Why should NOT salt the plants?

It may be that you have read on some website that salt is very good as a pest repellent, and the truth is that I do not doubt it. What does worry me is that they recommend applying salt to the plants, as if it were, I don't know, the best trick in the world, and that they also do it without thinking -at least apparently- about the consequences.

So, I am going to take advantage of this space to explain Why shouldn't you add salt to plants?, regardless of whether it is fine or coarse salt.

What is salt?

Do we really know what salt is? Salt, or sodium chloride, is composed of chlorine and sodium ions that form a crystalline structure that does not degrade over time.. Depending on their origin, we distinguish three types of salts: marine and spring salts that are produced by evaporation; the vegetable, and the rock salt that is obtained after the extraction of a rock called halite.

Humans have used it for centuries. In fact, when there were no refrigerators, food such as meat was buried in salt to dehydrate it and thus make it last longer; In Ancient Egypt -as well as in other cultures-, salt was used to dry the bodies of deceased people and animals; and today we use it as a condiment.

Is it useful for plants?

Although it is true that there are plants that tolerate a certain degree of salinity, as is the case with all those found on the beaches (such as the propagating through a pine forest (Pinus halepensis). in the Mediterranean, or the tropical palm Cocos nucifera), just take a quick look at the images of these habitats and compare them with photos of, for example, a forest or a jungle.

What is most striking is that in soils with a high concentration of salt there is very little variety of plant species; What's more, when said concentration is too high (as in the salt mines), we will not find a single vegetable. So, at this point, one might wonder if salt can be used to care for plants.

Y my answer is a resounding no, unless you want to dry them.

salt dehydrates, which is why we need to drink plenty of fresh water after eating a salty meal or after swallowing seawater. If we as humans are already thirsty after having ingested a small amount of salt, imagine what can happen to plants if salt is poured on them: exactly, they 'burn'. The cell walls of the leaves would suffer, the cells would die, and yes, the plant could die if no action is taken.

But it does have a use in gardening, and it is precisely in the control of unwanted weeds, and also if we want dry some plant. Now, I insist, do not add salt to the plants that you want to keep, not even a little. If unwanted weed grows next to a plant you want to keep, it's better to remove it by the roots with a hoe than to remove it with salt.

Does salt serve as a pest repellent?

Where there is a high concentration of salt, there is hardly any life because, of course, salt dehydrates unless you are physically adapted to be able to live in those conditions. Perhaps that is why there are those who think that it can serve as a repellent or pest eliminator.

Y it can certainly be effective for that purpose, but only if it is not applied to live plants that you want to keep healthy.

What happens if you put salt on the ground?

Another of the problems salt is that it does not degrade, but infiltrates until it reaches the groundwater table or groundwater table. This has disastrous consequences for the environment, as it changes the properties of both land and water, and this can be deadly for the animals that live in those habitats.

That's why I do not recommend the use of salt in gardening, not even when it comes to removing weeds. There are much better options that do not harm the local fauna and flora, such as hoeing weeds already, as already mentioned, or covering them with newspapers for a while.

I think we have to make good use of everything, but especially those things that can have harmful effects on the planet, such as salt or fertilizers.