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According to multiple Belgian and Dutch newspapers and magazines, a Belgian/Dutch millionaire (Salar Azimi) uses champagne to water his lawn. When asked about this in an interview (only available behind a paywall), he claimed it makes the grass grow better. This sounds like a ridiculous statement and a huge waste of champagne. Is there anything in champagne that could make it an equal or better fertilizer for your law compared to specialized products available on the market?

Edit: One of the paywalled interviews:

https://www.hln.be/nieuws/-je-gras-besproeien-met-champagne-da-s-niet-decadent-da-s-humor~a63ceea9/

Non-paywalled: https://www.bndestem.nl/nac/hoe-rijk-is-salar-azimi-van-asielcentrum-tot-kasteel~acf03f2b/

Nzall
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  • Would you link to one of those articles? We are an international site and at least *some* of our readers may be interested in it. – Stephie May 10 '19 at 14:32
  • @Stephie Edited in 2 articles: one paywalled and one not paywalled. – Nzall May 10 '19 at 14:34
  • Could it be this guy? - but he's in Essex, not on the Continent https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-england-essex-44004331/billericay-lottery-millionaires-reveal-champagne-lawn There are other articles about this couple... Nothing else that I could find during an admittedly short search of the internet. – Jurp May 10 '19 at 14:39
  • Thanks! It does seem to be pure extravagance (like cleopatra allegedly drinking a pearl dissolved in vinegar), but I leave it for the lawn pros to answer the question. – Stephie May 10 '19 at 14:42
  • What brand of champagne? They don't all have the same effect on humans, so why should they all have the same effect on grass? :) – alephzero May 10 '19 at 14:43
  • You'd get some carbon dioxide fertilization, but I'd think the remaining sugars would encourage mold growth. – Wayfaring Stranger May 10 '19 at 14:56
  • @Jurp I added the name of the millionaire – Nzall May 10 '19 at 15:08
  • Is this similar to the traditional North of England technique for growing prize-winning (i.e. large) vegetables such as leeks? The optimum fertilizer application is reckoned to be about two bottles of Newcastle Brown Ale per day - but you have to pre-process the Newkie Brown by drinking it first ;) – alephzero May 10 '19 at 15:35
  • Without testing this it would seem to be opinion based and out of scope. – kevinskio May 10 '19 at 15:37

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Champagne has about 1% calcium and 2% iron, depending on the brand, but it also contains sodium in varying degrees, sometimes as much a 5mg per serving, again depending on the brand, as well as sugars. I'm guessing that some of the higher sodium brands might not be terribly beneficial over time, though the iron and sugar content might be of some benefit. Depending where the person lives, it might just be the fluid that helps the lawn rather than any nutritional content, although that seems unlikely, since alcohol dehydrates rather than hydrates, and may easily burn plant leaves.

Although the individual concerned believes it helps his lawn grow better, unless someone does a trial, watering a lawn with champagne and treating another lawn with more usual methods and comparing the results, this is just based on the individual's perception. Frankly, though, since most people don't have the kind of money to even consider the idea, this practice of watering the lawn with champagne is, I would suggest, very much confined to people with more money than sense. He waters his lawn with champagne just because he can...

Bamboo
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  • And it is a lot acid. Note: it is also prestige, and milionaires have a lot of gardeners. So it is not a solution for everybody, and probably the gardener "will cure the cure". – Giacomo Catenazzi May 13 '19 at 06:40
  • A 'lot of gardeners', true - so either the head gardener isn't really using champagne at all (just telling the owner he is) or is diluting it, or applying other substances to the lawn to offset the damage caused by the champagne – Bamboo May 13 '19 at 10:41