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Homemade Fertilizers

By Super Admin

Although commercial fertilizers is the best source of balanced nutrition for flowers, fruits, and vegetables, there are a number of homemade fertilizers you can make easily that are equally effective. Homemade garden fertilizers provide many of the beneficial vitamins, minerals, and nitrogen that outdoor plants require. Here are some of the best fertilizer recipes.

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Oak leaves : Fill 1/3 of five-gallon bucket with dry oak leaves and add water to the top of the bucket. Place the mixture in a sunny spot and let it steep until the water takes on the colour of iced tea (ideally for one week). If all the wait seems to be too long then add boiling water to the leaves and use the solution once it is cold. Do not waste the left over oak leaves use them to make a dandy mulch.

Coffee : Use leftover coffee to water the plants. However make sure to dilute it before using it. You can make use of this ratio one part of coffee to 4 parts of water. You can use the solution once every other week. Do not do it frequently.

Tea : Apply tea once a month in the spring and summer. To encourage repeated blooming do it especially after the first flush of flowers. Used tea bags are good for orchids.

Banana peels: Banana peels helps roses to flourish. You can get them from any grocery shops that sells bananas with a very cheap rate.

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Eggshells : provide a rich source of potassium and calcium. Make powdered eggshell fertilizer by drying out empty eggshells. Put five crushed eggshells into the soil around every plant. It is the best fertilizer for outdoor flowers, fruits, and vegetables. You can even store the liquid eggshells for the plants. To make liquid eggshell fertilizer, boil 20 eggshells in a gallon of water. Allow them to steep for 8 hours before removing the shells. Store it in a covered container and use it just once a week. A solution of 1 tbs of apple vinegar and 1 gallon of water (especially alkaline tap water) will help houseplants to become lush green.

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Milk: Last but not the least milk is good nourishment for plants as it contains nitrogen-building protein that plants require. So , feed the plans with nutrient rich milk by mixing one part of milk to four parts of water. Use this only once a week and see the difference yourself.

Newspapers : place a metal tray with newspapers and spread used coffee grounds evenly on the paper not more than ¼ inch. After the grounds are dry, put them directly on the soil around the plants.

Story first published: Wednesday, June 29, 2011, 17:19 [IST]
Read more about: sharon supriya gardening