Contents
When caring for their garden, many owners destroy weeds in large quantities, without thinking that they can be useful in some way. But the “extra” greens from the ridges can become a very valuable fertilizer, for this you only need to know the technology of its preparation. Admirers of organic dressings widely use liquid fertilizer from weeds to feed various vegetable crops. We will talk about how they do it and what effect they get from it below in the article.
Are all herbs good?
In the garden you can find various types of weeds. All of them are suitable for the preparation of “green” fertilizer. Clover, woodlice, dandelions, euphorbia and other freshly cut greens can be safely combined in the preparation of one organic top dressing. It is important to note that nettle is a particularly valuable ingredient. This weed releases a record amount of safe nitrogen during fermentation, which, when applied to the soil, stimulates the growth of vegetable crops.
An additional benefit of nettles is the fact that when they are in the soil, they attract earthworms. In the course of their life activity, they loosen the soil, make it airy, light, saturating the roots of plants with oxygen.
Benefits of green manure
Preparing fertilizer from weeds requires a lot of time and effort, but at the same time, gardeners still widely use such dressings without replacing them with fertilizers from the store or manure. The thing is that herbal fertilizer has a number of comparative, very important, advantages:
- Availability. In the summer, in any garden and around the garden, you can find grass in abundance. For a competent owner, it is an absolutely free raw material for the preparation of high-quality organic fertilizer.
- Weed disposal method. As a result of weeding the garden or mowing the lawn, the farmer receives a large amount of greenery, which can either be thrown away, burned, or put into compost. Composting requires saving some space and a long time for overturning. The preparation of green fertilizer allows you to methodically and effectively solve the issue of cleaning up the territory.
- High efficiency. Properly prepared fertilizer from grass and weeds is not inferior to manure in its composition and effectiveness of impact on vegetable crops. Liquid herbal infusions are well absorbed by plants and do not make you wait long for the result.
- Decreased acidity. Herbal fertilizer is characterized by an alkaline environment, due to which, when applied to acidic soils, it can reduce the corresponding indicator.
- Introduction of beneficial microorganisms. The herbal infusion contains a lot of beneficial microorganisms that, when they get into the soil, improve its composition and emit gases and heat. On soils saturated with beneficial microbes and bacteria, plants get sick less and grow faster.
Thus, when preparing a green infusion, the farmer solves two problems at once: the destruction of excess vegetation on the site and the effective feeding of vegetable crops with cheap, affordable fertilizer. Thanks to a combination of these factors, weed dressing has been popular with experienced gardeners for many years.
How to make fertilizer from weeds
In everyday life, various recipes for the preparation of “green” fertilizer are used, which are based on the fermentation of herbs. You can prepare the infusion according to the classic recipe as follows:
- Pick up a container, preferably made of plastic, with a volume of 50 to 200 liters. Place it in a sunny place and provide for the presence of a cover. If the container is metal, then under it you need to place a stand that will not allow the bottom to rust quickly.
- Grind the available greens and put in a container by 2/3 or half the volume. If desired, you can completely fill the container with herbs, but in this case it will be more difficult to mix the fertilizer during the cooking process. The amount of greens can be different, since the preparation always results in a concentrate that requires additional dilution with water.
- You can speed up the fermentation of the infusion by adding fertilizers with a high nitrogen content. For example, for every 40-50 liters of infusion add a tablespoon of carbamide (urea). Pour the granules into the container when laying the grass, between its layers. Farmers who are negative about the use of mineral dressings replace urea with organomineral humate (1 tablespoon of urea u5d XNUMX ml of humate).
- After laying the filler, the container is filled with water, leaving free space (15-20 cm from the edge). This is necessary so that in the process of fermentation and decay of herbs, the solution that has increased in volume does not float over the edge of the container.
- The container with fertilizer must be covered with a lid or film. When using a film, you need to fix its edges and make several small holes for exhaust gases. Shelter on the container will not allow the nitrogen to evaporate and will speed up the fermentation process of the infusion. If the container is tightly filled to the top with herbs, then oppression must be put on top.
- In the process of preparing the fertilizer, foam can be observed on the surface of the solution, which is a sign of fermentation. After about 1-1,5 weeks, the foam will disappear and the color of the liquid will turn dark brown. These signs signal the readiness of feeding.
The technology for preparing green fertilizer is quite simple and accessible to everyone, it only takes a little time. Some gardeners improve the technology by adding the following ingredients to the solution:
- Wood ash. It will saturate the green weed fertilizer with potassium and phosphorus, making it complex. Add the ingredient during the laying of grass in the amount of 1 cup per bucket of infusion.
- Chicken manure or mullein can replace nitrogen-containing fertilizer (urea or humate).
- Bread crusts or yeast (1 kg per 200 l) activate beneficial microorganisms and add mineral trace elements to the solution.
- Dolomite or bone meal is added to a 200 l barrel of solution in an amount of 3 kg. These substances are rich in calcium and magnesium, which are involved in the process of plant photosynthesis.
The infusion of rotted plants in itself is a nutritious and extremely useful fertilizer for vegetable crops in the garden, however, by adding additional ingredients to it, it will be possible to feed the plants with important trace elements in the required amount.
For beginners and experienced gardeners, the information given in the video on how to prepare liquid fertilizer from weeds for feeding vegetables may be useful:
Use of fertilizer
Before use, the solution in the container must be thoroughly mixed and filtered. The remaining rotted grasses are used for mulching ridges. The liquid is diluted with pure water until a light brown solution is obtained. They are fed with tomatoes, cucumbers and other vegetable crops, watering under the root. It is worth noting that the use of top dressing will be more effective if the plants are well watered with ordinary water before applying it.
An infusion of herbs can be used for foliar feeding. To do this, dilute it with water 1:20 to obtain a light solution. At the same time, it is important to remember that green fertilizer contains a large amount of nitrogen, which means that concentrations should not be exceeded and such top dressings should not be abused.
What to do if fertilizer is left
As a rule, herbal infusion is prepared in large quantities in order to immediately fertilize vegetable crops on the ridges, shrubs and fruit trees on the site. But, as is often the case, it is not possible to use up all the fertilizer at once. It makes no sense to store the infusion in an open container for more than 1 week after the end of fermentation, since the useful nitrogen will evaporate from it, and the bacteria will die. However, in this case, do not rush to dispose of the solution, because it can be saved. To do this, green fertilizer is poured into plastic containers and hermetically sealed. The fertilizer storage area should be cool and dark. In this state, the infusion can be stored for a long period of time without loss of quality.
Leftover liquid fertilizer can also be used as starter. The infusion at the bottom of the container is saturated with beneficial microorganisms, which, when new raw materials are added, will accelerate the fermentation process. Thus, every 3-4 weeks you can get a “fresh” infusion of weeds for use.
Conclusion
Green fertilizer, based on the fermentation of weeds, is an affordable and absolutely free, effective fertilizer for various crops in the garden and in the garden. It can be used to feed tall trees, fruit bushes and delicate crops such as tomato, cucumber, strawberries. The composition of the infusion of grass differs little from manure, which is why its effect on plants can be considered similar, which is confirmed by numerous reviews of experienced farmers. The technology for creating natural herbal nutrition is quite simple and accessible even to a novice agrarian. It allows you to get a nutritious mulch for the soil and a solution for watering plants at the root, which means that with its help even a small garden with low fertility soil can successfully bear fruit and delight the farmer with an excellent harvest.