Alternatives to purchased fertilizers

DoubleD

Fish emulsion drenches do stink. It takes about two days for the "odor" to remove itself... but it is a miracle shot of nutrients and combined with Kelp is a real homerun brew.
_________________
Check out Our Modern "Victory Garden" - http://www.freewebs.com/kitsapfreedomgardener/

one_more_day · Tar Sands Joined: Aug 27, 2006 Posts: 75

Rabbit manure, don't forget rabbit manure! It is a great source of nutrients, and can be applied straight to the garden without fear of burning your plants. It comes in convenient pellets that make for easy application.

Rabbit manure has made all the difference in my garden this year.

green_achers

DoubleD

pedalling_faster · Intermediate Crude Joined: Dec 10, 2005 Posts: 759

wisconsin_cur

EdlinUser · Coal Joined: May 25, 2008 Posts: 1

green_achers

I lost most of my peppers this year from some sort of root rot, and in almost every case, it wasn't long after I gave them a shot of "liquid gold." I've been using about .1 solution.
_________________
WWJD? What would Joel Salatin do?

mercurygirl · Light Sweet Crude Joined: Jan 29, 2006 Posts: 1065

I tried the 1:10 urine on some plants recently and it really seemed to give them a boost.

green_achers

Somebody in this or some other thread I'm too lazy to look for was talking about getting different results depending on the time of day. I think the key is that there's wide variation in urine content. My ex-partner was commenting that when I "fertigate" with the .1 solution, it had a better result than when she did. I tend to eat more protein than she does. I'm guessing a heavy meat eater should dilute theirs even more.
_________________
WWJD? What would Joel Salatin do?

Gothor · Tar Sands Joined: Apr 14, 2008 Posts: 89

coyote

My neighbors and I have been experimenting with spent coffee grounds, great for nitrogen and so on.

One neighbor in particular has been getting large amounts of spent grounds from Starbucks, you can call them in the morning and they'll give you a bunch instead of throwing it out. It comes with some filters mixed in, you can either weed through to pull them out - or, if you're composting, just throw them right in with the mix. Tea and tea bags are supposed to be fine too, but we haven't tried them yet.

After peak, coffee will probably be one of the more expensive items around, but I imagine there will always be at least some spent grounds available. Then again, that's what I once thought about used cooking oil too! Confused

_________________
"If a path to the better there be, it begins with a full look at the worst." — Thomas Hardy