3 Simple Methods to Make Fertilizer Tea

Three straightforward and cheap methods to make fertilizer tea for nourishing backyard greens, indoor vegetation and flowers by way of software to foliage or soil.

Whether or not your gardening includes greens, fruit bushes or flowers, fertilizer tea could be a useful software used together with natural fertilizers to enhance productiveness.

And, with the skyrocketing worth of fertilizers, it’s useful to know how one can make gardening tea your self with subsequent to no expenditure wanted!

What’s Fertilizer Tea?

Fertilizer tea is a nutritious liquid constructed from granular fertilizer, compost or garden clippings.

It’s utilized to plant foliage or on to the soil to supply a fast burst of vitamins and to hurry development.

How one can Use

As a result of fertilizer tea is diluted with water, it’s a delicate resolution that gained’t burn plant leaves or roots.

Thus, it may be utilized extra incessantly with out the chance of overdoing it.

I like to use each 2-3 weeks.

As soon as a plant blooms, it’s best to solely apply fertilizer tea to the soil.

Three Methods to Make at Dwelling

There are three major methods to make fertilizer tea. Two of them are completely free!

So if the skyrocketing costs of natural and business fertilizers have you ever involved, select one of many free strategies under to maintain your gardening efforts as cheap as attainable.

Grass Clippings

The best technique for making fertilizer tea is to make use of freshly lower grass clippings after mowing the yard.

This technique additionally prices you nothing.

Grass is of course excessive in nitrogen and potassium, two very important vitamins for rising and established vegetation.

To switch these vitamins from the clippings right into a fertilizer tea, observe these directions.

1. Collect up a few of the recent, inexperienced clippings subsequent time you mow the garden.
2. Fill a 5-gallon bucket two-thirds of the way in which with these cuttings.
3. High up the bucket to simply under the rim with rainwater or filtered water. Don’t use faucet water which accommodates chlorine and different toxins.
4. Place the bucket in a spot that’s heat and dry however doesn’t get direct afternoon solar.
5. Let the clippings ferment for 3 days uncovered. Stir not less than as soon as a day.
6. Pressure out the clippings and affix the lid to the 5-gallon bucket to maintain critters out. I recommend doing this by pouring the tea right into a second 5-gallon bucket with a strainer excessive.
7. Add the moist clippings to your compost pile or discard.
8. Decant a few of the fertilizer tea as wanted in a twig bottle or business sprayer for widespread software each two weeks or every time your vegetation may use a lift.

Word that if you happen to deal with your garden with pesticides or weed and feed, it’s best NOT to make use of the clippings to make fertilizer tea, particularly if you can be utilizing it in your vegetable backyard.

Compost Tea

Fertilizer tea constructed from compost is aptly referred to as “compost tea”.

It’s additionally straightforward and free if you happen to make your own compost with kitchen scraps.

You may also purchase a bag of natural compost inexpensively from an area nursery if you happen to don’t have your individual pile.

*Don’t use compost made with manure to make compost tea.

The strategy for making compost tea is similar to fertilizer tea. Merely observe these steps:

1. Take one shovel of completed compost and place in a 5-gallon bucket.
2. High up with rainwater (finest) or filtered water to simply under the rim.
3. Place the uncovered bucket in a heat, dry spot that doesn’t get direct afternoon solar.
4. Stir each day for 3-7 days.
5. Pressure out the compost (I do that with one other 5- gallon bucket and a strainer) and affix the lid.
6. Throw moist compost again into the compost pile.
7. Apply undiluted compost tea to plant foliage or as a soil drench each two weeks or as wanted.

Natural Granular Fertilizer

In circumstances the place you wouldn’t have a compost pile and don’t have yard clippings available, you can also make fertilizer tea from granular fertilizer.

*I like to recommend solely utilizing this technique with pure natural fertilizers (I use this brand).

To make tea with granular fertilizer, observe these steps.

1. Add 1 cup of natural granular fertilizer to 1 gallon of rainwater or filtered water in a big bucket.
2. Stir and let the combination set for twenty-four hours uncovered outdoors in a shady, dry spot that doesn’t get direct afternoon solar.
3. Pressure out the fertilizer and use the solids to mulch across the root zone of backyard vegetation and flowers.
4. Apply undiluted liquid at a charge of 1-2 cups per plant or 2-4 cups for big vegetation as a soil drench or spritzed on leaves as foliage feed.

Fertilizer Tea vs Compost Tea

When you’ve got each compost and recent, unsprayed yard clippings accessible, which is finest to make…fertilizer tea or compost tea?

In that case, it’s best to decide on compost tea as a result of the vitamins within the last liquid will likely be extra intensive than from grass clippings alone.

Shelf Life

Do-it-yourself fertilizer tea will final for months if you happen to retailer it in a dry place.

I might recommend making a recent batch whether it is greater than a 12 months previous.

Remember to at all times retailer it with a tight-fitting lid, because the combination will proceed to ferment and get smellier as time goes on!