, it could benefit. Some alcohol on the roots will probably have little effect. If the beer had high salt levels the direction of osmotic potential would reverse and create a dehydrating effect, but that isn’t likely. Alcohols are sometimes used as insect control. Isopropyl alcohol can dissolve the waxy protective layers of mealybugs and kill 'em quick. There is a fair chance of leaf burn on a hot and sunny day, though. All in all, I doubt it would benefit the plant, so you may as well quit wasting the good stuff. If you really need to contend with snails, pour some into a saucer and the little beasts will drink and drown. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-beer-bad-for-plants/455247/8 "2008-07-04T14:03:18Z")
[QUOTE=Jackmannii] Recycled beer is bad for plants. [/QUOTE] Damn. Got beaten again. ---
**Author:** ![Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walker_in_Eternity)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-beer-bad-for-plants/455247/9 "2008-07-04T14:32:14Z")
I once watched a gardening programme that stated that some pumpkin growers used various feeds with secret recipes, some of which supposedly contained beer (among other things). No cite for the programme or how effective this might be. ---
**Author:** ![Kuboydal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecb155/32.png) [@Kuboydal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kuboydal)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-beer-bad-for-plants/455247/10 "2008-07-04T15:23:57Z")
There are a large number of formulations with special enzymes and hormones, particularly for the home grown pharmaceutical market (these have the funniest trade names, by the way.) I have not seen much evidence that these have an appreciably favorable effect. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-beer-bad-for-plants/455247/11 "2008-07-04T16:42:33Z")
In regards to the post about coffee and plants, _coffee grounds_ actually make [a good soil additive](http://www.gardensalive.com/article.asp?ai=793&bhcd2=1215189208), when mixed in with other amendments and especially when composted with other ingredients. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-beer-bad-for-plants/455247/12 "2008-07-04T16:46:05Z")
As is beer trub. The acidity makes it especially good for roses and camelias. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-beer-bad-for-plants/455247/13 "2008-07-04T19:12:31Z")
[QUOTE=Jackmannii] Recycled beer is bad for plants. [/QUOTE] No it’s not. I take a whizz on the tomato plants from time to time and they thrive on it. (Don’t tell the missus!) ---
**Author:** ![SharkB8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/977dab/32.png) [@SharkB8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SharkB8)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2008, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-beer-bad-for-plants/455247/14 "2008-07-04T20:26:10Z")
Only if they’re pregnant or try to operate heavy machinery afterwards.