Making Your Own Plant Food

[Christina]

I've always bought plant food because I had more money than time but now things are reversed and I want to see what I can make out of common household ingredients or at least cheap ones. It's very alkaline here because of all of the limestone so for the most part I need to do things that increase the acidity. I've read that coffee grounds have the added benefit of repelling snails and slugs but I'm not sure how much to spread. I know I can use sulfur or ferrous sulfate but that isn't free. Has anyone used straight coffee grounds? I also learned that I'm not helping the problem by putting all of that wood ash in the compost pile. None of my azaleas, rhododendrons or camellias bloomed well this year, and one camellia looks like it has chlorosis. There's also a lot of iron in the water here which makes it even worse. A cup of vinegar to a gallon of water is supposed to work well also and that's very cheap. I get nervous about burning them.

Do any of you use home-made fertilizer and soil amendments other than compost?

[Goldie]

Peet moss is acidic. You could mix it into the soil and make it more loamy and also spread it as a layer of mulch. I am not sure that it would be enough and it's not free.
Burying fish heads / parts in and around plants is great fertilizer.

I never put out straight coffee grounds, I always composted them first. Putting things that rot and are not already composted straight into the ground can actually do more harm than good. Rotting takes nitrogen and it can actually steal it from your plant. I don't know if that applies to coffee grounds, tho.

[Christina]

From what I've read, coffee grounds add nitrogen. From here: (http://www.sustainableenterprises.com/Business/coffeefert.htm)


* Sprinkle used grounds around plants before rain or watering, for a slow-release nitrogen.
* Add to compost piles to increase nitrogen balance. Coffee filters and tea bags break down rapidly during composting.
* Dilute with water for a gentle, fast-acting liquid fertilizer. Use about a half-pound can of wet grounds in a five-gallon bucket of water; let sit outdoors to achieve ambient temperature.
* Mix into soil for houseplants or new vegetable beds.
* Encircle the base of the plant with a coffee and eggshell barrier to repel pests.
* If you are into vermi-posting, feed a little bit to your worms


I've always put it directly into the compost but then the acidity gets diluted with everything else (I think). I may try it on the saddest looking camellia first and see what happens. I doubt I'll kill it before I notice that it isn't helping.

[Goldie]

Well, cool. That is good to know. :)
I have always been afraid not to compost first, I have seen entire gardens ruined by people putting "fresh" horse manuer out as fertilizer. I might try it on some acid lovers and see what happens.

[David B]

Cath has piled loads of coffee grounds directly round some of her beans, so maybe she can tell you if they are doing well, and if they are working at keeping slugs off.

David

[Cath B]

I've not been drinking much coffee lately so my supply of coffee leftovers has ground to a halt.

I read somewhere reputable that tea bags can be bunged around camelias, azaleas, rhododendrons and heather so I'm trying that.

Peat is definitely non PC in the UK because of concerns about habitat destruction but it's not very easy to find good substitutes. My husband thought the environmentalists were talking a load of baloney on that one - "Scotland and Ireland are full of peat" and would buy it regardless. I am not so sure.

As well as egg shells I added a piece of rhubarb to the soil as I planted my brassicas. Said to keep club root at bay.

I have added a whack of comfrey I found on a roadside hedge to a bin of water and am adding pernicious perennial weeds (no shortage of them!) as I dig them up. Very soon I will feed some, well diluted, to my tomatoes as they are now starting to flower. I may try it on other crops too. Will they whither or thrive? I'll keep you posted.

The veg are coming up fine and dandy except that some of the beans either didn't germinate or got eaten by something. Plenty left!

[Cath B]

And then of course there are chicken droppings :).

[nygreenguy]

The first thing to do is to identify the problem. Every deficiency has a specific character associated with it. Instead of doing some broad spectrum all purpose treatment, Id start with treating the problem first. If you have pictures of whats wrong I may be able to tell you the proper treatment.

[Cath B]

That's kind, thank you, I'll bear it in mind :).

But currently I'm not trying to solve problems so much as keep them at bay.

For instance, I'm trying to avoid carrot fly by:-

growing a fly resistant variety
planting close to onions
covering with fleece
keeping well watered especially after weeding or picking.
practising crop rotation (Umbelliferae after Brassicaceae for instance)

If that doesn't work carrots will be struck off the list for a year or so till I come up with a new plan.

Also I now have a new superweapon. Once the veg have finished I'll let in the chickens to fertilise and eat up all the bugs.

[Cath B]

My main problem is that there is so much to do and so little time.

[Christina]

That's always been my problem until now and even with lots of time I can always find more to work on. I love projects that are never done.

So far the coffee grounds seem to be doing a good job. It's past flowering season for the azaleas and rhododendrons but the camellia is starting to look better. The hydrangeas grow out of control all the time but the coffee grounds should keep them a beautiful bluish/purple color instead of the garish pink that they get in alkaline soil.

[Ray Moscow]

We started putting some ericaceous plant food on the rhodi in front of our house. I think it was short of some trace element, maybe aluminium. It looks better now.

Even though the soil there is wrong for that sort of plant. The previous owners apparently didn't know that much about gardening. (Not that I do, either.)

[Cath B]

So far the coffee grounds seem to be doing a good job. It's past flowering season for the azaleas and rhododendrons but the camellia is starting to look better. The hydrangeas grow out of control all the time but the coffee grounds should keep them a beautiful bluish/purple color instead of the garish pink that they get in alkaline soil.

Maybe I should take up drinking coffee again. :D

(Cath wonders which is less environmentally unsound out of buying coffee versus ericaceous food).