How to Make Your Own Plant Fertilizer
In an effort to "go green", many people are choosing to eliminate many of the toxic chemicals that have been traditionally been used in the home, and also to recycle the waste of the items that are used. Making homemade organic fertilizers works toward both of these goals. You can make fertilizer from safe materials and even utilize some household waste while doing it. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- 4 parts seed meal (available at feed stores)
- 1/4 part ordinary agricultural lime, finely ground
- 1/4 part gypsum
- 1/2 part dolomitic lime
- Egg shells and dried-out coffee grounds as available
- 1 part bone meal, rock phosphate or high-phosphate guano (optional)
- 1/2 to 1 part kelp meal (optional)
Instructions
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Follow the proportions for the fertilizer ingredients as described in the Things You'll Need section. Do this by volume and not by weight, as the items have vastly different densities.
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Mix all the ingredients together uniformly in a large, plastic, resealable container.
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Spread the fertilizer over the growing area once a year prior to planting. Apply fertilizer in quantities of between 4 quarts per 100 square feet for crops or flowers that have light feeding needs, to 7 quarts per 100 square feet for those plants that require more fertilization.
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Add an additional 4 to 6 quarts of fertilizer per 100 square feet around the plants about once a month during the growing season, and your plants will enjoy a steady release of nutrients.
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