With the growing demand of nutritious food for the overpopulated world, almost all the burden to satisfy the hunger shifted to agriculture. A large amount of food grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables are produced and still, the enlarging population is left short of what all is required leading to the brutal application of chemical fertilizers.
This in turns leads to production of thousands of hectare of un-fertile soil which is no longer agriculturally viable. Given this scenario, the discovery of Bio-fertilizers is here to save the day. Today, a large number of chemical fertilizers are used in order to increase the yield of the crops.
And for those who are always up for cultivation at home, homemade fertilizers are making their position to the top most ranks in the list of essentials. These homemade fertilizers have come along a long way and are being loved by many people because of the easy availability and usage.
Most of the homemade recipes involve using the products at a hand's distance making it convenient and affordable for the user. The most important aspect of using a homemade fertilizer is the surety of its non-toxicity. Though, a number of chemicals are used as fertilizers by farmers across the globe, the recipes for homemade fertilizers hardly involve any harsh chemicals.
Infact, it generally is a mixture of natural and organic items which all of us usually discard off as waste products. Hence, these fertilizers are good not only for your lovely, healthy plants but also for the environment. In this article, the word organic is concerned with everything decomposable.
What Plants Need?
A plant generally requires Nitrogen (N), Potassium (K) and Phosphorus (P) for a strong aerial growth and healthy root development. While continuing to make fertilizers at home, one must keep in mind to include these nutritional requirements for the plants. Along with these, there are additional micro elements to enhance the health and productivity of the garden like Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg), and Sulfur (S).
During photosynthesis, plants use sunlight to break water and carbon dioxide down into hydrogen (H), oxygen (O), and carbon (C); the three non-mineral nutrients which they turn into food. Boron (B), Copper (Cu), Iron (Fe), Chloride (Cl), Manganese (Mn), Molybdenum (Mo), and Zinc (Zn) are the necessary micro-nutrients which a plant must obtain from the surrounding soil.
Here, let's discuss some of the recipes of easy to make homemade fertilizers.
1. Diane's Homemade Organic Rose Fertilizer Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons Mermaid's fish fertilizer (powdered fish)
- 1 teaspoon Maxicrop kelp extract (powdered seaweed)
- 1 tablespoon Epsom salts • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons molasses
- 3 cups water Tested to be best for roses
Mix all the above ingredients in 3/4th quantity of a measuring cup. Stir well to avoid lumps and pour it into the watering can. This mixture is known to be good for foliar feed and the root zone.
2. The Epsom salt (Sendha namak) Fertilizer Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon of Epsom salt ( for garden plants)
- 2 tablespoons of Epsom salt ( for potted plants )
- 1 gallon of water
Mix the above ingredients and spray this solution over the plants once in two weeks. Fertilize your onions, broccoli, and cabbages with Epsom salts to get healthier, sweeter-tasting vegetables. Use Epsom salts on tomatoes, peppers, and roses to grow stronger plants with more blossoms.
3. The Banana Peel Fertilizer Ingredient
- 1-2 banana peels Banana peels are high in potassium.
Simply throw one or two peels in the hole before planting the seeds or saplings or bury peels under mulch so they can compost naturally. Get bigger and more blooms.
4. The Fish Emulsion Fertilizer Ingredients
- Frozen fish parts like fish bones, guts and heads, leftover tunas and sardines.
- Water
Add 1 part fish to 2 parts water in an airtight container, and place it a sunny spot in the least visited area (because of the foul smell coming from it). Stir every two days as the soup cooks; in about two weeks, apply to your garden soil at 3 gal./100 sq. ft. Leafy greens, beets, Brussel sprouts, and broccoli love it.
5. Human urine Ingredients
- Urine
- Water
However disgusting it may sound, but urine is one of the best fertilizers for the plants as it is being rich in Nitrogen, phosphate and potassium. Dilute the urine with water in a ratio of 1:10. Soak the plants with it. It works really well for leafy greens, cucumber, cabbage and roses.
6. Vinegar Fertilizer Ingredients
- White Vinegar
Water Mix one tablespoon of white vinegar with one gallon of water. Spray it over the plants every three months.
7. Fireplace Ash Fertilizer
It is an excellent source of potassium and calcium carbonate. Use it as a replacement for lime. The soil amendment uses fireplace ash applied to the soil by massaging or working it in or laying fertilizer on the soil bed. This fertilizer should not be use on acid loving plants when the soil is alkaline in nature.
8. Fish Tank Water Fertilizer
Used fish tank water contains excessive nitrogen which is favorable for plants. However, be careful of removing all new born fish from the water. Also, the contents should not come from a salt water tank. Add dirty and untreated fish water to the plants directly.
Let's use up as much biodegradable wastes as we can and stage up towards organic waste farming using some of these homemade fertilizers. Happy gardening!
Written By - Nidhi Verma
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