Make your own liquid fertilisers

[Jed]

When I moved to my virgin bush property I unwittingly introduced every weed known to man. I planted every herb I could get my hands on and bought many bales of hay.The problem with hay it's not always grass, weeds of all types come with it and the problem with herbs, they can become weeds. Mint overran garden beds, comfrey took off and chocked every corner. Dock and thistles took root.
Confrey was very popular at the time for being a healing herb for sprains and not only that, the leaves were served up as fritters. This was later discourage because it was found to affect the liver? Boy we thought we knew it all.
The best use for your unwanted comfrey is to make a liquid fertilizer.This plant has deep roots which brings up a wide variety of nutrients in the soil. It also has a well balanced (NPK) similar to commercial fertilizers. Gather an armful or two of the leaves and chop them up.Steep them in a container of water for two weeks. Stir from time to time. It will start to ferment and smell awful so put it down the end of your garden. Strain the leaves out and use it as a concentrate mixed with water at a ratio of 10:1 or a weak tea solution to water your plants.
Other weeds can be used for liquid fertilizers. Docks and nettles are some of these that are no doubt in your garden, so most of us would have no excuse to make our own free fertilizers.

 

[zigs]

We used to eat Comfrey leaves till we heard that it can be carcinogenic, any news on that recently?

Been making liquid fertilizers since I was about 10, firstly for the great smell, my Brother described it as pure evil

 

[Jed]

We used to eat Comfrey leaves till we heard that it can be carcinogenic, any news on that recently?

I wont ask your age but comfrey was popular in the late 70's early 80's.
I heard years ago of a death attributed to eating the leaves here in Australia. I googled up this report which shows there are still conflicting views. Personally I would rather eat Brussels sprouts which I'm not fond of than to eat confrey. As gardeners, I'm sure we can come up with a better selection of greens.

Been making liquid fertilizers since I was about 10, firstly for the great smell, my Brother described it as pure evil

It's not for the feint hearted.

 

[kate23]

Thanks for the tip! I love learning of new ways to make fertilizers.

I never heard that about comfrey, luckily I haven't eaten any. I've heard mixed views on acorns causing liver problems as well, due to the tannic acid in them. Apparently they are safe as long as they aren't consumed in large quantities. I've always wanted to make acorn pancakes because when I was younger the boy in My Side of the Mountain made acorn pancakes and I heard Native Americans did as well.

 

[zigs]

I know pigs can eat acorns, as they were turned out to eat them to stop other livestock getting ill from them.

Native Americans probably washed the flour under running water as the would with Chestnut flour.

 

[AndroidGirl89]

I find the idea of making my own fertilizer intriguing! Mainly because I find the idea of making anything on my own pretty cool!

 

[zigs]

I find the idea of making my own fertilizer intriguing! Mainly because I find the idea of making anything on my own pretty cool!

Its leafmold making time in the UK, now thats something good to make

 

[Jed]

Its leafmold making time in the UK, now thats something good to make

What is leafmold? Maybe you could share your method on how to make it. It would be better than burning leaves, what seems to be a tradition in some parts of the world. My neighbour, a couple of Km down the road burns leaves and enjoys doing it on a cold still days filling the valley with acrid smoke.

 

[zigs]

What is leafmold? Maybe you could share your method on how to make it. It would be better than burning leaves, what seems to be a tradition in some parts of the world. My neighbour, a couple of Km down the road burns leaves and enjoys doing it on a cold still days filling the valley with acrid smoke.

Leafmold is that dark brown humus that you find on the forrest floor. Not high in nutrients but an excellent soil conditioner, holds moisture too.

Its a fungal process that takes a year, can be speeded up if you have a means of chopping the fallen leaves up, running them thru a lawnmower for instance.

Ideally you'd make a wire netting enclosure & just pile the leaves into it. Don't cover & keep damp in dry weather. Simple as that & much more useful than the ash from burnt leaves.

I know a girl in London that goes out after dark & collects the bagged up sacks that the council has swept up

 

[Jed]

Leafmold is that dark brown humus that you find on the forrest floor. Not high in nutrients but an excellent soil conditioner, holds moisture too.
Its a fungal process that takes a year, can be speeded up if you have a means of chopping the fallen leaves up, running them thru a lawnmower for instance.
Ideally you'd make a wire netting enclosure & just pile the leaves into it. Don't cover & keep damp in dry weather. Simple as that & much more useful than the ash from burnt leaves.
I know a girl in London that goes out after dark & collects the bagged up sacks that the council has swept up

Fantastic thing to know and share. That London lass is quite enterprising. All the hard work has been done.
I live in a clearing in the forest and most of the trees are evergreen eucalyptus and acacia.
We have deciduous oaks and plane trees in the city. I wonder if the city council t make leafmold?

 

[zigs]

You may have seen the London lass on telly, if you watched the womens sculls in the olympics, unfortunately her team came 6th. But on the bright side thats 6th best out of the whole world.

Oaks & Planes are good, but Eucaliptus takes longer to rot down, really would benefit from being shredded first. Worth it in the long run, once you've got your first batch of leafmold you'll see what I mean.

 

[maddie]

Are there other ways to make your own natural fertilizer? I am intrigued. I have never heard of this before. Unfortunately we have no comfrey here. Are there other plants and leaves that could be used in a similar manner? I would appreciate any help here. I grow plants in containers since I live in a flat in the city and natural liquid fertilizers would be really great for my plants.

 

[zigs]

Are there other ways to make your own natural fertilizer? I am intrigued. I have never heard of this before. Unfortunately we have no comfrey here. Are there other plants and leaves that could be used in a similar manner? I would appreciate any help here. I grow plants in containers since I live in a flat in the city and natural liquid fertilizers would be really great for my plants.

You can make feed out of almost any plant material, except pine needles, which contain a growth inhibitor. Trouble is, it will smell. Which might not be appreciated in the middle of a City.

 

[maddie]

Hmm.. that might get me into trouble with my neighbors. I may have to make do with the wormy compost that I buy from my local garden shop. I do not use chemical fertilizer for any of my plants except for the orchids. They do not bloom if I do use the liquid fertilizer.

 

[ChanellG]

Are there other ways to make your own natural fertilizer? I am intrigued. I have never heard of this before. Unfortunately we have no comfrey here. Are there other plants and leaves that could be used in a similar manner? I would appreciate any help here. I grow plants in containers since I live in a flat in the city and natural liquid fertilizers would be really great for my plants.

You can turn food scraps into liquid fertilizer; it's called bokashi. I am still learning about it, but hoping to try it out soon. Unlike compost, you can use all scraps, including meat (not that I would).