Homemade Plant Fertilizer Recipe

comfrey flower

Potted plants need extra nutrition since they are separated from the vital life forces that remake the soil from which garden plants benefit. This recipe may also be used to give garden plants a special boost when they are developing foliage.

If you are lucky enough to have a freshwater fish tank or goldfish pond, you can use water from the tank as a base for fertilizing your plants instead of tap water. All that fish poop is great for plants. There are sustainable greenhouses that have fish ponds in them just for this purpose. This is called aquaponics. More complex displays of aquaponics in action can be seen by clicking this link.

If you are frequently away from home or tend to neglect your plants, add 1/8 cup of horsetail greens to the mix. Horsetail is full of silica which allows the plant to build sturdier plant cell walls thus making it more drought and heat resistant.

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup dried Nettle leaves
  • 1/4 cup dried Comfrey leaves
  • 2 cups of water

Procedure

  1. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan on the stove top.
  2. Add dried herbs to hot water.
  3. Cover saucepan with a lid and remove from heat.
  4. Once the contents of the saucepan is at room temperature, strain the infusion into a separate container.
  5. The finished product can be added at a ratio of 1/3 cup of fertilizer to 4 cups of water in a watering can.
  6. Plants in need of extra help may get 1 teaspoon of Epsom salts added to the fertilizer water no more than once a month.

Storage and Use

Leftover fertilizer may be kept in a labelled, sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

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