Homemade Organic Fertilizers, Anyone?

Sexx Pistils

Sexx Pistils

Active Member
Anyone here go all the way organic...meaning not buying pre-made fertilizers & nutes but just making things out of what's available around the house? That's what I'm doing for my first small grow & people are treating me like some kind of freak online. "Just buy some nutes, dude. They only cost $10". I know that. But I'm working on a budget & didn't plan on using anything like that on this grow, nor do I even know how to use those types of things without burning the plant. ("Nute burn" just strikes me as another problem to worry about and, as a noob, I'd rather not).

So far I've used diluted urine (Week 3) & grass clipping tea (Week 4) to supply nitrogen & other minerals to my little plant. And it hasn't died yet, lol. I'm getting some yellowing of the bottom fan leaves at Week 4's end, but it's an autoflower growing in a Solo cup so that's not surprising. I'm planning to add some Tetramin fish flakes (contains fish meal & shrimp meal and is rich in phosphorus & various nutrients) in a diluted solution next week & banana tea for potassium at Week 7. Already tried the fish flakes on my last plant & they worked fine even though it sounds weird.

Any other homemade fertilizers you guys like that don't include chicken/bat/other poop?
 
kkt3

kkt3

Well-Known Member
Pick up some rubber maid totes from garage sales. If you have a drill then put some holes in the one tote. If not, borrow one from a friend and drill holes in it. Then all you need to do is get some cardboard and food scraps. Source some worms from where ever and get that worm bin going. By far the best thing organically you can do!!
 
W

Wetdog

Well-Known Member
kkt3 said:
Pick up some rubber maid totes from garage sales. If you have a drill then put some holes in the one tote. If not, borrow one from a friend and drill holes in it. Then all you need to do is get some cardboard and food scraps. Source some worms from where ever and get that worm bin going. By far the best thing organically you can do!!
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BIG +1 on that!

Starting a worm bin is, absolutely, the best thing you can do organically. I know I'm repeating kkt3, but it simply cannot be stressed enough.

Wet
 
Sexx Pistils

Sexx Pistils

Active Member
Ayyy, these are some awesome tips! Hadn't heard the soybean one. Sounds easy enough. :clap:

Re: the worm bin - Do earthworms work, or is there a different type you'd need? And when you say "food scraps," does anything work or are there some items that should be left out (meat, milk, etc)?

The grass clipping tea has my plant looking perkier than it has in weeks. I only applied a little to the leaves & soil last night but this is the first time in a week the leaves have been tilted up instead of drooping down. I'm sold on this organic stuff so far. :weed:
 
kkt3

kkt3

Well-Known Member
My earthworms came from my compost pile. No meats, dairies. I've got 3 types of bins going. One that I feed just veggies to the worms. Another just banana peels, and the others get a mix of everything.

Freeze your scraps before feeding them to the worms. The worms go thru it faster. Therefore making the black gold quicker!!

Do some reading in the vermicomposting section. You will be glad you did!!!
 
Richard Drysift

Richard Drysift

Well-Known Member
Sexx Pistils said:
Ayyy, these are some awesome tips! Hadn't heard the soybean one. Sounds easy enough. :clap:

Re: the worm bin - Do earthworms work, or is there a different type you'd need? And when you say "food scraps," does anything work or are there some items that should be left out (meat, milk, etc)?

The grass clipping tea has my plant looking perkier than it has in weeks. I only applied a little to the leaves & soil last night but this is the first time in a week the leaves have been tilted up instead of drooping down. I'm sold on this organic stuff so far. :weed:
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I once made a dandelion tea just from picking them off my lawn and fermenting for weeks in a jar full of water. When I opened the jar I almost gagged from the horrid smell and I decided not to give it to my pot plants. Instead I poured it into all my houseplants to see if they would die and as it turns out they are all still alive and thriving.
Never tried it again though because I doubt dandy tea could ever be as effective as fresh compost straight from the worms ass. I also have to agree that starting a worm bin is the best thing you can do to up your organic game. Keeping worms is easy and fun; they are the best pets. I use a worm factory 360 which makes it easy to pull castings when finished and it has a little spigot that dispenses worm leacheate which I dilute for use on all my plants and in teas. Pure liquid gold.
 
Dmannn

Dmannn

Well-Known Member
Get horse, cow, and chicken manure mixed with rice hulls mix in worms. Sit for one year. Winner!
 
meangreengrowinmachine

meangreengrowinmachine

Well-Known Member
Sexx Pistils said:
Ayyy, these are some awesome tips! Hadn't heard the soybean one. Sounds easy enough. :clap:

Re: the worm bin - Do earthworms work, or is there a different type you'd need? And when you say "food scraps," does anything work or are there some items that should be left out (meat, milk, etc)?

The grass clipping tea has my plant looking perkier than it has in weeks. I only applied a little to the leaves & soil last night but this is the first time in a week the leaves have been tilted up instead of drooping down. I'm sold on this organic stuff so far. :weed:
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You really want red wrigglers. Earthworms are good for tunneling and helping with drainage in RSOL grows but for those tasty (to plants) castings you want those reds. I have had worm farms for going on I think 5 years so easy and such a great source of microbes!
 
too larry

too larry

Well-Known Member
I don't do campfires often, {stealth for me} but when I do, I always mix the cooled ashes with pee, stir until a thick paste, then let sit for 4-5 months. Amend as needed for a decent fert.
 
alphapinene

alphapinene

Well-Known Member
I've been thinking about sourcing some natural fertilizers myself...There's an abundance of oyster/clam shells, crabshells, fish & sea-weed where i'm from (northeast coast)..one trip to the beach and i'd be set for a long time ...just gotta find a pestle and mortar
 
Dmannn

Dmannn

Well-Known Member
alphapinene said:
I've been thinking about sourcing some natural fertilizers myself...There's an abundance of oyster/clam shells, crab/lobster shells, fish & sea-weed where i'm from (northeast coast)..one trip to the beach and i'd be set for a long time ...just gotta find a pestle and mortar
Click to expand...
build a ball mill out of 55 gallon drum or cement mixer..
 
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