If you are considering making your own organic fertilizers, it is not difficult and can be inexpensive. In fact it might cost you nothing at all.
Using powdered seaweed and fish fertilizer as a base it is possible to make your own fertilizer, and lots of free ingredients and waste products also make good home made fertilizers.
We provide a guide to making a range of different organic fertilizers and how to Make your own, including seaweed (kelp) and fish emulsion as organic fertilizers. With most ingredients available for purchase online making your own can be economical.
Organic Fertilizers Components
N-P-K rates of organic fertilizers will differ, Fish fertilizer has a little more nitrogen than phosphorus or potassium and is a great fertilizer for the vegetable garden.
It is best to test soil before adding fertilizer to see if any deficiencies exist, this way you can actually formulate a fertilizer to fit.
Seaweed and Fish fertilizers are generally regarded as suitable for most plants.
Organic Fertilizer Recipes
Seaweed Fertilizer
Try 250g of seaweed granules to 4litres of water. Mix in a sealed container and stir every day for 4-5 days.
Earthworm castings
If you have a worm farm then you have the ingredients for a wonderful homemade fertilizer. Mix 250g -500g of earthworm castings with 4 litres of water. Or use the liquid waste dilutedin a watering can to pour on while watering in new plants or as a general tonic.
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Egg Shells
Crush dried egg shells and sprinkle around plants, great for tomatoes
Coffee Grounds
Coffee grounds contain lots of nitrogen, sprinkle around plants or make a weak mixture add water in. Add coffee grounds to your compost.
Epsom Salt Fertilizer
Epsom Salts contains magnesium sulpfate, gardeners have used this for many years. A weak solution of 1tbl spoon to 4lts of water if a starting point
A simple Home Made Organic Fertilizer Mix
- 4 parts seed meal or fish meal
- 1/2 part dolomite lime
- 1/2 part gypsum
- 1 part bone meal
- 1 part kelp meal
What are Organic Fertilizers ?
Organic fertilizers are both naturally occurring such as manure, worm castings, peat and seaweed, or manufactured, bone meal, seaweed extract etc.
In Australia two types of “Organic Fertilizers’ are sold. The first is usualy sold as ‘organic based’, the second is sold as certified organic.
To be truely organic a fertilizer needs to be free of pesticides, herbicides, hormines and antibiotics. This actually rules out a lot of what are called ‘Organic Based fertilizers’. You really need to for the AUSTRALIAN CERTIFIED ORGANIC logo