Last Updated on April 10, 2024 by Real Men Sow
Making your own homemade liquid fertilizer allows you to use them for everything, including young seedlings and plants in containers. Sweetcorn and other vegetables that can benefit from midseason booster feedings are also included.
What’s Liquid Fertilizer Made Of?
The starter material is locally-produced poultry manure with nutrient analysis of 5-4-4, something very similar to many chicken manure pellets available in UK garden centers. The process is very similar to the way many gardeners make fertilizer using comfrey. However, it takes much less time.
How to Make One Quart Batch Of Homemade Liquid Fertilizer
This simple recipe will work well with seedlings. Fill a quart jar with 4 tablespoons of either poultry manure or blended organic fertilizer. Proceed to add lukewarm to the jar. Put the lid on and shake vigorously then keep at room temperature for 2 days. Take out the liquid and add water to make it as strong as you like. For seedlings, use a very thin mixture of extract and water. Remember that the strength of the solution depends on its color.
How To Scale Up Your Homemade Liquid Fertilizer
A large vegetable garden needs one gallon batch per week. It is made by combining one cup of organic poultry manure with some blended organic fertilizer and a few grass clippings, chopped comfrey, or stinging nettle leaves in a pail.
Next, add a gallon of water to the pail, mix well and cover it with an old towel. Two days later, the solution will be ready to strain into a second pail using a colander. Add the concentrate to a watering can and dilute it with approximately five parts water.
How To Use Your Liquid Fertilizer
Let it ferment for too long or spray it on leaves instead of soaking roots and avoid using a weaker solution as excess salts can cause damage to roots and browning of leaf edges. After two days of brewing, an unpleasant odor begins to form, which becomes even more severe after four. The mixture is too much and you should throw it away and start again. It is not possible to save or store homemade liquid fertilizers. Therefore, it is best to make small batches to ensure you have an ongoing supply.
The high level of bacteria in wild-fermented concoctions belongs in the soil and not on plants. Use the stuff sparingly on vegetables and avoid getting it on any edible parts.
