Some of the best fertilizers available can be made and they are chemical free. If you’re an organic gardener this is a big plus. Plus the price is right. What I save by making my own garden plant food I spend on seeds. And a gardener can never have enough seeds!
I like fertilizer teas. My favorites are Compost tea and Manure tea. They are very easy to make.
I use a three pound coffee can and fill it with either homemade compost or manure. Any manure will do except for pet (cat and dog) manure. I make a bag out of cloth. Then I scoop the compost or manure into the bag and make sure it is sealed tightly. Usually I tie a string around the top and that holds it. .
Tie the bag to the side of a 5-gallon bucket filled with water and let set for a couple of days. Remove the bag and toss the leftovers into a compost pile. Store the fertilizer tea until you are ready to use it. I store it in a dark place, usually the barn or garage.
I put one cup of tea into one gallon of water, shake well, and apply it to my garden plants. I usually use the fertilizer before it can go bad but if the tea gets a smell, dump it in your compost pile and make another batch.
I have also used comfrey tea and casting tea, which is manure from earthworms. Casting make a great tea and I even add it to my potting soil.
Your homemade fertilizer tea will work as well as any store bought plant foods.
Entries (RSS)
Both teas are excellent for use in the gardens. I prefer them to the boughten fertilizer mixes. You may have to use a little bone meal, blood meal or ash to get a few other nutrients into the soil you may need.
I use bone meal and blood meal in the gardens quite often to get my needed nutrients in the garden soil. Denise