There is a tale out there that beer is good for plants. That the minerals and things in beer are good for growth. And that there are nutrients in beer that help with garden soil, and help with the growth of your plants.
Maybe even your houseplant would be totally into an IPA or Lager.
I always felt like simply pouring a beer into a plant would be bad for the plant. But, I also don’t know what the hell I am talking about most of the time.
So that prompted me to finally figure this out for you and for me…
Is Beer Good For Plants?
No. Not really anyway. Good would be stretching it.
Your plants want clean and clear water. And maybe some occasional actual really good plant food.
It does want not some terrible Sour IPA that you tried and couldn’t finish. Or the day-old and flat Coors Light that was sitting out all night.
What people might assume is good for the plants (the carbs, the yeast, minerals, the water) is a small benefit, at best. Hardly measurable. And it would be best if you diluted the beer before you dump it in.
In fact, some believe adding beer to your plant-feeding routine, blocks the plant from getting proper nutrition.
Plants want complex carbs and beer is not a complex carb, it is a worthless card. Well, worthless to some, not to me. I rather enjoy worthless carbs.
Worthless carbs are what life is about.
To be complete, some people think beer helps plants and grass. Maybe they are right. I WANT them to be right. But they are in the minority.
Wait. Is There A Plant That Benefits From Beer?
My research has not turned up much. All there really is are recommendations for watering down your old beer to help your compost pile or to water/feed your plant.
You may want to pour that beer you left sitting out into your plant, but you should at least water it down before you do, so it won’t damage the soil or plant.
This guy explains it. As you will see, there is some work involved AND math:
See? You can’t be lazy and just pour your old beer into your house plant. There is a slight bit of work and I am not here for that.
It would seem that no plants TRULY benefit from beer. But lets ask anyway:
- Is beer good for roses? No.
- Is beer good for trees? No.
- Is beer good for flowers? It is not.
- Is stale beer good for plants? Weirdly specific, but no.
Mind you, I don’t think you will kill your plant by pouring a beer into it. I just don’t think the plant will get much out of it if you did. … that we KNOW of. Right?!
I mean, who the hell are we to assume we know what is good for a plant, ya know? Probably gets pretty damn bored of water.
To wrap up, beer (very sadly) is not good for plants
It totally sucks, I know, but it turns out beer is not the best for plants. Think about it this way though, I feel like it would be the same thing if you Googled “Is beer bad for humans?”
The results would probably be: Yes.
But we all know that it can be a good thing. Beer is fun and relaxing when you do it in moderation.
Maybe it would be the same for plants. A little bit of beer now and again might not be great nutrients-wise, but might be good for the plant’s soul.
If you want to legit give your indoor and outdoor plants some (non-beer) food, here are some top (and reasonably priced ones on Amazon:
- Marphyl Organic Liquid Fertilizer.
- Miracle-Gro Indoor Plant Food.
- The Grow Co organic indoor plant food.
Good luck with your beer and your plants!
-Mikey
