Kitty raised her hand. "I've read Muggle fantasies where salt can be used to burn the skin off goblins. Additionally, a circle of salt was supposed to protect anyone inside from demons/goblins/fairies. Something that is NOT just a legend however is the fact that if you put salt in the ground, that makes it hard for plants to grow there."

"The reason why is because an inner layer of tissue in the branching roots that anchor most types of plants are sensitive to salt, and when exposed activates a stress hormone, which stops root growth - basically stopping the plant from growing at all."