5 Great Natural Plant Fertilizers You Can Make At Home

Below, we look at 5 ways to fertilize your plants without having to immediately run to the store.

19/10/2022

 

 

 

 

Gardening is a hobby beloved by many. The joy of seeing your plants grow to be big and healthy is like no other.

You get an emotional attachment to your plants and want them to have the best chance at life. One of the ways to achieve this is through fertilizer.

Just like humans, plants need nutrients in order to grow, fertilizer provides this. While you can go out and buy some plant fertilizer, you probably already have everything you need for home fertilizers.

In this article, we cover 5 ways to fertilize your plants without having to immediately run to the store.

You can find out more information about gardening from an Expert Gardening Website.

 

 

 

 

Grass Clippings

You don’t have to worry about throwing out bags of grass clippings, they can be used as fantastic fertilizer. Once you’ve mowed your lawn, simply spread them onto your soil.

Not only does it feed nutrients back into the ground, but it can also create a mulch that stops weeds from growing. Fallen leaves can also be used with your grass clippings. They also provide nutrients and help the soil to retain moisture.

You can also use weeds as fertilizer, you just need to soak them in water for a couple of weeks to ensure they won’t spread when poured on your plants. The water they are soaked in will be filled with all the nutrients once it turns brown.

 

 

 

 

Kitchen Scraps

Any food waste is great to create compost to use on your plants. Organic foods like fruits and vegetables are best for this.

Banana peels are particularly good for plants that need a lot of potassium, like roses.

You can also use eggshells as fertilizer. Similar to lime, eggshells can lower the acidity of the soil. They also provide calcium to the plants.

Crushed eggshells are also a fantastic way to keep slugs off of outdoor plants.

 

 

 

 

Manure

Manure has been used as a fertilizer for hundreds of years. Make sure it is mixed in a composting solution because pure manure can provide too many nutrients to the plants at once and damage them.

Manure is very high in nitrogen and nutrients that plants need in order to grow healthily.

While it may seem off-putting at first, manure is a very effective fertilizer. The smell only lasts for a small amount of time before it turns into mulch.

 

 

 

 

Coffee Grounds

If you are a religious coffee drinker, then you finally have a use for the leftover coffee grounds. Simply spread your coffee grounds over the soil and you get an incredible fertilizer.

Coffee grounds are particularly good for plants that thrive in acidic soil like tomatoes, roses, and blueberries. They also have the benefit of making your garden smell amazing.

The smell of coffee can also be off-putting to cats. So if you find local cats crushing your flowers or using your plant pots as their own personal litter trays, then coffee grounds can help to stop that.

As well as putting straight coffee grounds on your soil, you are able to make something called ‘garden coffee’. This is when you soak the coffee grounds and coffee pucks in water for a couple of weeks before watering your garden with it. This can help the nutrients from the coffee grounds penetrate your plant easier.

 

 

 

 

Homemade Fertilizer

On top of all these super easy plant fertilizers, you can make a homemade fertilizing solution, and most of the ingredients you probably already own.

All you need is Epsom salt, baking soda, and ammonia. These are all common household products that can provide nutrients to your plants.

Epsom salt contains magnesium and sulfur that helps plants absorb nutrients from the soil, baking soda protects the plant against fungal diseases, and ammonia binds airborne nitrogen which is needed for plant growth.

If you own a fish tank then you can use the water in it for your homemade fertilizer. Any water that you were planning on discarding is filled with nutrients that are helpful to your plants.

 

Final Thoughts

Hopefully, these at-home fertilizers can help you achieve the garden of your dreams. When compared to store-bought fertilizers, these are all relatively inexpensive but effective alternatives.

While all these fertilizers can help your garden, it is important to listen to your plants. Depending on their needs, time of year, and climate, the fertilizer your plant needs may change and you will need to adapt to them.

 

 

 

 

 

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