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Check out the May 2012 issue: raw stories, shocking confessions, candid advice about motherhood—and more!
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DIY Organic Plant Food
June 5th, 2009
Photography by Michael Alberstat
Hopefully the many DIY projects in our summer issue have inspired you to do a little backyard planting or pot up an urn for your front porch. If you have, it’s time to give those leafy greens some extra nutrition. To produce strong, healthy, disease-resistant growth, plants need a combination of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium (also know as N-P-K). Here’s a recipe for an organic plant food that you can make at home.
Black Magic Organic Plant Food Recipe
A mixture of fish emulsion, seaweed and molasses makes an excellent all-purpose foliar spray to stimulate new growth on outdoor and indoor plants. It’s a complete fertilizer with an N-P-K content of 7-2-8. It’s best to spray the feed though a fine mister, before the heat of the day. Plants absorb the nutrients immediately through the porous opening (stomata) on their leaves. To make this recipe, mix one tablespoon (15 mL) of liquid seaweed with four tablespoons (60 mL) of fish emulsion and one teaspoon (5 mL) of molasses per gallon (4 L) of water. This mixture also helps control insects, and increases the cold and heat tolerance of the plant.
Want more gardening tips?
• How to encourage your kids to grow up green
• How to create a patio garden
• How to garden organically
Copyright © 2012 St. Joseph Media. All Rights Reserved.