Nettle as fertilizer for cucumbers 

Organic fertilizing helps to increase the quantity and quality of the crop, which allows you to grow environmentally friendly vegetables and fruits. If at the same time you need to save the budget, then you can use green top dressing. Here we are talking about the preparation of fertilizers from nettles and dandelions. So, weed grasses and other tops can be usefully used as a free mineral supplement. Feeding cucumbers with nettles is a cheap but very effective method of fertilizing. This will be discussed in the article.

At first glance, nettle is a useless weed, however, it has a whole set of nutrients needed for cucumbers:

• organic acids;
• vitamins;
• microelements;
• tannins;
• phytoncides, etc.

Everything shows that it is probably not worth writing off this weed.

properties of plants

Nettle is the most sought-after component of home-made organic fertilizer. Its main advantage is the presence of almost all easily digestible trace elements, such as, for example, magnesium, potassium and calcium.

Cooking Rules

In order for you to get a nutritious and healthy mixture, when preparing nettle fertilizer, you need to follow certain rules:

1. Collection should be carried out before the formation of seeds on the stems.
2. Nettle should be undamaged.
3. The infusion should be stirred twice thrice a week.
4. To speed up the fermentation process, the solution must be stored in the sun. You can also add yeast or sourdough to the nettle.
5. The remainder of the fertilizer can be stored in a plastic container. The storage period is unlimited. The only thing is that the composition needs to be covered for the winter so that it does not freeze.
6. Use the composition as a fertilizer should be no more than 1 time in 2 weeks. After top dressing, cucumbers should be watered abundantly.
7. To make the smell of the composition less sharp, add valerian root to the container where it is stored.

Nettle top dressing will protect cucumbers from pests and all kinds of diseases. Experienced gardeners do not discard or eradicate nettles from their gardens. Having prepared the infusion once, you can use it during the entire summer season.

Application in horticulture

Due to the fact that the nettle burns, many gardeners do not like it. However, this property can be turned into an advantage. For example, cut nettles can be placed at the roots of cucumbers. This shelter will slow the growth of weeds and will be an excellent protection against pests such as slugs.

In addition, chopped nettles can be used as mulch. Such a fertilizer for cucumbers will be very useful. In addition, this prevents the formation of erosion on the ground.

Fertilizer preparation

Making nettle cucumber dressing is very simple. To do this, you need to mow the weed and dry it a little, you can even dry it. Then the nettles are crushed and stacked in containers.

So, chopped dried or dried nettles should be put in tanks, barrels or cut bottles, and then poured with water. You can use settled or rain water. Put the containers with the infusion in a semi-shaded place for fermentation. Nettle should settle for 10-15 days. During the fermentation process, the infusion will smell unpleasant, so the containers should be placed away from the windows of the house, preferably somewhere in the backyard.

To limit the access of oxygen to a container with nettle infusion, it must be closed with polyethylene. The readiness of the infusion is determined by smell. After fermentation is complete, the contents of the bottles will smell like fresh manure. The finished liquid can be used to feed cucumbers by adding it to the water for irrigation:

• for plant nutrition in a ratio of 1:5;
• for roots – 1:2.

The rest of the crops, including indoor plants, can be fed with nettle infusion. Plants will quickly grow and become stronger after such feeding: the leaves will become bright and glossy, and the process of growth and ripening of cucumbers will also accelerate.

Recipe for making fertilizer from bread and nettles

If you insist nettle with bread, you get a nutritious kvass for plants. To prepare it you will need:

• nettle – stems and leaves;
• kvass;
• the remains of rolls and bread;
• natural yeast.

All ingredients should be infused for 3-5 days. Fill the container with nettles by ¾ and fill with water with diluted yeast, leftover bread and kvass to the same level. Otherwise, during the fermentation process, the fertilizer will pour out over the edges.

After the completion of the fermentation processes, the contents of the container must be filtered. The liquid is diluted with water in a ratio of 1:10. Potash agrochemicals and superphosphates can be added to this composition.

Nettle and Dandelion Infusion

Take nettles and dandelions as the basis for the composition. Gather the plants before the formation of seeds on them and dry them, and then chop them. Place the nettles and dandelions in a container, filling it 1/8 full. Then the composition is poured with water with humate previously diluted in it (1 teaspoon per 10 liters of water).

This infusion should stand for 4-5 days. Ashes or other ready-made organics can be added to the composition. It is worth noting that other components can also be added to this type of fertilizer:

• yarrow;
• stepsons of tomatoes;
• sagebrush;
• Shepherd’s bag;
• wheatgrass with roots;
• comfrey;
• daisy;
• mother-and-stepmother.

Cereals are also not suitable for processing, because when they decay, they form alcohol-containing compounds that have a detrimental effect on plantings.

How to improve the quality of nutrition

If you apply one simple trick, you can improve the recipes described in this article. To preserve the maximum amount of substances useful for cucumbers, cover the container with fermented grass with a film.

The fact is that polyethylene withstands the deformation exerted on it by methane formed during the decomposition of nettles. Thus, the hermetic flow of fermentation is ensured, without oxygen access. The process takes 2 weeks.

nettle ash

Mulch and nettle infusion are not all fertilizers that can be made from this weed. It can also produce ash. It is volatile, light and has a bluish tint. The advantage of nettle ash is that it contains more than 30 trace elements and slightly less than 40% potassium.

According to experts, nettle ash is much more useful than wood ash. To prepare nettle ash, you need to mow and dry the weed, and then burn it. Better to do it in the evening. Then in the morning the ash will already be cooled down, which will allow you to put it in some kind of container and use it as needed. Nettle ash is used in the same way as wood ash.

Nettle fertilizer as a universal remedy

As mentioned above, you can use nettle top dressing for almost all garden and flower crops. This fertilizer is great for fertilizing strawberries. It nourishes the plant and stimulates its growth. In addition, nettle feeding increases the sugar level in the berries. Nettle infusion is also an excellent nourishment for tomatoes. It stimulates the growth of bushes and fruits, due to the high content of calcium and potassium.

For cucumbers, white cabbage and peppers, nettle fertilizer supplemented with dandelions is best suited. To feed the flowers, you need to add ash to the fertilizer. So, their growth is stimulated, and flowering becomes abundant.

An increasing number of amateur and professional gardeners are switching to natural fertilizers. For this, plant organic matter is used, which minimizes the use of mineral fertilizers. This approach allows you to eat healthy, safe and environmentally friendly vegetables from the beds.

To summarize

We hope that the information obtained in this article will help you improve the productivity of the garden and get a quality, environmentally friendly crop. Organic fertilizers are very relevant. So, using weeds as preparation of solutions, you can not only get rid of them in the beds, but also benefit the plantings.

We invite you to watch a video that will expand your knowledge on the preparation of nettle fertilizer: