Table of contents:
- How to feed plants in early summer
- How to make a herbal weed fermentor
- Application rates of green fertilizer for various crops
2024 Author: Ava Durham | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 00:23
The end of spring and the beginning of summer have one important feature for gardeners - during this period the plants grow intensively and grow the ovary, the future harvest, while they consume a huge amount of water and nutrients. Therefore - what do they need? That's right, they need help! Especially in regions with poor and sandy soils, in which there are few nutrients, and the water goes away like sand through your fingers. Plants during this period need regular watering and feeding, otherwise you will not grow a good harvest. In this article, we will talk about green fertilizer for plants, which literally "rolls around" underfoot (take it - I don’t want to).
Content:
- How to feed plants in early summer
- How to make a herbal weed fermentor
- Application rates of green fertilizer for various crops
How to feed plants in early summer
To get the big picture, there are basic fertilization times, usually in fall or early spring, that allow plants to get off to a good start in the new season. And there are top dressing (light "snacks"), allowing evenly, until mid-summer, to supply the growing plant organism with everything necessary.
Why until mid-summer, you ask. Because all top dressing, one way or another, contains a large amount of nitrogen required for growth. But prolonged growth is fraught with poor preparation for winter and freezing of young shoots of the plant. Therefore, all dressings are used only until mid-summer and no later.
Of course, you must understand that this rule works for perennial crops that winter outdoors, and annuals (flowers and vegetables), which only live until the cold weather, can be helped throughout the season.
The fastest-acting option is to make liquid dressings, then all the nutrients easily get to the roots and are quickly absorbed by them. The effect is visible within a few days.
You can go to a garden store to buy "Nitroammofoska", or better a more modern fertilizer with microelements, dilute it in water and water the beds and trunks. Chemistry? Yes, but not about that now.
You can use an aqueous infusion of chicken manure or manure if you are an advocate of "correct" farming. Do you have a livestock farm? Then this path is yours. For most gardeners and summer residents, these options are unacceptable, given the costs of purchasing, transportation and manual labor to improve the heap of purchased manure.
But there is one material, which is abundant in any area and which is quite well suited for the manufacture of effective organic fertilizer - the so-called herbal fermentor. I don’t know about you, but I like this name, it’s somehow optimistic.
The basis of the herbal fermentor are weeds, with which many fight in their plots, and, as a rule, unsuccessfully. Having started to make and use a herbal fermentor, you will find that you are sorely lacking in weeds and you need to turn to your neighbors for "help".
True, not all weeds will work. For example, there will be little sense from a shepherd's purse with its skinny and tough stems, it is better to take something fleshy, juicy. Nettle is considered to be the best option.
I will not try to compare the usefulness of the leaves of this or that herb, this is a matter of experts. My opinion is this: weed greens are accumulated useful substances taken from the ground, and there are many of them in any weed grass. Our task is to return these substances to the ground - to the roots of cultivated plants.
How to make a herbal weed fermentor
But let's move on to the recipe itself. So, we picked a mountain of weeds (or mowed). It is advisable to grind them a little, so the process will go faster, but if you are not a fussy gardener, then you can not grind them. Put all this mass into a large spacious container. The most popular option among summer residents is an enamel bath that has served its purpose, although barrels from fuels and lubricants compete with it.
But do not try to fill the container completely, leave a space to the brim, about 1/3. Now fill with water so that it completely covers the "green". Stir and cover. It is not necessary to seal it tightly, the mass will gradually begin to ferment and release gas, and it needs to have a way out. So a piece of polyethylene film pressed along the edges with planks will do quite well.
How much to wait? Depends on ambient temperature, but about 2 weeks. What you should pay attention to? Foam rises during fermentation, and if you do not leave a gap from the top edge, the valuable liquid can "escape".
It is better to place a container with a herbal fermentor in the shade so that the hot summer sun does not overheat it, there, as in any wash, has its own optimal temperature and, most importantly, its uniformity. You can add EM-preparations, a shovel of manure to speed up the process, someone adds baker's yeast, and someone adds beer.
This, in my opinion, is overkill, do we need free fertilizer? A little soil with soil microorganisms, and all this is present on the roots of mercilessly pulled out weeds, works quite well for themselves. You can sometimes stir the fermentor with a shovel.
When, after about two weeks, the foam has settled, your free and, most importantly, organic fertilizer is ready. But do not use this concentrate directly, it is diluted with water, approximately 1: 2 - 1: 4. The semi-decomposed mass from the container can be thrown into a compost heap or used as mulch. But, don't take out the whole thing. Leave a little on the bottom, this will serve as an excellent starter for subsequent batches of herbal fermentor (like when making homemade yogurt). Did you like it? Will you do more?
There is an opinion that there is a shortage of phosphorus in the fermentor and it is advised to additionally add ash or superphosphate to it. There is a protracted debate about the chemical reactions associated with this mixing.
In my opinion, you need the optimal (correct) combination of organic and mineral fertilizers, this will help to avoid imbalances in nutrition. After all, we do not have our own laboratories on the site where we could accurately determine the presence of this or that substance in the fertilizer mixture. So, again, I combine. Fertilized with a fermentor, in a week I sprinkle the ashes. I think you won't be wrong.
Application rates of green fertilizer for various crops
How to use and what are the rates of application of herbal fermentor
• For young tree seedlings and mature berry bushes: about 5-10 liters of working solution per plant.
• For vegetable crops and garden strawberries: 10 liters per 1 sq. M of the garden.
• For an adult fruiting tree: from 50 to 100 liters of top dressing.
Here, as you can see, there are no strict application rates, the fertilizer is soft. But with regular use, it gives excellent results. What is regular use? The solution was fermented and ready, I used it, immediately loaded a new portion, wait 2 weeks and fertilize again. So, once every two weeks it turns out.
You can also use the herbal fermentor for foliar dressing. But, since this fertilizer is home-made, then you definitely cannot advise the proportion. I can say that, like all foliar dressing, the herbal fermentor should be heavily diluted with water and tried on a small area of the crown before use. Thus, the desired concentration of the solution should be selected so that the effect is there, and so that the leaves do not burn, especially in spring, when they are still tender.
This is how you can make your own fertilizer out of nothing. Of course, it will not completely replace the fertile soil in the garden, but it will help your pets to increase the required mass of fruits and the volume of the crown.
Have a nice summer and … more weeds!
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