Do you like to take care of your plants and make sure they look beautiful all year round? This means that you have to do everything from pruning to feeding them on a regular basis. In particular, you have to give your plants fertilizer. This helps them get the nutrients they need during the growing season, which is usually spring and summer. But, it can be expensive to look after your yard. This is why we want to introduce do it yourself plant fertilizer.
Reasons to Make Do It Yourself Plant Fertilizer
Are you wondering why you should make your own plant fertilizer when you could easily purchase it at the garden store? Here are just a few reasons why it is beneficial for you and your yard to make do it yourself plant fertilizer.
Enrich Your Soil with a Do It Yourself Plant Fertilizer
Planting new shrubs, flowers and trees in your yard is a lot of fun. But, if you are using the ordinary soil that you have in your yard, this might not be the perfect growing conditions your plants need to be healthy. The good thing about a do it yourself plant fertilizer is that you can enrich the soil. In other words, you can make sure that there are the right minerals to encourage healthy growth. This can ensure your new plants survive and thrive at the same time.
Make It Natural
The great thing about a do it yourself plant fertilizer is that you can choose natural ingredients. You will find that a lot of the products you find in garden stores are loaded with chemicals. They overpromise and say that these chemicals can help your plants. However, this is not always true and they can be harmful. This is especially true if you use too much of them and they can actually kill your plants. In addition, some products are not environmentally friendly either. So, you can stay organic and use natural ingredients that your plants like.
Use Leftovers for a Do It Yourself Plant Fertilizer
If you are someone that does not like any waste then you are going to love making a do it yourself plant fertilizer. Simply, you can use leftovers from your kitchen and repurpose them for a plant fertilizer. This can feel very rewarding and you can see great results too. So, you are going to reduce your waste and make the most of all the ingredients you have.
Save Money
If you are a keen gardener, you know that tools, plants and other equipment can be expensive. So, you are probably looking to keep your costs down in general. When you make your own plant fertilizer, this is definitely something you are going to be able to do. Since you can use leftover ingredients you have in the house, you may not have to go out and make any purchases. But, even if you do have to buy ingredients, it is going to work out a lot cheaper than buying fertilizer products all the time.
Kitchen Ingredients for a Do It Yourself Plant Fertilizer
There are a lot of ingredients around your kitchen you can use to create your own do it yourself plant fertilizer. This means that you do not have to spend any extra money. So, let’s take a look.
Used Coffee Grounds for a Do It Yourself Plant Fertilizer
Do you drink a lot of coffee? Instead of throwing out the grounds you use, you can instead make do it yourself plant fertilizer. That’s right, you can do this from used coffee grounds. They contain nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash, which are all nutrients that plants can benefit from having in the soil. In particular, this is going to be true for any plants you have that like acidic soils. So, this can include evergreens and azaleas, as well as roses and fruit trees.
After making your coffee, ensure that the grounds have time to dry. Once they are ready, you can sprinkle the coffee grounds around the plants and in the soil. Spread them out so that all your plants can enjoy them.
Cold Cooking Water for a Do It Yourself Plant Fertilizer
There are a lot of foods out there that you have to boil before you eat them. This includes pasta, vegetables, potatoes and eggs. So, what do you do with the water afterward? Do you pour it down the drain? Well, you are wasting a good do it yourself plant fertilizer. This type of cooking water can actually be a fantastic source of nutrients for your plants. After all, when you are cooking these foods, they are going to release some of their goodness into the water.
After cooking your food, remove it from the pot. Allow the water to cool down. Then, you are ready to pour it into the soil and around your plants. It is that simple to feed all of the greenery you have in your yard.
Old Egg Shells
When you are done peeling or cracking eggs, you throw the shells away in the trash. But, a lot of people do not realize that old egg shells can be used as a do it yourself plant fertilizer. This is due to containing nitrogen, phosphoric acid, calcium and some other beneficial elements. This is going to really benefit your plants and improve the soil they live in.
Set aside your old egg shells after you are done cooking. You want to crush the shells into small pieces. It is best to make them into a powder. You can do this by using a coffee grinder. Then, they are ready to scatter in your flower beds and around plants.
Used Banana Peels
When you have overripe bananas, everybody tells you to make banana bread. Well, you can actually use bananas and their peels for a do it yourself plant fertilizer too. What makes bananas great is their high levels of potassium. This is going to help plants like rose bushes to flourish.
Orange Peels for a Do It Yourself Plant Fertilizer
After you have had an orange, make sure that you keep the peels. This is because they can be a fantastic fertilizer. For example, there are nutrients that can improve the soil. What’s more, orange peels have a lot more powers than you think. They can actually as a deterrent for many creatures. For example, cats do not like orange peels and they will stay away from your plants. In addition, it can repel mosquitos from your yard. Thus, you are not having any additional expenses to enjoy a fertilizer, as well as a repellent. So, your plants can thrive in your yard.
Yard Stuff for a Do It Yourself Plant Fertilizer
There are actually some things in your yard that you can use for a do it yourself fertilizer. Again, this is going to save you a lot of money and you no longer have to buy expensive products. So, here is what you can use.
Old Grass Clippings
What do you do with your old grass clippings, do you throw them away? Well, we have a new way you can use them. Simply, when you cut your own, you can keep a bundle of your old grass clippings and use them around your plants. They are a fantastic and natural way to block weeds around plants and you can use it as mulch. Grass clippings actually have a lot of good nutrients that can enhance the soil. For instance, they can provide nitrogen.
Make Weed Water
You probably find a lot of weeds around your lawn and yard and cannot wait to get rid of them. But, do not be too hasty. Weeds can actually contain a lot of good nutrients that you can take advantage of. Namely, they can make a great do it yourself plant fertilizer since they contain a lot of nitrogen.
Of course, you do not want to replant a weed. But, what you can do is gather all of the weeds you pull and dunk them into a bucket. Fill the buck up with water and allow the weeds to soak in this water. You can leave them here for a few days and even up to a week. This is going to allow all of the nutrients to settle in the water. The water can then be used to feed plants around your yard.
Use Fallen Leaves for a Do It Yourself Plant Fertilizer
There is nothing more annoying than sweeping up fallen leaves in the yard. Well, we have some good news. Now, you can use your fallen leaves as part of a do it yourself plant fertilizer. This is going to save you from filling up the trash.
Fallen leaves are good for plants since they have trace minerals that can enhance the soil. They also help to retain moisture. You can use them as a mulch or you can choose to crush them up and mix them in with your soil. Then, you can enjoy the results.
Make Use of Pine Needles
Do you have a lot of pine needles lying all over your yard during the year? Again, just like leaves, you do not have to collect them and throw them in the trash. Instead, you can use pine needles in the same way. They have nutrients that can benefit the soil and the plants that are living there. They can help to retain moisture when they are grouped together too, which can be good in warmer months of the year when plants need more water.
Are you looking to generally enhance the aesthetic of your yard and get it looking good for the summer? You are going to benefit from reading our article on do it yourself landscape design. This is a helpful guide to help you gain inspiration and get started.
