Home Made Liquid Fertilisers
There's nothing like a pick-me-up... liquid that is. A cup of tea can do wonders to perk up your day; and coffee drinkers, simply wither without their liquid refreshment habit.
Plants love liquid fertilisers too! Watch them come alive when you give them a regular cuppa of their favourite brew.
There are numerous references to liquid fertilisers in this site. That is because virtually all vegetable plants do best when they grow quickly in a fertile environment.
These recipes for liquid fertiliser are very simple but effective, and they start with a plastic garbage container of about 45 litre size (10 gallons).
Seaweed Fertiliser
Gather enough seaweed to fill the container half way. Hose it down or leave out in the rain to rinse off the salt before going in.
Top up the container with water and allow it to stand for about 3 months.
This fertiliser is REALLY strong so must be very diluted to use on your plants. About half a cup of fertiliser to a bucket of water is about right for this mixture. Anything too strong will burn the roots of your plants.
Poultry Manure Fertiliser
Fill the container half way again with the manure and top up with water. Allow this to stand for 4 weeks at least before using.
Dilute by one pint fertiliser with two gallons of water (half a litre mixed with 10 litres of water).
Comfrey Fertiliser
Comfrey is often referred to as the 'miracle herb'. It is worth putting this herb in a corner of your garden for its myriad uses.
It will grow in a wide variety of soil conditions and has a very deep root system. The deep root system allows it to bring minerals and nutrients up into its leaves that are unavailable to other plants. It is also the only plant that contains vitamin B12.
Comfrey is a large plant with thick, furry leaves. It can be used as a green fertiliser (chop up the leaves and place on the garden) or as a liquid fertilizer 'tea'.
Fill your container half way with large comfrey leaves. Fill the container with water and leave it for at least 3 weeks while the leaves rot down.
Mix 50/50 with water and pour around the roots of your plants.
So now, not only can you make your own compost
when you build your no dig garden, you can now make your own home-made liquid fertilisers to feed your veggie patch plants while they grow.
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