In our previous posts we discussed on the fundamentals of composting including Types of Composting, the Carbon Nitrogen ratio and demonstrated the anaerobic or bokashi composting method step by step.
In Today’s episode, let’s learn How to perfectly make compost at home in 5 easy steps:
Step 1: CHOOSING YOUR CONTAINER
There are many ways to compost. You can either use an open pile composting method or use a compost bin. Open pile composting or using a simple chicken mesh boundary is the simplest way to start, but it has its own disadvantages. The best way to compost at home is use a compost bin. Bins have the advantage of being neat, keeping animals, rodents and insects away and preserving heat. You can build your own DIY compost bin from some plastic buckets or even drums or barrels. You can even build a tumbling compost bin. Or you can just purchase these from a garden store or online. The size and type of bin you build or purchase will depend on how much compostable material you generate on a day to day basis. A rotating Tumbler compost bin has many advantages, like you need not turn up the compost pile for oxygenation manually, instead you just give few rotations once daily and this will also speed up the composting process. The twin drum has an advantage of providing continuous supply of compost, like when one drum is full, you leave it for few weeks for final maturation and then start adding materials in the second bin. And repeat this process to get a continuous supply of compost.
PURCHASE TUMBLER BINS HERE:
Twin Tumbler Compost Bin https://amzn.to/3960iyp
Single Tumbler Compost https://amzn.to/2CL4ibs
Step 2: CHOOSING THE LOCATION
For conventional pile composting, a sunny location and a flat surface on soil is better. For drum composting or if using a tumbling composter this is not so crucial. However keep in a place which is open with good air circulation, and also keep in mind there is a liquid leak below the compost bins. This compost tea can be collected and makes a good liquid fertilizer for plants if used in adequate dilution.
Step 3: ADDING GREENS AND BROWNS
This we have discussed in detail in part 2 of our composting series. For greens and kitchen waste recycling you can add them daily to your compost bin along with browns. If your daily collection is too little, you can store in refrigerator and then add to your bin. Greens are nitrogen rich and mostly wet materials like waste kitchen scraps like vegetables scraps, fruit scraps, fresh grass cuttings, animal manure but not your cat or dog poop, then bird or poultry droppings, feathers, fleshy plants and leaves, flowers, tea and coffee waste, egg shells, nail clippings, human and animal hair, and so on.
Browns are carbon rich dry materials like dry fallen leaves, dried flowers, wood chips, twigs, straw, shredded paper, shredded card board or paper cartons, and also the toilet paper rolls, toilet paper or used napkins or facial tissues, coffee filters and tea bags, cotton, sawdust, pine needles, Pencil Shavings, dried grass clippings, peat moss, cocopeat or coconut fibers, used paper plates, nut shells, wine corks, toothpicks, paper cupcakes, used match sticks, wood ash or ashes from the fireplace, coal, and so on.
Well, We will not go into discussing the Carbon : Nitrogen Ratio in this episode. You just have to remember the Green to Brown Ratio while adding stuff into compost bin.
As a General Rule: A 1-to-1 Ratio works well with the Add as You Go Pile as well as for the Batch Pile and is safe for beginners. This will aid you in creating about a 50:1 C/N Ratio, adequate enough to get a warm pile. This means, For every bowl of greens, you add one bowl of browns and a little bit of compost activator.
Step 4: COMPOST STARTER or ACCELERATOR OR ACTIVATOR
If you are starting for the first time or first batch, you need to add those microorgansisms to start the composting process. This can be either a commercial compost maker powder; but remember not to add the Bokashi bran powder which is exclusively meant for anaerobic composting which we have discussed and demonstrated in detail in episode 3 of this composting series. You can check that link in description below. So, you can add this powder like 1 or 2 teaspoons or as recommended in your packet and, every time you add greens and browns and then rotate the tumbler or turn your compost a few times for good oxygenation. If you have a half finished compost or even a fully finished compost or decomposed cowdung can be added as a starter. You can also add the finished compost from your Bokashi bucket into this aerobic compost bin.
Step 5: MATURATION AND HARVESTING
when the bin is 70 to 80% full, stop adding further waste into it and leave it for 6 to 8 weeks for compost cooking and final maturation. But make sure you tumble the compost bin on a daily basis or if you are doing the compost pile method, you need to turn the compost pile every other day for proper aeration, otherwise it will develop foul smell and fail. If you are getting a sweeter pleasant smell, then everything is going fine. After 6 to 8 weeks or even more, you can collect your final compost and use this pure fertilizer for your plants. You can leave about 10% in the bin which acts as an accelerator for the next batch. Finished compost will be dark, crumbly and smell like earth.
When plants and animals die, their molecules become available in soil for use by other organisms like bacteria and fungi. This product is the final break-down constituents of the natural decay or decomposition of plant and animal materials through the biological activities of micro-organisms. This product is commercially available in powdered form as well as liquid form for horticultural use.
How does this work on plants? It chelates the complex nutrient compounds in the soil to convert them to simple forms suitable for plant absorption. This reduces the fertilizer usage by upto 30% and increases flowering and fruiting by up to 70%. So, this is not a fertilizer, but a bio-catalyst and bio-stimulant for the plant. This is an excellent natural and organic way to provide plants and soil with a concentrated dose of essential nutrients, amino acids, vitamins and trace elements.
Before I reveal you the name of this product, let’s quickly know some of the functions or benefits of this powder.
- Improves Soil Structure by providing more space for root growth and beneficial microbial activity. They bind to soil molecules and improve soil structure, and this is especially noticeable in high-clay and compacted soils.
- Reduces Soil Toxins: They don’t just make nutrients easily available for absorption, but also chelate harmful toxins in the soil, preventing them from entering the plant.
- Increases Water Retention in soil by reducing water evaporation by upto 30%.
- Improved Microbial Activity in the soil and chelation of complex nutrient forms to simple forms for better uptake by the roots makes the plant grow healthier with little fertilizer application and increases flowering and fruiting.
Having said that, let’s know what this is called and how to use it properly for best results.
This is called Humus which consists of three components–humic acids, fulvic acids, and humin.
This is available as powdered form and also liquid form. The Liquid is a concentrated humic acid and needs to be diluted with water before applying on plants. Humic acid is easily available at your local garden store or you can even order online.
PURCHASE LINKS:
Now, Let’s learn how to use it. This is particularly beneficial if your plant has nutritional deficiencies due to poor absorption of nutrients from the soil, which manifests as various leaf yellowing patterns.
So, How to use this? Three Methods to use this:
- Soil Application: The Dosage is 1 teaspoon per litre of water. Mix it well and water 1 cup, that’s about 250 ml of it per plant. If you are using liquid humic acid, add 3 ml of it per litre of water. You should see results within 1 – 2 weeks.
- Foliar Spray: You can add one teaspoon of this per gallon of water and spray on the plants. 1 gallon = 3.78 litres. Please check the usage instructions on the product label and use accordingly. If you are using liquid humic acid, add 1 ml per litre of water for foliar spray.
- Compost Tea: You can add 1 teaspoon per gallon to your compost tea while brewing. This will certainly help in better absorption of nutrients. For beginners, Compost tea is made by adding compost like decomposed cowdung or vermicompost into water and allowing it to brew for 5 to 7 days and then you dilute this further like in 1:10 ratio and water your plants.
Onion skin and peels are usually thrown into the bin. But starting today and after watching this episode till the end, you will never throw them again!
Onion skin and peels have antioxidant and antimicrobial properties and contain many useful substances like sulphur, quercetin, Potassium, phosphorus, zinc, iron, iodine, vitamins, pectins, saponins, flavonoids and so on.
Have you even wondered why tears start flowing out of your eyes as soon as we start chopping onions? This is Onion-Chemistry. Before we start with the 5 uses of onions in gardening, let’s quickly know the scientific reason behind this interesting scene:
While chopping onions, cells inside the onion are broken down and the gas that comes out forms sulfenic acid. This acid gets mixed with enzymes and forms a gas called propanethiol S-oxide. When this gas reaches our eyes, it gets mixed with our tears and forms sulphuric acid which causes irritation of the tear glands and that’s it.
Well, Now let’s list out the benefits of onions for plants and gardening:
5. COMPOSTING: If you are not using earthworms for making your compost, You can drop onion skins and peels a little deeper into the compost bin and get a nutrient-rich compost in the final result. But You should avoid adding them in your worm composting bin, this is because earthworms hate onions and similar odorous substances.
4. MULCHING: For Beginners, A mulch is a layer of material applied to the surface of soil for benefits like preserving soil moisture, reducing weed growth and so on. You can use onion skins for mulching and the dry onion peels will decompose soon and enrich your soil with potassium and calcium, which is so good for your plant growth.
3. ONION PESTICIDE RECIPE: If you do organic vegetable gardening without using any chemical pesticides and fertilizer, you will certainly realise the importance of these organic recipes, especially if you do not have the universal organic pesticide like the great neem oil. Do not worry!, you can make a potent organic pesticide using onion and other stuff.
– Take a Large Onion and drop it into a kitchen blender
– Add 4 fresh cloves of garlic into this.
– Add 2 teaspoons of Red Chilli Powder.
– Add 1 teaspoon of Cinnamon Powder.
– Blend this into a fine paste by adding some water.
– Now Add about 2 Cups of Water to this and mix well and allow it to steep
overnight.
– Then in the morning, strain out the liquid using a nylon cloth or a fine
sieve to get your pesticide concentrate. You can store this concentrate in
refrigerator.
– To Apply as pesticide, Use it in 1:5
dilution in water. That is to one cup of this pesticide add 5 cups of water and
most importantly do not forget to add some 10 drops of liquid detergent soap
for the surfactant effect and to coat the leaves and retain the pesticide
effect for longer time. Use this twice weekly until all pests are eradicated. This
will successfully kill common pests like aphids, mealybugs, whiteflies and many
others.
2. ONION
PEEL FERTILZIER: There are two
methods to make onion peel fertilizer, one is to boil the onion peels for few
hours in water and the other method is to soak the onion peels in water for 24
hours. Some do not recommend boiling.
So, take 2 to 3 handfuls of onion peels
and drop in 1 litre of water and allow it to soak for 24 hours.
After 24 hours, strain out the liquid and use it as a liquid fertilizer. You
can use it without dilution or with further dilution of 1:1 in water if you
regularly fertilize your plants. Use it once in 15 days to see the effect in
about 3 months.
1. ROOTING HORMONE RECIPE: Not really a rooting hormone, but you can call it a rooting agent. Onion due to its antimicrobial properties and when mixed along with other stuff will certainly improve the results of rooting your plant cuttings. To prepare this:
– Take ¼ Onion
– Add ½ a Cup of Fresh Aloe vera Juice extracted from a leaf.
– Add some cinnamon or willow bark into this – Its better to have it Presoaked in a cup of water for 24 hours.
– Now Add this cup to the blender and make a paste or solution. Then Strain out this liquid to use as as rooting agent. Just dip the cuttings into this solution or apply this with your finger and plant the cuttings. You can watch a detailed post on the 10 natural rooting agents you can use to add into this recipe or experiment this recipe with more stuff.
Before we start displaying the various leaf patterns, you must understand some basics in order to diagnose this problem of nutrient deficiencies in plants and start the right treatment to save your plants. Because directly jumping in to adding too many supplements can burn or kill your plant.
Plant nutrients fall into 2 categories: macronutrients and micronutrients. Macronutrients are those elements that are needed in relatively large amounts. They include the three major ones – nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, that’s NPK and also sulfur, calcium and magnesium. Micronutrients are those elements that plants need in very small amounts, like iron, boron, manganese, zinc, copper and molybdenum.
Most of the times, except in container gardening, these nutrients may be present in the soil. So before adding supplements you have to diagnose your condition by checking these 3 problems or factors:
- The problem may be with the roots – not able to absorb or uptake these nutrients. This can be due to root disease or improper watering. Because these nutrients are taken up by the roots only in the presence of moisture.
- Soil PH may not be right. Most plants need a PH of around 6.0 for proper absorption of nutrients by the roots. Having this little PH meter will certainly help you rectify this problem. You can find related posts on altering soil PH.
- Pest attacks which can sometimes resemble the patterns of nutrient deficiencies, especially the sucking pests like aphids. Make sure you thoroughly examine your plants.
Now having said that, let’s jump
into identifying the various leaf patterns of discoloration and distortion and
diagnose this problem. But always Keep in mind that each plant variety is
different and may display different symptoms. And also the damaged leaves may not come back
to normal after treatment but the new leaves will certainly come out healthy
and lush after treatment.
Let’s start with:
- Nitrogen Deficiency: you will notice complete yellowing of the older leaves generally at the bottom of plants. The younger leaves are often healthy and green. This is because, nitrogen is a mobile nutrient which moves up from the lower parts of the plant to the growing ends as a compensatory mechanism and hence the older leaves donate nitrogen and show complete yellowing including the veins and the entire leaf surface. The solution to this is simply adding a good nitrogen rich compost like decomposed cow dung or horse dung. But before adding, please rule out the problems of improper watering and soil PH that we already discussed.
- Calcium Deficiency: Here the new leaves are affected and may show yellowing, distortion and even burnt tips due to necrosis or death of the tip tissues. Blossom End Rot (BER) seen in tomatoes and squashes is the best example of this. We have discussed this problem and treatment in detail in my previous post.
- Magnesium Deficiency: Magnesium is also a mobile nutrient and hence The older leaves first turn yellow at the edges and surface – called interveinal chlorosis, meaning yellowing between the leaf veins. The veins as you can see, stay green, giving the leaf a marbled appearance. Remember, Magnesium is the central most atom in the chlorophyll molecule which imparts green colour to leaf. Foliar Spraying or watering the plant with 1 teaspoon Epsom salt per litre of water will give great results.
- Iron Deficiency: Iron is an immobile nutrient and hence cannot be carried upto the younger leaves from older leaves for compensation. So the leaf yellowing is first evident at the tips or the younger leaves. The pattern is similar to magnesium – the interveinal yellowing. This is actually a common pattern and most often due to alkaline soil ph which prevents proper absorption of iron by the roots. Hence its also called as lime induced chlorosis. The treatment for this is actually rectifying the soil ph to around 6, if its alkaline. Another method to bypass this problem is foliar spray of a micronutrient solution or compost tea.
- Phosphorous and Potassium Deficiencies: These are very much similar and plants show stunted growth plus leaf chlorosis like leaves turning darker or purplish. But this is difficult to identify and depends on the type of plant. Isolated Potassium deficiency usually exhibits yellowing starting at the tip or the margin of the leaf with the center being still green.
- Last but not the least, you must be aware of a condition called YELLOW VEIN CHLOROSIS. Here only the leaf veins turn yellow while the rest of the leaf shows normal green colour. This usually happens in winter or the dormancy period due to reduced nitrogen uptake by the roots from the soil in low temperatures.
Now the Universal Treatment Solutions for all these problems:
You have two options: First one is Making The Universal Cocktail Fertilizer mixture.
And the Second option is Vermicompost – which is rich is almost all micronutrients. Adding a handful every 15 days will keep your plants healthy and high yielding.
Well, Last year, we prepared a Mixed fertilizer containing both chemical and organic fertilizers with a detailed discussion and calculations on how to calculate the total NPK value. For beginners and those interested in these scientific calculations, please check out that article.
Now, we will quickly start the recipe for this well balanced organic mixed fertilizer, you can use for any plant in varying dosage to produce healthy growth, increase flowering and fruiting. We will also total the NPK value of by adding the NPK values of each of these components. For beginners – NPK means Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium which are the Major nutrients required for plant growth.
- COW DUNG: Whatever animal
manure you are using, whether horse dung or cow dung or even goat dung. Note
down its NPK value. Here we are using decomposed
cow dung. So NPK is 3-2-1.
We are taking 2000 grams of cowdung powder.
- COMPOST (
Whether home made compost or VERMICOMPOST): In this recipe, we are adding
vermicompost which also contains many useful trace elements, so no need to add
that micronutrient powder containing trace elements. The NPK of vermicompost is
1.78, 0.77,0.94
We are taking 2000 grams of Vermicompost.
- BONE MEAL POWDER, you can also use any of the other meals like sterameal, fishmeal or bloodmeal. If you are a pure vegetarian, you can use soya bean meals as a substitute for bone meal. So the NPK for bonemeal is 3.5, 18, 0
Here, will add both bone steamed meal
powder as well as coarse bone meal chips powder mixed. This fine powder is just
to make it quicker for release of nutrients.
We are taking 1000 grams of Bone meal powder.
- we shall also add some optional stuff into this for additional fortification which also act as soil pesticides or pest repelling agents, particularly neem cake powder or Karanj powder. Then we will also add Mustard cake powder. We will discuss the benefits of each of these some other time.
Well, the first one Neem Cake Powder: NPK of neem powder is here:
N(Nitrogen 2.0% to 5.0%), P(Phosphorus 0.5% to 1.0%), K(Potassium 1.0% to 2.0%).
N – 2.0% to 5.0%, P – 0.5% to 1.0%, K – 1.0% to 2.0%
We are taking 1000 grams of Neem cake powder +
1000 gms Karanj Powder +
- of Mustard cake powder.
- Optionally, You can add 500 gms of Epsom Salt + 500 Grams of Micronutrient Powder to include those trace elements or micronutrients like Mn, zinc, Fe, boron and many others to safeguard our plants from any deficiencies. Also you can add more ingredients you wish to like used tea powder and any other stuff, because this is a one time mix and you offer this on a periodic basis and only once in 15 days or so and you add almost all organic nutrients and this reduces burden and saves you a lot of time, plus this become a quality mix!.
Nothing to worry about over dosage which is an issue with chemical fertilizers which can cause chemical burns. This is pure organic fertilizer with hardly any adverse effect on over dosage.
After Approximate Calculation, the Total NPK value of this fertilizer mix is:
22, 25,07
Have a look at this equation in the table:
| Ingredient | N | P | K |
| Cow Dung (3-2-1)-2000g | 6 | 4 | 2 |
| Vermicompost -2000g | 3.5 | 1.5 | 2 |
| Bone Meal -1000g | 3.5 | 18 | 0 |
| Neem, Mustard etc | 9 | 1.5 | 3 |
| TOTAL | 22 | 25 | 7 |
Then optionally you can perform a soil PH test and mix either woodash or lime to make your soil more alkaline if its too acidic and if your soil is too alkaline, you can add alum powder into this mix.
And one more important point from storage point of view: you might feel some moisture in this mixture due to some moist ingredients like vermicompost. You can either use completely dry ingredients before mixing or you can dry this mixture in sunlight and then store in air tight containers. It will not loose its NPK value much on drying. Remember to mix the ingredients thoroughly well for best results.
RECOMMEDED DOSE PER PLANT? Depending on the plant, you can use one tablespoon once every 15 days, specially for flowering plants and once in a month for other plants. Make sure you apply this after tilling or raking the top soil and apply around the plant – not directly on roots.
Check out the Best Pure Organic Pesticide Recipe.
We all know that plants need Major Primary Nutrients – that’s NPK – nitrogen phosphrous and potassium and also the Secondary or trace or micro nutrients like calcium, magnesium, sulfur, iron, boron, zinc, and so on. These are either derived from
- Natural sources – what we call Organic Fertilizers for example, Cow dung, vermicompost and many other stuff.
- Inorganic or Chemical Fertilizers like NPK crystals, DAP, Urea and so on.
Now I will list out the harmful negative effects or the dangers of Chemical fertilizers and Pesticides that you frequently use in farming or home gardening. You please make a decision yourself after watching this video till the end.
- Ground water
Pollution: Nitorgen fertilizers
break down into nitrates and can easily go down into the soil. These are
water-soluble and can accumulate in groundwater for decades. And if you keep
adding more nitrogen over the years, this will have a cumulative effect. Moreover,
these effects of chemical fertilizers are compounded when you mix or use a
chemical pesticide.
You know the Fertilizer Urea, produces ammonia and contributes to acid rain, groundwater contamination and ozone depletion due to release of nitrous oxide by denitrification process. If we continue this in future, this hazard may increase several fold in the coming decades.
And remember! studies have shown that Groundwater contamination has been linked to stomach cancer, goitre (thyroid enlargement), birth defects in babies, and also hypertension.
Also Aquatic life is also significantly affected by water pollution and fish and other water animals may not get adequate oxygen and they can die. These are called Dead zones.
- Air Pollution: Excessive use of chemical NPKs can release greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide into the atmosphere. These can cause respiratory problems, cardiac disease, and many cancers. A special mention about the Blue Baby Syndrome, medically called methemoglobinemia occurs in infants and one cause of this problem is attributed to chemical over use and pollution where due to reduced oxygen in blood, the baby turns blue.
- Fertilizer Burn: You can burn your favourite plants and crops if used excessively – specially leaf burn and root burn. This fertilizer burn can even kill your favourite plant in addition to the hazards it causes to the environment. This fertilizer burn will not happen when you use organic or natural fertilizers.
- Depletion of Beneficial Organic Matter, beneficial Microbes and even Minerals from the Soil – that is reduced SOIL FERTILITY: This loss of organic matter can lead to soil acidification, soil compaction and hardening and other ill effects which makes it vulnerable to soil erosions. Researchers also say that depletion of minerals from the soil can also lead to low quality foods with lesser mineral and vitamin content.
- Though chemical fertilizers will help plants grow faster; plants will not be healthy and strong as plants grown in this manner do not have enough time to mature and develop a strong root system and strong stems, or good nutritious fruits and vegetables. And also they will be less likely to survive because they will be more susceptible to pests and diseases as they lack good immune system against pest attacks.
The Bottom Line: is There is a large threat to environment, animals and human health; chemical fertilizers will ultimately end up leaking into our water bodies; ponds, streams, ground water etc. and contaminate water supply as a result of which humans as well as animals may suffer numerous short term and long term hazardous chemical effects on their health.
So, Lets together take a pledge today to stop using these chemical fertilizers and pesticides and start using organic fertilizers and pesticides to keep our mother earth safe, for the present and for the future!!!
Now Lets Begin with the first grandma question !
- My Grandma says, Do not go near plants during the night time? Why?
During daytime in the presense of sunlight plants prepare their food – that’s called photosynthesis. They take in carbon dioxide from atmosphere, water from roots and then sunlight and prepare their sugars. So in day time they take up Carbondioxide and release Oxygen and that’s good. But during night they takin Oxygen and release CO2 and hence the air near trees will have lesser concentration of Oxygen and higher concentration of CO2. That is why it is not advisable to go near trees during night time. However, this impact will be negligible for small plants and at home gardens and only be noticeable near very large trees or in thick vegetation.
Also another point to note is, Some plants even prepare food at night without sunlight by a process called CAM photosynthesis – Crassulacean acid metabolism. I have discussed this in my video on the 24 hour oxygen producing plants for your health.
- What’s the world’s largest flower?
The flower with the world’s largest bloom is the Rafflesia arnoldii, found in the rainforests of Indonesia. It can grow to a size of 3 feet across and can weigh up to 50 pounds! It is actually, a parasitic plant, with no visible leaves, roots, or stem.
- My tomato plant is producing lots of flowers but not fruiting? The answer to this question is simple. The commonest reason is insufficient pollination. Check the pesticides you are using might be preventing honey bees and beneficial pollinator insects from entering your garden. The other causes can be insufficient fertilizers and in that case consider adding a high potash and high calcium fertilizers.
- Can i add blood to plants? Can Mentrual Blood Fertilise Your Houseplants?
Well, the answer to blood is Yes, BUT..before that
Let me explain this: To start, As you all know, Most fertilisers are based on the three major plant nutrients: nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, that is NPK. And all three of these elements are present in blood. Not only blood this applies to any stuff like fish meal, bone meal or even animal blood. But here is the catch and scientific explanation. You might already know that Uncomposted manure or non decomposed manure like cowdung and stuff like that can be harmful to your plants. That is the reason we use decomposed manure and we make compost at home in our compost bin. When you add anything raw including the raw smoothie some people recommend for your plants which they make by blending all raw kitchen waste and I have discussed in one of my recent videos.
The problem is, its decomposition process is going to promote the growth of all sorts of microorganisms which can be harmful to the plants and even humans. In addition, the nitrogen is consumed by these microorganisms for decomposition process and this will lead to nitrogen deficiency in plants, something similar to Nitrogen Stealing which I discussed in one of my videos on the use of Saw dust for your plants.
So Then, How do I use blood? You can purchase blood meal, fish meal, bone meal and all types of these organic fertilizers from a garden store. You can use these because these are prepared from dried or decomposed animal blood. So that’s it.
- Can Animal or Human Urine be used as a Fertilizer?
Well this looks uncomfortable for most of us. But the truth is human or animal urine for example cow urine contains loads of NPK- thats nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium which are the most essential plant nutrients for agricultural use. But it has to be applied in dilution of atleast 1:20 in water. This topic needs more detailed discussion and concepts, we will look into it in some other episode.
Well, before I show you the actual recipe or the Formula for the making of our so called magic solution, you must know some Basic concepts. Please do not skip these 5 points am gonna discuss now. Will try to make it as short and as simple as possible, specially for beginners.
1. What do you mean by foliar Spray? Foliage means leaves! So the term foliar spray says it all, that is Spraying a liquid fertilizer on your plants foliage which aids in absorption of certain essential elements like calcium, magnesium through their stomata. Stomata are pores found in the epidermis of leaves which help in nutrient absorption and also gas exchange.
2. Calcium and Its importance: Calcium is the most important component of a plants cell wall. Hence for cell division and growth its indispensable, especially in rapid growers like tomatoes. So we will keep this point in mind and add calcium into our mix.
3. Magnesium and Its importance: Did you know Magnesium is the central atom in between four nitrogen atoms in the chlorophyll molecule. For beginners, Chlorophyll is the pigment present in leaves which is essential for photosynthesis – that’s plant food production. So we will keep this point in mind and add magnesium into our mix using our famous organic Epsom salt.
4. Soil PH concept: We have discussed in detail about the importance of soil ph in nutrient absorption in my video titled Ideal Soil PH for plants. You can check that HERE. Well! when it comes to foliar spray of fertilizer solution, its completely independent of the soil PH, because nutrients are absorbed through leaves.
- And last concept: Many Experts recommend applying egg shells andcalcium tablets to soil and some evenmake a smoothie juice or paste using all kitchen waste like banana peels, fruit peels and what not. This in perhaps unscientific according to me to directly apply to your plants. I don’t know! If you have any scientific explanation to this, please do write in the comment box. What I feel is why not utilize this idea of making this smoothie and keeping a dedicated heavy duty blender or mixer for this purpose for faster composting. Yes! if you are adding this paste to your compost bin and feeding your earth worms, this can accelerate composting process.
So you can utilize this concept of foliar feeding if your plants are not performing well despite all your efforts, care, fertilizing, watering promptly and what not! Many viewers keep asking the same question. So why not make it a habit of alternating your feeds – that’s fertilizing your plants once in 15 days with foliar spray to feed your plants. Because this idea is independent of soil PH value.
Now The Formula or the recipe of this Magic Fertilizer liquid.
I will quickly list out the ingredients one by one and quickly explain the benefit of each of these components.
1. Water: Nothing to explain about this universal solvent. We will formulate this recipe for 1 liter of water.
2. Milk: You can use skimmed milk or if available Raw milk is best. You can even use spoilt milk, butter milk or stuff like that. Use it with lower than 20 percent dilution in water that is 1:5 dilution. So you can add about 100 ml or 200 ml milk to our universal solvent. Milk is not only a source of calcium, but also an antifungal for treatment of powdery mildew and blossom end rot disease on tomato and other vegetable plants. It also kills many plant viruses like tobacco mosaic virus. In place if milk you can add 1 liter of a special water. Yes that’s special calcium rich water for plants. It s nothing but the left over water after you hard boil few eggs. The egg shells release a lot of calcium into this water during boiling.
3. Epsom Salt that’s magnesium sulfate which is a greatest source of magnesium and sulfur. This is easily available at a gardening store or at your local pharmacist and even online. So the dosage is max 5 gms or little lesser than a teaspoon per 1 liter of water.
4. Then the Most important ingredient for adding the major NPK elements into the foliar spray is COMPOST TEA. So, how do you make compost tea? Its really simple. Just Add a handful of decomposed manure or compost like cowdung powder or vermicompost per liter of water. You can make your own quantity of 2 liters or 5 liters depending on your garden size. Allow this to brew for atleast 1 week. Make sure you stir this atleast once every 24 hours to oxygenate this mix till 1 week. Then strain out the liquid using a cloth and use this liquid. I shall make a detailed video some other time on how to use some simple gadgets like an aquarium air pump to quickly make your compost tea.
Well, For now, Once the compost tea is ready, you should dilute this like 1:5 in water and then add about 1 liter to the above solution. Normally if you are using only the compost tea as a foliar spray, you need to use 1:10 dilution. But here we are making a 2.1 liter solution in total. I Hope you got my point!
That’s it, mix it thoroughly and load the spray bottle or use your electric sprayer or whatever and foliar feed your plants. Spray very early in the morning or late in the evening because leaf stomatas are well opened at this period so that absorption happens at its best.
Many studies and research articles on goat dung as a fertilizer have been published on international journals. All of them say, Goat manure is one of the best animal manures for healthy soil and plants, specially for backyard organic vegetable gardening. And if you have couple of goats with you for their milk or whatever purpose, you should never throw away their droppings. You will learn a lot of important stuff about goat dung by the end of this video. Please watch it till the end and learn how to use it and how much to use in your home gardening or container gardening.
This is even available online at amazon. You can CHECK HERE.
So lets begin:
-
- Goat or sheep pellets are very much Dry compared with cow dung or horse dung. Hence these are very easy to collect or store.
- It is Virtually odourless and hence easy to work with and easy to spread on your soil Directly. You cannot directly apply cowdung or horsedung without decomposing, because this can burn your plants.
- Its relatively Free of insects and maggots unlike cow-dung. But drying in sulight for 2 to 3 days before using or before storing is always better.
- It’s a Cheap and Best Organic Fertilizer for your plants: As I said earlier, the pellets can be used for direct applications to flower and vegetable gardens without the fear of getting your plants burnt.
- Goat pellets contains lots of nutrients, the Major NPK elements – Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium, and many trace elements like Calcium, Magnesium, Iron, Manganese and many others. The Nitrogen value may be higher than cowdung or horse dung especially when these goat pellets are mixed with goats urine, whether by default or by using some goat beds specially created to increase its nitrogen value. In this case, composting this prior to application is recommended.
- This manure Increases Flowering and Fruiting and Promotes overall Plant growth. Goat droppings can be used in nearly any type of garden, including that of flowering and fruiting plants or
- Use Goat dropping in your compost bin. It not only enriches your final compost value, but also it decomposes very faster. This is because pelletized droppings allow more airflow into compost piles, which speeds up composting time as well.
- It’s a Low-cost Pure Organic Fertilizer for your vegetable gardening. You can get it for almost free specially when you visit any rural area or you can also get it for free in cities. You know how I collected these pellets? These were collected during the Bakrid festival where you see lot of sheep brought into the city and homes. You get lots of this to collect and save for the whole year. For me this is the most important benefit. Because I never use any chemicals for my vegetable gardening, not even a chemical pesticide. Well..
- Goat dung is also an Excellent soil conditioner: you can mix it while making your potting mix, similar to how to add decomposed cowdung into your mix. You can watch a related video HERE.
- Mulching: for beginners, A mulch is a layer of material applied to the top surface of soil to prevent moisture evaporation, reduce weed growth like grass clipping, twigs, wood chips, bark chips, dry leaves, hay and so on..
One Caution regarding Fresh Sheep dropping or any animal manure for that matter – Just because goat manure is a natural product doesn’t mean it’s completely safe. They can release disease causing microorganisms into the food chain that can make you sick. So better always sun dry completely for 2 -3 days before application or compost it and then use.
Now How to use and how much to use? This is an organic fertilizer. So you can use it similar to how you use cowdung or horse dung. A handful of this on a container once every 15 days for flowering plants or Once in 30 days for your other general plants. Make sure you Apply this after raking or tilling the top layer of your soil.
So, there we have it folks, that was a short article on goat or sheep dung as fertilizer in gardening.
References:
https://scialert.net/fulltextmobile/?doi=ijss.2007.142.147
We will start with the term – MYCORRHIZA (that’s a Greek word mycos, “fungus”, and rhiza, “root”). It is a Symbiotic association (mutually beneficial – symbiosis is a process of mutual benefit) between a fungus and the roots of a plant.
We will look into a simple explanation to this: The plant prepares food and energy coming from the sun that’s by way of photosysnthesis and supplies these carbohydrates and other nutrients to the fungi through the roots, and the fungus in turn supplies water and mineral nutrients taken from the soil to the plants. So, Mycorrhizae are located in the roots of the plant. In general, most of the plant species can form these mycorrhizal associations. We will not go into details or types or classifications of these associations. The most common is the Arbuscular type which is also called Vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhiza (VAM) and this is present in 70% to 80 % of plant species. And Mycorrhizae are especially beneficial for the plants growing in nutrient-poor soils. Because the fungal mycelia or hyphae – that’s fine hair like structure can uptake the nutrients from the soil, These are better than the thinnest fibrous roots of the plants. This in scientific terms is called increasing the vascularity, similar to certain drugs in medical field which increase vascularity and increase blood supply to an organ.
There is a lot of research done on this and it is proved to be very much beneficial to plants. You can check out links to some of the website articles on these topic from the description of this video.
Well, Now at home gardening level, How to utilize this benefits of mycorrhiza to boost the growth of our plants.
There are two options am showing you here. You can checkout links to these items from a card linked to this video or visit our website at gkvk.net.
- Plant Tablets or Root Tablets
- VAM powder containing these mycorrhizae.
This one is in Tablet form. Its called Root booster tablets. This comes with a leaflet and instructions with dosage for various plants. For home plants, use 1 or 2 tablets depending on the size of the container and size of the plant.
Now how to use this: Make a deep hole like about 4 to 6 inches, till u approximately feel you are reaching the roots of the plant. Then insert this tablet into the hole and cover it with soil. Then water slowly to make the soil wet. This should contain spores of the beneficial fungi which should reproduce and start their actions. You should see the effect within 3 months. You can test this on your anaemic plants and see the improvement in about 3 months. If your anaemic plant is showing significant interval change, then this mycorrhizae are into action and providing the plant with the necessary micronutrients like iron, magnesium and others.
Now the second Product is called VAM – Vescicular Arbuscular Mycorrhizae. This comes in powder form and each gram contains 100 to 200 propogules. So, approximately add one teaspoon of this powder near the plant roots by digging a hole or while repotting sprinkle the powder and repot your plant.
Now another interesting Use of this Mycorrhizae. That is Using Mycorrhiza for a Rooting Hormone effect to grow stem cuttings, that is rooting your cuttings. You can dip the lower end of a cutting into this powder and insert them into the soil. You can apply all the other rules of cuttings like the 45 degree cutting angle and others. You can watch one of my old videos on this topic from a card linked at top right corner of this video or search in my channel.
So before going to our important and interesting quiz question.
Will summarise the benefits, Mycorrhizal fungi make plants stronger and healthy, increasing the yields, increasing flowering and fruiting, make them drought tolerant, reduce fertilizer and water usage, protect plant against harmful pathogens in soil, improve soil quality and drainage system, Increase tolerance to soil PH changes and many other benefits.
Now lastly one quiz question. Actually even I do not know a proper answer to this. Can we use broad spectrum antifungals like SAAF powder (carbendazim and mancozeb) to mix with water and water the plants. Will this not kill these mycorrhizae? Please answer in the comment box below the video.
Ref:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4717633/
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-011-3176-6_8