In today\u2019s episode, we will learn about 5 unbelievable uses\nor benefits of Onions, Onion Skins and Onion Juice in gardening. Specially the\nonion peel fertilizer, Onion Pesticide and a new secret rooting hormone recipe\nto root your plant cuttings quickly and successfully. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Onion skin and peels are usually thrown into the bin. But\nstarting today and after watching this episode till the end, you will never\nthrow them again!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Onion skin and peels have antioxidant and antimicrobial\nproperties and contain many useful substances like sulphur, quercetin,\nPotassium, phosphorus, zinc, iron, iodine, vitamins, pectins, saponins,\nflavonoids and so on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Have you even wondered why tears start flowing out of your\neyes as soon as we start chopping onions? This is Onion-Chemistry. Before we start with\nthe 5 uses of onions in gardening, let\u2019s quickly know the scientific reason\nbehind this interesting scene:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While chopping onions, cells inside the onion are broken down\nand the gas that comes out forms sulfenic acid. This acid gets mixed with\nenzymes and forms a gas called propanethiol S-oxide. When this gas reaches our\neyes, it gets mixed with our tears and forms sulphuric acid which causes\nirritation of the tear glands and that\u2019s it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well, Now let\u2019s list out the benefits of onions for plants\nand gardening:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
5. COMPOSTING:<\/strong> If you are\nnot using earthworms for making your compost, You can drop onion skins and peels\na little deeper into the compost bin and get a nutrient-rich compost in the\nfinal result. But You should avoid adding them in your worm composting bin,\nthis is because earthworms hate onions and similar odorous substances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. MULCHING:<\/strong> For\nBeginners, A mulch is a layer of material applied to the surface of soil for benefits\nlike preserving soil moisture, reducing weed growth and so on. You can use\nonion skins for mulching and the dry onion peels will decompose soon and enrich\nyour soil with potassium and calcium, which is so good for your plant growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. ONION\nPESTICIDE RECIPE:<\/strong> If you do organic vegetable gardening without using\nany chemical pesticides and fertilizer, you will certainly realise the\nimportance of these organic recipes, especially if you do not have the\nuniversal organic pesticide like the great neem oil. Do not worry!, you can make a potent organic\npesticide using onion and other stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n – Take a Large Onion and drop it into a kitchen blender 2. ONION\nPEEL FERTILZIER:<\/strong> There are two\nmethods to make onion peel fertilizer, one is to boil the onion peels for few\nhours in water and the other method is to soak the onion peels in water for 24\nhours. Some do not recommend boiling. 1. ROOTING\nHORMONE RECIPE:<\/strong> Not really a rooting hormone, but you can call it a\nrooting agent. Onion due to its antimicrobial properties and when mixed along\nwith other stuff will certainly improve the results of rooting your plant\ncuttings. To prepare this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n – Take \u00bc Onion
\n– Add 4 fresh cloves of garlic into this.
\n– Add 2 teaspoons of Red Chilli Powder.
\n– Add 1 teaspoon of Cinnamon Powder.
\n– Blend this into a fine paste by adding some water.
\n– Now Add about 2 Cups of Water to this and mix well and allow it to steep\novernight.
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\n– Then in the morning, strain out the liquid using a nylon cloth or a fine\nsieve to get your pesticide concentrate. You can store this concentrate in\nrefrigerator.
\n– To Apply as pesticide, Use it in 1:5\ndilution in water. That is to one cup of this pesticide add 5 cups of water and\nmost importantly do not forget to add some 10 drops of liquid detergent soap\nfor the surfactant effect and to coat the leaves and retain the pesticide\neffect for longer time. Use this twice weekly until all pests are eradicated. This\nwill successfully kill common pests like aphids, mealybugs, whiteflies and many\nothers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nSo, take 2 to 3 handfuls of onion peels \nand drop in 1 litre of water and allow it to soak for 24 hours.
\nAfter 24 hours, strain out the liquid and use it as a liquid fertilizer. You\ncan use it without dilution or with further dilution of 1:1 in water if you\nregularly fertilize your plants. Use it once in 15 days to see the effect in\nabout 3 months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Add \u00bd a Cup of Fresh Aloe vera Juice extracted from a leaf.
– Add some cinnamon or willow bark into this \u2013 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. \u00a0You can watch a detailed post on the 10 natural rooting agents<\/a><\/strong> you can use to add into this recipe or experiment this recipe with more stuff. <\/p>\n\n\n\n