There are two suggestions here for homemade plant food. Homemade plant food is easier on the environment and your produce is safer to consume. With many gardeners practicing green gardening these plant foods are great, Plus the cost is easier on the budget.
photo credit: pdugmore2001

1. A friend of mine uses this plant food recipe in his garden and says it is the best plant food there is. I haven’t tried it myself but he always has a great garden!

HOMEMADE PLANT FOOD MIX

In a gallon jug of tepid water place:

1 teaspoon Epsom salts
1 teaspoon saltpeter
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 teaspoon ammonia

This is a complete plant food and should be used only once every 4 to 6 weeks. Too much will harm and weaken the plant. It can be stored and saved.

2. I myself use a manure tea blend and it works well. As with all plant foods and fertilizer too much can be as bad as not enough. Experimenting and taking notes on results will help you decide how much your garden needs.

 MANURE TEA

Take one coffee can and fill it with any manure. (I suggest, cow, horse, chicken or rabbit manure) Place the manure in a piece of cloth and tie to close. Add the cloth bag to a 5 gallon bucket of water and let it brew for a few days. It will be ready to use. I usually water this manure tea down by one half. So use a ten gallon bucket and fill half way up with water then add the manure tea.

NOTE: For indoor plants I only use a few table sppons of the manure in a pint of water.

Homemade plant foods are better for most plants. There is less of a tendency for the plants to get burned or hurt from a natural plant food

Technorati Tags: green gardening, homemade plant food, organic gardening

If you are transplanting seedlings or outdoor plants you can save money and practice environmental friendly techniques by making your own newspaper pots . They will hold up for quite some time. If you use them for transplanting seedlings and small plants into the soil they will break down rather quickly and just add to the soil.
photo credit: Barefoot In Florida

For environmental reasons, don’t use newspaper with colored ink. The ink leaches strong chemicals into the ground.

To Make a NewsPaper Pot

I find a tin can the size of the pot I want. Soup cans work well for small transplants and coffee cans work for bigger transplants. Fold several layers of newspaper together and fold in half. Fold one more time if you are making a small pot. I place the folded newspaper on the can with a small amout hanging over the bottom of the can. Wrap the paper around the can and temporarily hold it in place with masking tape. (You can also fold the paper end into the other end so you don’t have to use tape. This is a little tricky the first time you do it)

I don’t like to use tape because if I plant the pot in the ground it does not break down as well. I solve this by removing the tape. You can also purchase biodegradable tape.

I will then fold the  paper that hangs over the bottom  of the can down and tape in place. Pull the can out and you have a pot! It may need a few adjustments and tweeks to stand straight and firm. You are now ready to plant!

Most of my pots are made to place transplants into the ground so I don’t like to use tape. I may use it at first to hold the pot together. I also have used string to hold the pot together.

When getting ready to place the pot into the ground remove any tape or string. I also loosen the bottom of the pot a little to make sure the roots will quickly enter the soil.

Using this methods I do not have to disturb plant roots, a practice that shocks the plants and slows their growth down for a week or so.

I also use newspaper pots to repot transplants such as tomatoes, peppers, gourds and cucumbers into bigger pots so that the roots can spread and grow but I can control the climate temperatures.

My tomato and gourd plants are often two foot tall before I set them out and by using paper pots they do not suffer any transplanting shock.

Technorati Tags: creative organic gardening tip, green gardening, newspaper pots