If you’re like most people, you probably don’t think about fertilizer until it’s time to buy some. But did you know that there are many different types of fertilizer that you can make right at home?
Here are five of the best homemade fertilizers to use in your home garden.
1. Compost
Compost is an excellent fertilizer for gardens. It is relatively easy to make, and it provides a range of benefits for plants.
To make compost, simply combine equal parts of green and brown materials. Green materials include things like grass clippings and vegetable scraps. In contrast, brown materials include things like dead leaves and twigs. Once you have your compost bin set up, you can add kitchen scraps and yard waste to it as well.
Check out this full guide on how to get started with composting for beginners for more in-depth information!
The compost will break down over time, and you can apply it to your garden as needed. Compost helps to improve the soil structure, increase the amount of nutrients available to plants, and improve drainage. It can also help to suppress weed growth. Apply a layer of compost to your garden in early spring or fall for the best results.
2. Worm tea
Worm tea is an excellent way to fertilize your garden. It is rich in nutrients and will help promote healthy plant growth. The best way to apply worm tea is to simply pour it around the base of your plants. You can add it to your compost pile or use it as a top dressing for your lawn.
If you are interested in making worm tea, it is a little more involved than composting, but your plants will love you for it. Here’s a video overview on how to make worm tea:
3. Banana peel tea
Banana peel tea is an easy and inexpensive way to fertilize your garden. To make the tea, simply place a few banana peels in a pot of water and let them steep for 24 hours. Once the tea is ready, you can apply it to your plants by watering them with the liquid.
Banana peel tea is rich in potassium and other nutrients that are essential for plant growth. In addition, the tea helps to promote root growth and prevent disease. When used as directed, banana peel tea can boost your plants and help them thrive.
Homemade fertilizers are a great way to give your garden a boost. They are easy to make and provide a range of benefits for plants. In this post, we have highlighted three different types of homemade fertilizer you can use in your garden.
4.) Comfrey tea
Comfrey is a very versatile plant and has a range of uses, including being used as fodder for livestock, as green manure or compost activator, or for making herbal medicines. It has even been used as a cosmetic ingredient in shampoos and lotions!
Comfrey is an easy plant to grow and can be propagated from seed, division or cuttings. It prefers full sun but will tolerate partial shade and well-drained soil. So why not give it a try in your garden?
Comfrey tea is an excellent fertilizer for your garden. It is rich in nutrients and can help to promote vigorous growth in plants. To make comfrey tea, simply steep a handful of leaves in a gallon of water for 24 hours.
Once the tea has been brewed, you can apply it to your plants by watering them with the mixture. Be sure to dilute the tea experiences before applying it, as it can burn plants if too concentrated. Comfrey tea is an excellent way to give your plants a boost of nutrients and help them thrive.
5.) Cover crops (and the chop-and-drop)
One of the best ways to fertilize your garden is by growing and chopping cover crops. Cover crops are plants that are grown specifically to be chopped and dropped onto the soil as mulch.
They help to improve soil health by adding organic matter, suppressing weeds, and preventing erosion. Typically, cover crops are planted in the fall and then chopped down in the spring before they have a chance to flower and set seed.
This ensures that all of the nutrients from the plant go back into the soil. Some common cover crops include rye, clover, and vetch. By incorporating cover crops into your gardening routine, you can give your plants the nutrients they need to thrive.
All of these fertilizers are rich in nutrients and will help promote healthy plant growth. So why not give them a try?
Let me know in the comments if banana peel tea has worked for you or if you have vermicomposting (worms) at your homestead. I’m looking to get some worms myself, here, soon!
Featured photo credit: Teona Swift on Pexels
