Has Anyone Tried Using Household Ammonia?

[ChanellG]

I've recently read that ammonia can help plants grow. I've also read that using the same household ammonia that you use for your home has no effect on plants. There are always two camps of people on either side of whether something is effective or not, and there may be a combination of factors that contribute to success or failure.

I am wary of trying the ammonia because I don't like to use chemicals in my garden, but if it's really not that different from urea...

Any thoughts? @zigs? @Chuck?

 

[zigs]

It's high nitrogen, not as much as urea though.

Careful about what you buy with it as you'll have the feds knocking on your door thinking you'm making a bomb.

DON'T buy barbeque charcoal or sulphur based fungicide at the same time

 

[Chuck]

Don't do it! You would be better off peeing on your plants.

 

[zigs]

Don't wee on the leaves though

 

[R.R.]

Zigs, it's probably easier for a man to aim than for a woman...

 

[Chuck]

Don't wee on the leaves though

Why not? I hear yellow tomatoes are the rage

 

[ChanellG]

This is what I get for mentioning urea. Any other good non-chemical sources of nitrogen? I use coffee grinds and banana peels, but I'm not necessarily interested in increasing acidity everywhere. I know about hair, but that takes a long time to break down.

 

[R.R.]

It really does take a long time for hair to break down. I helped a friend of mine with her two-year-old compost bin (we were collecting the worm castings) and all the hair we found was still intact.

 

[DancingLady]

I don't think ammonia is a good idea. Where I work our bathroom disinfectant is an ammonia product, so I think it might kill off good things in the soil, which you wouldn't want to do.

 

[Chuck]

This is what I get for mentioning urea. Any other good non-chemical sources of nitrogen? I use coffee grinds and banana peels, but I'm not necessarily interested in increasing acidity everywhere. I know about hair, but that takes a long time to break down.

Blood meal, feather meal, soy meal, fish meal and emulsion, alfalfa meal to name a few.

 

[ChanellG]

Blood meal, feather meal, soy meal, fish meal and emulsion, alfalfa meal to name a few.

Never heard of soy meal. Can I find that at the big box garden center? I'm also interested in things I can make myself at home. I've been thinking of fish emulsion, more and more (and even seaweed) just concerned about the smell.

What do worm castings provide?

 

[Chuck]

Never heard of soy meal. Can I find that at the big box garden center? I'm also interested in things I can make myself at home. I've been thinking of fish emulsion, more and more (and even seaweed) just concerned about the smell.

What do worm castings provide?

Worm castings are one of the best gardening tools there is, especially if used with aerated compost tea.. As to finding soy meal, if your local nursery doesn't carry it or carry kelp meal they can obtain it easily.

 

[ChanellG]

Worm castings are one of the best gardening tools there is, especially if used with aerated compost tea.. As to finding soy meal, if your local nursery doesn't carry it or carry kelp meal they can obtain it easily.

I like the idea of those three. The farmer's market had worm castings at one time, I'll have to check the next time I go in. I've also been thinking of a worm bin, though I have worms in my outdoor compost bins.

 

[Chuck]

I like the idea of those three. The farmer's market had worm castings at one time, I'll have to check the next time I go in. I've also been thinking of a worm bin, though I have worms in my outdoor compost bins.

Worm growing or vermiculture is a good thing to get into if you have enough space. Not only can you sell the worms to fishermen but the side benefits are great too. Why don't you do a little research into it. It cost hardly anything to get started. I would do it myself but my climate makes it prohibitive.

 

[ChanellG]

Worm growing or vermiculture is a good thing to get into if you have enough space. Not only can you sell the worms to fishermen but the side benefits are great too. Why don't you do a little research into it. It cost hardly anything to get started. I would do it myself but my climate makes it prohibitive.

I wasn't thinking of anything on that grand of a scale. I've just been looking at those apartment sized bins. I would need something that could be kept outdoors though. I've seen a lot of DIY bins, but I tried that with the outdoor compost once and it was just too heavy to lift the top bin after it got wedged into the bottom one.

I don't really have the time to get into selling worms, but if I ever go ahead with raising mosquito fish, maybe the two things could be done together.