Learn how to make your own plant fertilizer

Learn how to make your own plant fertilizer

When we think about houseplants, vegetable gardens or even the lawn, we can never forget that they need to be fertilized regularly to ensure their growth. Although we find mineral fertilizers available in the main gardening shops, there is an alternative to natural fertilization, which can be prepared in our home. Whether because of the environment or for economic reasons, homemade fertilizers offer several advantages.

If your choice is to produce your own fertilizer, here are some tips:

1 - Make your own fertilizer:

If you have a place to build your own homemade compost, this is the best way to make your natural fertilizer. You can incorporate garden waste and some household waste.

Then you let it decompose for a few months, stirring regularly. Once well degraded, you only have to apply it to the base of your plants, vegetable garden, etc.

2 - Natural fertilizers produced from household waste:

The simplest natural fertilizers come from household waste. The following are some of the household rubbish that you probably have on hand. Here's how to use them as a natural fertilizer for your plants or vegetable garden:

• Coffee Bean: make it a habit every morning to keep coffee grounds in a container. This powder is an excellent source of phosphorus and nitrogen, two essential ingredients to keep your indoor plants green and lettuce in the garden healthy. Incorporate regularly into the soil of your plants. On the other hand, avoid applying it during the flowering period, because nitrogen promotes the growth of leaves at the expense of flowers.
• Tea bags: make a second infusion with the used tea bags, which you will then add to the irrigation water of your plants. Tea residues contain carbohydrates, an element that promotes beautiful flowering.
• Egg shells: after cooking, wash and dry the egg shells completely before crushing them. You can apply it to the soil of your plants, providing them with the calcium, magnesium and potassium they need.
• Banana peels: another excellent source of potassium. Just cut into small pieces and add them to the soil of your plants, or make an infusion that will add to the irrigation water.
• Wood ash: in fact, wood ash is an excellent natural fertilizer for the lawn and vegetable garden. Apply a thin layer to the lawn or garden soil, and rain and watering will be responsible for incorporating this natural fertilizer.

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3 - Nettle as fertilizer for the garden:

Although considered by many to be an undesirable plant, nettle can be very useful in the garden for plant feeding. Just cook and let the plant marinate for a few days in a bucket of water. Then, dilute this sludge with water and apply it to the base of your fruit trees and garden flowers.

4 - The use of comfrey:

Following the same principle as cooking nettle, cook comfrey leaves to make it a natural fertilizer for plants. You can then dilute it with water to feed and encourage the flowering of your ornamental plants.

5 - Other natural plant-based fertilizers:

Many ornamental plants or vegetables can be fed with their own waste. For example, if you grow geraniums in pots or in the garden, know that you can also use the stems to make a natural fertilizer. When pruning your geraniums, make it a habit to store the stems that you will soak for a few weeks in the water.

6 - Magnesium sulfate as a natural fertilizer:

An excellent source of magnesium and sulfur, magnesium sulfate heptahydrate can be used as a natural fertilizer for tomatoes and roses. Add a tablespoon of magnesium sulfate to four liters of water. Dilute well and water your tomatoes and roses, or any other plant whose foliage looks pale green.

7 - The cooking water of your vegetables:

Did you know that you can use the cooking water for your vegetables to make it a natural fertilizer for your plants? Rich in nutrients needed by plants, the cooking water of vegetables can be applied once cooled, without dilution, directly to the soil of your plants.

The proposed fertilizers are used to provide plants with the nutrients and minerals they need for their health. They nourish the plants and, thus, promote their growth, good flowering and fruiting. Plants with nutritional deficiencies show signs of deficiency, are more insignificant and more susceptible to disease.

Showing how to make 100% vegetable organic fertilizer

Showing how to make 100% vegetable organic fertilizer

The product is free from biological contamination and has a lower cost than those found in the market. Most organic fertilizers use cattle manure and poultry litter, which, in addition to being difficult to obtain and expensive, can present chemical and biological contamination problems. But Embrapa Agrobiologia, from Seropédica in Rio de Janeiro, developed a technology for the production of fertilizers and organic substrates of 100% vegetable origin.

- The compost can be produced both on a large scale and on a small rural property, since it uses a simple process, which does not require large investments in infrastructure - explains Embrapa researcher Marco Antônio Leal, who developed the technology.

According to the researcher, organic fertilizers and substrates obtained from this process are of superior quality to similar ones found on the market and can also be used in organic agriculture.

- These products are free from biological contamination, do not use mineral fertilizers and their cost can be much lower - reports Leal.

Composting

Composting is a natural process where the residues of the property undergo a biological transformation and become organic fertilizers or humus. In this biological process there is a decomposition of the organic matter contained in animal or vegetable remains. The final result of composting is organic compost, which can be applied to the soil to improve its characteristics, without causing risks to the environment.

The main benefits of composting are: stimulating the development of plant roots, which become more capable of absorbing water and nutrients from the soil; increased water infiltration capacity, reducing erosion; keeps soil temperature and acidity levels (pH) stable, hinders or prevents the germination of invasive (weed) plant seeds; activates the life of the soil, favoring the reproduction of microorganisms beneficial to agricultural crops.

To disseminate the technology, Embrapa Agrobiologia produced a didactic video, in partnership with the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro and Pesagro-Rio. The video lasts 15 minutes and shows the production step by step.

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Differentials of earthworm humus

Differentials of earthworm humus

Soil Porosity

Earthworm humus is especially important for soil porosity, as the process in which organic matter passes through the earthworm's digestive system is what causes the risk of erosion to be reduced and the soil to have better water absorption and of nutrients.

Nutrients

Because it has a longer duration in the soil, the earthworm humus also offers a high and constant amount of diversified nutrients, in addition to ensuring the proliferation of microbes and bacteria essential for the enzymatic processes of the plant and the soil. With this nutrition the roots grow stronger and the heavy metals are gradually removed from the soil.

Regulates pH

Earthworm humus helps to regulate the pH of the soil, as its own pH tends to neutral pH. This balance of the soil does not require the use of large amounts of fertilizers, even if organic, and ensures higher quality of agriculture as a whole.

How to produce humus

Avoiding the use of chemicals in agriculture is not difficult when we look at our ancestors' relationships with nature. Everything can be produced without the presence of pesticides, manure or synthetic fertilizers, just having the right information.

The change is often slow and gradual, but it will certainly make a difference in the long run and bring a much healthier and more sustainable life for our children.

Despite being extremely rich, humus must be associated with other organic fertilizers for organic production to be healthy, have a high productivity, without the need to put consumers' health at risk.

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The advantages of using an earthworm

The advantages of using an earthworm

In order for composting with earthworms to be carried out safely and effectively, it is necessary to build an earthworm. The entire humus production process will be done by mixing earthworms with raw material, then just replenish the organic waste until the compost is ready.

A very efficient way of making earthworms is by using Californian earthworms, as they, in addition to feeding approximately their weight each day and producing organic fertilizer quickly, also reproduce more frequently.

The creation of earthworms can be done at the same location as the plantation using only organic materials and other compounds coming from the property.

Having a worm farm on the property, there will always be a place to deposit organic waste, the producer will save with synthetic fertilizers and will have at his disposal an organic fertilizer of the highest quality.

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Humus vs Worm Humus

Humus vs Worm Humus

The main difference between one and the other is the presence of earthworms: the common humus does not require the use of earthworms.

Both common humus and earthworm humus are excellent fertilizers, because, in addition to not causing any damage to the soil, they are very suitable for the reuse of organic matter present in the property, since the elements present in organic waste are essential for a good germination and to improve the level of water absorption in the soil.

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Free manual shows the benefits and teaches you how to make organic fertilizer at home

Free manual shows the benefits and teaches you how to make organic fertilizer at home

Although they seem practical and exist in different forms, chemical fertilizers are not the best options for maintaining a healthy crop and they still prevent production from resulting in 100% organic foods. As organic agriculture expert Thiago Tadeu Campos explains, in the long run, chemical fertilizers can erode and deplete the soil.

An ancient way of renewing the nutrients absorbed by plants is the use of materials already degraded in the soil, that is, the reuse of organic waste available in nature for the revitalization of the land. Humus is one of those options.

The role of humus in organic agriculture

In addition to being an inexpensive form of fertilization, humus production is simple and totally organic, preventing cultivation from suffering the consequences of synthetic fertilization.

Humus, which uses earthworm manure as a raw material, provides the soil with non-synthesized plant hormones, allowing plants to naturally absorb differentiated nutrients and grow vigorously and without deficiency of important nutrients such as triple NPK or Zinc.

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How to make homemade compost with compost

How to make homemade compost with compost

To compost at home you don't have to spend a lot. It is possible to carry out the procedure with specific boxes, which are found in gardening establishments, or with materials you have at home, such as plastic boxes.

The ideal is to have three boxes for composting (the first two with holes). The first thing to do is to separate the organic waste. Use seeds, grains, coffee grounds, eggshells, fruits, vegetables and tea (herbs). That done, take the container with the food and put it in the first box. Leave the residues there, without spreading, and then cover them with dry material (sawdust, straw, dry leaves, etc.).

This first box must be filled within 30 days, so that the cycle is repeated with the following box. In fact, this is the time for composting. Fill the top one, replace it with the bottom one and let it rest for 30 days. This cycle is repeated.

After that period, all the residues that were in the box became a super nutritious fertilizer, ideal for planting in gardens, gardens or pots .

The last box, the third, must have a tap. It serves to store the liquid collected from the waste, also known as manure, which serves as a great fertilizer.

See how easy it is to make compost at home? In the course Home agroecological gardens you learn step by step to make compost and compost. You also have the opportunity to check out incredible tips from professor and specialist Ale Nahra. Will lose?

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