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[Roze]

This are some DIY recipes I've found and decide to share here:

BANANA PEELS  -  Eating a banana helps replenish lost potassium. Simply throw one or two peels in the hole before planting or bury peels under mulch so they can compost naturally. Get bigger and more blooms. I also use banana peels on my vegetables.

COFFEE GROUNDS  – Sprinkled on top of the ground before watering or pour a liquid version on top of the soil. If using as a soil drench, soak 6 cups of coffee grounds in a 5 gallon bucket of water. Let it sit for 2-3 days and then saturate the soil around your plants.

EGG SHELLS  – Wash them first, then crush. Eggshells are 93% calcium carbonate, the same ingredient as lime.  The eggshells are a good substitute for bonemeal.

MOLASSES –  mix 1-3 tablespoons of molasses into a gallon of water. Water your plants with this concoction and watch them grow bigger and healthier.

HUMAN URINE – Sounds disgusting, but urine is considered sterile if the body it’s coming from is healthy and free of viruses and infection. High in nitrogen, urea contains more phosphorous and potassium than many of the fertilizers we buy at the store! A good ratio of urine to water would be 1:8. You can collect a cup of urine and pour it into 8 cups of water. Pour 2 cups around the perimeter of each SMALL plant. For MEDIUM plants add 4 cups and LARGE plants deserve a good 6 cups of your personal home brew.

GRASS CLIPPINGS – Rich in nitrogen, grass breaks down over time and enhances the soil. Fill a 5 gallon bucket full of grass clippings.

CORNMEAL – Contains lots of phosphorus and nitrogen and acts as an effective fungicide. Add a cup of cornmeal to 5 gallons of water. Let it soak for several hours, then strain the liquid so you can add it to a spray bottle. Spray the leaves of plants that are susceptible to fungus.


GREEN TEA -A wonderful plant food is regular green tea.Dilute the tea with two gallons of water. You can use this every time you water.


Homemade Liquid Plant Food:

Add 1 tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. saltpeter, 1 tsp. epsom salts and 1/2 tsp. ammonia to a gallon of warm water in a bucket.Mix ingredients and store the homemade mixture in an old milk jug or other gallon-size container.Apply to houseplants on a monthly basis, as you would a commercially-purchased liquid fertilizer, by dissolving 1/4 tsp. of the homemade mixture in a quart of water in a watering can. Monitor your plants for any signs of distress. Symptoms of too much fertilizer include dropping leaves. If you suspect a plant has been given too much fertilizer, water it thoroughly, allowing the excess water to drain off. This will flush any damaging substances away.


Homemade N-P-K Balanced Liquid Food

Pour water into a gallon container of milk that is empty except for the residue. The tiny amount of milk left in this mix contains traces of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, all of which are necessary for healthy plant growth. Pour water in orange juice or apple juice containers that are empty except for the residue. The small amount of either of these acidic juices contains trace amounts of potassium.Water your plants using a mixture of water from the milk and juice containers, instead of using plain tap water. Using water from both of these sources provides an organic blend of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium required by plants. The traces of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in the water are highly diluted, and pose no danger of over-fertilization.

This are the ones I know and use, do you know other recipes? Share it with us!

7 Likes TBM, Frog Pajamas, Greentoe, fairdinkumseeds, ONandONandON and 2 more people like this.

[SoulGrower]

Thanks for this Roze!  You're always providing such great and useful info.  Exactly what is so great about this forum 

The tiny amount of milk left in this mix contains traces of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, all of which are necessary for healthy plant growth.

...also contains essential micronutrients calcium and magnesium!

I always put my banana peels in the ground around my banana plants.. returning the potassium that they eat up like crazy.

Insecticide - an effective and natural insecticidal soap can be made with any natural (lye based) soap.  Don't use anything that says it's a detergent as it may have harmful chemicals.  I like to use Murphy's Oil Soap but Ivory dish soap is commonly used to.  I put a tsp in a quart or tablespoon in a gallon of water.  Must be sprayed directly onto insect.. so you have to see them.  Doesn't work great on eggs but you can add some neem oil (not so diy) to take care of them.

3 Likes fairdinkumseeds, Roze and bohofairy like this.

[Roze]

Thanks soulG. , I also learn loads with your potting mix info

You right, this forum should be overflowing with useful information, is our duty to share it!

1 Like fairdinkumseeds likes this.

[fairdinkumseeds]

Might be relevant? You can scale it down to a 20l bucket with a lid and use a flyscreen as the filter and using kitchen scraps instead of a watertank.
I use absolutely everything I can get my hands on. If it was once alive, it goes in the tank, and as long as you keep the ratio right there isn't much smell at all>>> http://sharetheseeds.me/forum/index.php?topic=608.msg3930#msg3930

1 Like Roze likes this.

[GeeLucy!]

I have always used coffee grounds and eggshells as mentioned previously, however I have had some sort of mold begin to grow when coffee grounds are left to sit on top for a period of time and the plant is watered frequently. Shouldn't be a problem if you are consistently feeding or if you top with a bit of new soil though.

[elstongunn39]

I would think coffee grounds are too much acid for most plants-i only use them direct on blueberries

[reds]

I've run a cup or two of water through the coffeepot after i drink my coffee ( over the used grounds,) and added it to a gallon jug before watering.

My favorite is aquarium water, though.

Beer (diluted) makes a good fertiliser and halfway decent insectiside. (I add 1/4 bottle of beer, or more if i find a flat one after a party), and add 1/2-1tsp cayenne pepper, and a bit of soap to a spray bottle.
Works well for tiny bugs like mites and aphids. Beetles and hornworms could care less.