Make Your Own Organic Plant Fertilizer Tea Bag

For gardens to grow, they need to be fertilized. Unfortunately, commercially available fertilizers are an unregulated product that may contain toxic wastes. Happily, you can easily make your own organic plant fertilizer "tea bag" -- and save some money at the same time.

To make the teabag, lay a double layer of cheesecloth on a bare patch of soil and place one or two cups of compost, aged manure, or slow-release organic fertilizer on it.

If you want to make your own organic fertilizer combination, use the following ingredients (all of which you should be able to buy in bulk at a farm supply or feed store; they'll keep for years if kept dry):

• 4 parts seed meal
• 1 part dolomite lime
• 1/2 part bone meal or 1 part soft rock phosphate
• 1/2 part kelp meal

Grab the four corners of the cheesecloth and bring them together, then twist and apply rubber band to make your "tea bag" of fertilizer.

Place the tea bag in the bucket, and fill with water and let it steep for a day or so.

When the tea is ready, remove the bag, and fill the bucket the rest of the way with clear water to dilute the tea. You can treat each of your plants to a cup or two of tea.

As a rule, underfeeding is better than overfeeding, and small regular feedings are better than occasional large ones.

Source: The Sierra Club