Home-Made Liquid Organic Fertilizers

IMPORTANT:  Edited 6-2-16, as follows---
In the original post below, I forgot to mention something very important.  Be sure to give your "tea" a good stir at least a couple times per day.  That will keep it aerated.

This can be done with all kinds of organic matter, separately or all together, and in amounts ranging from one gallon to five gallons...or really, almost any amount.  Essentially, what you do is make organic "tea".  For example, take some coffee grounds---or fresh grass clippings, or dead leaves, or flowers, or wood ash, or dead broken up twigs, or fruit peelings, etc.---and place them on an old piece of cloth.  Tie up the corners of the cloth, thus making a "tea" bag of sorts.  Place the bag in your container, fill that with water, and let the whole thing "steep" for about three or four days.  Keep the container outside or in the garage (or shed, if you have one).  Depending upon what type of organic matter you're using and the ambient temperature, and even though three days is a short span of time, there may be a small amount of unpleasant odor produced.  [There's an old adage:  after three days, fish and visitors stink:]

As with a compost bin or pile, never put any meat scraps in your "tea" bag.  They decompose too slowly and attract scavengers & pests in general.  If you cover your "tea" pail (or whatever container you're using), make sure the lid allows for ventilation; otherwise, your organic "tea" is likely to have harmful anaerobic bacteria in it when it's done steeping.  If you're making a large amount of this liquid fertilizer, let's say in a garbage can, then a burlap sack probably is the handiest item for use as a bag.  For container gardening, as opposed to raised bed gardening, I can't imagine that you'd need to make more than five gallons at a time... and probably less than that.

Liquid organic fertilizer is good for "quick fixes".  If your plants look sickly or stressed, apply the liquid to the soil.  Do some research on the symptoms of plant Nitrogen deficiency, Phosphorus deficiency, Potassium deficiency, etc., then you'll know what type of "tea" to make in each circumstance...see the previous post on this Blog.  [The internet is the world's greatest library.]  Or simply do a Search for "what causes _____________ in [e.g.] tomatoes?".

All this may sound as though it's too much trouble, but it really doesn't take much effort or time.  The rewards are worth it.  Plus, it's always a good thing to recycle

Happy Trails, and Be Well