Today, the shelves of agricultural shops are full of various plant food. But one of the main goals of gardeners is the benefits and naturalness of the grown crops. The range offered by stores is not always useful in this regard. There is an excellent, and most importantly inexpensive, alternative - nettle fertilizer for plants. About him and talk further in detail.
What is the use of nettle fertilizer
Such top dressing is the most inexpensive and affordable way to saturate garden and vegetable crops with useful substances.
Let's look at the chemical composition of this weed, to understand what benefits can bring green fertilizer from nettle. It belongs to the group of nitrogen and is used in early summer, before the flowering of garden crops. Nettle contains such elements:
- calcium - 37%;
- potassium - 34%;
- magnesium - 6%;
- iron — 0.3%;
- trace elements (manganese, copper, zinc, etc.).
Did you know? Vitamin K1 is involved in the synthesis of a specific protein - prothrombin, which is necessary for blood clotting in case of tissue damage, and also prevents the occurrence of cancer.
The infusion of nettle for fertilizer strengthens the root system of plants, stimulates their growth, increases resistance to pests and diseases. Processing the garden with its help favorably affects the soil, making it more fertile with its complex effect.
Organic fertilizers can also be used: charcoal, peat, compost, biohumus, manure, sawdust.
How to make fertilizer from nettle
Consider how to make fertilizer from nettle. For the preparation of infusion suitable only plants collected before the flowering period. It is better to collect shoots away from the roads, in clean placesThus, the environmental friendliness of the resulting feed will be much higher.
Collected plants are crushed and folded in a wooden or plastic barrel, filling it to 1/3. Do not use metal containers, so as not to provoke reactions that destroy all the useful substances contained in the grass.
Shoots to fill with water, not reaching the top of the tank a few centimeters, as in the process of fermentation, the volume of liquid will increase. The vessel can be covered with a cloth so that various insects do not get there.
Important! In the process of fermentation, the liquid solution acquires a very unpleasant odor! To reduce it, you can add a handful of ash and valerian root.
Top dressing will be ready in about two weeks. If the capacity is left in the sun, the process will be reduced to 7-10 days. During the whole time, the infusion needs to be stirred daily so that all the beneficial substances are more efficiently released. At the end of fermentation, the resulting slush should be filtered.
This infusion should be used as soon as possible: the longer it stands after the completion of fermentation, the less nutrients it remains. Nettle as a fertilizer will not stagnate in your bins, consider which plants it can be used for.
For which plants is useful nettle fertilizer
Nettle dressing universal and is suitable for almost all garden crops. With the help of it they fertilize tomatoes, cabbage, cucumbers, and Bulgarian pepper. Nettle fertilizer is very useful for tomatoes because of its high potassium content.
Due to this feeding you can get a good crop of tomatoes. But for a representative of the family solanaceous organic fertilization is not enough, so you need to make and mineral complexes.
Green dressing is well suited for berry crops, in particular, strawberries. Potassium makes the fruit sweet, and nitrogen stimulates growth.
For strawberries to delight you with tasty berries, you need proper care during flowering, plant nutrition in spring and autumn.
Nettle as a fertilizer for cucumbers shows excellent results.
The shoots start to grow better, bloom faster, and the fruits have excellent taste. Apply this infusion can be even for flowers and indoor plants. But in this case it is better to cook it in the classical way, without adding yeast.
Important! Do not use nettle infusion for crops such as garlic, onions, radishes, turnips and legumes..
How to make fertilizer from nettle
Liquid nettle fertilizer is used in two ways: foliar and root. For irrigation, i.e. root feeding, the infusion is diluted with water at a ratio of 1:10 and applied to the pre-irrigated soil no more than once a week.
When spraying (foliar treatment), the concentration should be less saturated, the ratio with water is about 1:20. This dressing is done once a month, as frequent use can harm the leaves.
What components can supplement the nettle fertilizer
In addition to the basic recipe, there are several variations of the preparation of nettle fertilizer with different additives.
- Brew infusion
Did you know? Organic dressing for your garden can be made from stale bread or crackers. Just fill them with water and let it brew for a week.
- Top dressing with the addition of dandelions
An additional component and source of nutrients for green feeding can be dandelion. Plants also need to be collected before flowering, lightly dried and chopped.
After that, dandelions are added to the main component and poured water. Additionally, potassium humate can be added to the infusion (at the rate of 1 tsp. Per 10 liters of water). In addition to dandelions, other herbs are used as an additive:
- chamomile;
- coltsfoot;
- sagebrush;
- yarrow;
- shepherd's purse;
- wheat grass;
- comfrey.
- Methane Fermentation Method
The fermentation process takes place without the participation of oxygen, as a result of which the nutrients are preserved to a greater extent and do not evaporate from the liquid. For root feeding infusion diluted in a ratio of 1: 2, for foliar - 1: 5.
As you can see, do-it-yourself nettle fertilizer can be of great benefit to your green economy. In this case, your costs will be minimal, and the result will surely please.
