In almost every apartment there are flowers on the windowsills. They need timely and proper care. Top dressing is an important component of plant life at home. Without it, the flower will develop slowly, the inflorescences and buds will not ripen and open in full force. In other words, you won't get abundant, lush blooms.
Today, you can find many different organic fertilizers in specialized stores. On the packaging of each of them, the manufacturer promises to get an excellent result. But many housewives know that no less effective improvised means can be used. At the same time, you will get a profusely flowering plant on your windowsill and save your family's budget.
So, let's first decide what fertilizers for indoor plants are for?
When to feed ornamental plants?
Every housewife wants all the flowersin the house were he althy, strong and beautiful. To get abundant lush flowering, you should fertilize the flower in time. There are some rules that every grower should know:
- The ideal time to feed is from mid-spring to mid-autumn. In winter, fertilizers are not applied or reduced to a minimum. Remember that you need to reduce the concentration and amount of fertilizer gradually, as well as increase it.
- Plants that do not bloom for a long period or have stopped growing need to be fed.
- Fertilizer is applied when thin stems with leaves stretching upwards appear on the flower.
- Be sure to feed the soil if the flower looks sickly, sheds leaves.
Regardless of the type of fertilizer, they must be applied to moist soil. So you can protect the root system from burns. You should also pay attention to the type of plant (flowering or deciduous). Each of them needs different trace elements. Therefore, it is not recommended to use one mixture for all colors.
It is also necessary to monitor the quantity and quality of fertilizers applied. After all, their excess can disrupt the development, growth and flowering of the plant.
Fertilizers for plants at home
Today, there are many options for feeding flowers. At home, a variety of substances and products are used, most often sugar, yeast, banana peel, succinic acid, wood ash, etc.
Effectiveness of household fertilizers generates a lot of discussion. Therefore, the reviews of specialists and flower growers can be radically different. So what kind of homemade houseplant fertilizer can I use?
Before proceeding with certain actions, you must carefully observe the reaction of the flower.
Dry yeast
Often flower growers at home use dry yeast as a fertilizer for plants. This is a natural organic product that can be fed to all plants. It contains many trace elements and nutrients.
Dry yeast is easy enough to make fertilizer. It is necessary to combine 7-10 liters of warm water with 2-3 tablespoons of sugar and 1/3 teaspoon of yeast. Mix everything well and leave for 24 hours in an open container. Otherwise, the yeast and sugar will react and produce gas.
A day later, take 1 part of the resulting solution, mix it with 5 parts of water and water the plant under the root.
Ashes (ash)
Many people know that ash is an excellent fertilizer, it is often used by summer residents when growing vegetables in the open field. At home, you can also use the ashes from a previously smoked cigarette. This fertilizer gives strength for the growth and development of the flower. In addition, it is a universal means of protecting plants from various diseases.
It is easy to fertilize the soil with ashes - just pour it into a pot, and over time it will gradually penetrate into the soil.
You canuse wood ash. As a top dressing, a solution of 2 tablespoons of ash dissolved in 1 liter of water is used. The mixture is set aside for 2 days, then it is watered with flowers in the future. Use this fertilizer for indoor plants at home 2 times a month.
Sugar
One of the most popular natural fertilizers for indoor plants is ordinary sugar. Everyone knows that in the process of splitting it breaks down into glucose and fructose. It is glucose that is so necessary for plants, because it performs 2 main functions:
- Construction. Promotes the formation of complex organic molecules.
- Energy. It is a source of energy for all life processes of the plant.
There is one "but" in the use of sugar. Glucose is an excellent building material, provided that it is well absorbed. This process requires carbon dioxide. With a lack of the latter, sugar will play a bad joke. It will be an excellent source of mold, rot and disease. Therefore, experts recommend combining the preparation "Baikal EM-1" with sugar top dressing. This combination will give 100% results.
To prepare fertilizer for indoor plants, dilute 2 tablespoons of sugar in 1 liter of water. Such top dressing should be carried out no more than 1 time per month.
By the way, sugar can be replaced with pharmacy glucose. Such top dressing will be more effective. To prepare the solution, you need to use 1 tablet of glucose per 1 liter of water. Feeding should also be used no more than once a month.
Bananas
Many people know that a banana contains a lot of useful trace elements and vitamins. But nutrients are not only in the pulp, but also in the peel. Therefore, the latter is actively used in the preparation of fertilizer.
Housewives use banana peel as a fertilizer for indoor plants in fresh and dried form. Infusions and solutions for spraying are also prepared in advance.
The banana skin is washed and dried in the oven, in the sun or on a radiator. After grinding in a coffee grinder and placed in a paper bag.
The powder is mixed into the soil during transplantation in a ratio of 1:10. It can be used monthly as a mulching material.
Dried banana slices should be placed only in the lower layers of the soil. They will serve as drainage.
Fresh peel can be cut into large pieces and placed deep into the ground. But it is often difficult to determine the required number of pieces for a container that can decompose. In addition, in flower pots, the processing of this biological material is slow.
An infusion of banana peel is used to saturate the soil with beneficial microelements. The banana peel is washed, cut, placed in a 1 liter jar, poured with 0.5 liters of water and left for 24 hours. Then add another 0.5 liters of water and water the plants.
Banana peel as a fertilizer for indoor plants shows excellent results in the application. Canprepare a complex fertilizer for which you need:
- 4 banana skins.
- 20g magnesium sulfate.
- 2 tsp eggshell powder.
All components are thoroughly mixed and pour 900 g of water. The container is closed and shaken thoroughly so that all components are dissolved. The solution is used for spraying leaves and soil. Apply no more than 1 time per week. Store complex fertilizer in the refrigerator.
Citrus and Aloe
Citrus fertilizer will help protect indoor plants from ants and parasites, saturate the soil with nutrients. To do this, you need to insist for several days the peel of pomegranate and citrus fruits on the water. After the infusion can be used as top dressing when watering.
Aloe juice is a panacea for plants that develop poorly or are in a weakened state. It is recommended to use only an adult flower over 4 years old in order to prepare fertilizer for indoor plants. Reviews of many gardeners show that this is an effective way to feed.
Previously cut aloe leaves are placed in a bag and sent for 10 days in the refrigerator. This procedure helps to reduce the concentration of juice. After the leaves are ground, the juice is squeezed out. Ornamental plants are fertilized with a solution of 1/4 teaspoon of juice diluted in 1.5 liters of water. They water the plants 1-2 times a week.
Onion and garlic
Every day, every housewife uses onions for cooking. Don't throw away onionshusks in the bin, because it is an excellent fertilizer for indoor plants. It is soaked in water for several days, and then the plants are watered. This type of feeding is ideal in winter.
Garlic is also an important plant. In the summer, an infusion is prepared from its arrows or directly from the head itself, pre-crushed. Garlic is poured into 1 liter of water and left in a dark, warm place for 5 days. After the infusion is filtered and used once a week. 1 tablespoon of infusion is diluted in 2 liters of water. This is an excellent prophylactic against the development of fungal diseases.
Aspirin and castor oil
Flower crops are prone to developing diseases. What fertilizers for indoor plants are better to choose for prevention? To increase immunity, many flower growers use aspirin water. To prepare a solution for 1 liter of water, dilute 1 tablet of the drug. With the resulting liquid, it is necessary to treat the flower superficially with a spray gun.
Castor oil is also actively used to strengthen the root system of the flower, increase the number of ovaries of buds. To prepare such a fertilizer, you need to dilute 1 teaspoon of oil in 1 liter of water. The liquid must be shaken well. Plants are watered during the period of active ovary buds.
Aquarium water
Experienced flower growers say that the water from the aquarium contains a large amount of nutrients. They are able to stimulate the proper development and growth of the flower. This water is alsoneutral pH, ideal for indoor plants.
Experts recommend using water from the aquarium as top dressing in the spring and summer, when the plant is in the stage of active growth, new leaves are laid, buds develop. During this period, you need to carefully monitor watering. It must be moderate. In addition, you need to alternate watering using ordinary settled water.
Must
The real universal fertilizer is humus. It is used as a top dressing for both indoor plants and vegetables in the country garden. Therefore, many flower growers claim that humus is an easily accessible, nutritious, high-quality and effective remedy. But it should be remembered that different types of plants react differently to this top dressing. For example, monstera, palm trees, dieffenbachia, ficuses, citrus fruits do not tolerate humus based on bird droppings.
After all, such a composition is several times higher than the concentration of trace elements, compared with mullein. Therefore, it is carefully used to fertilize home ornamental plants.
Bird droppings must be diluted with water (10 g per 3 l). Before top dressing, the earth must be watered.
Myths
There are also myths about the use of this or that method of feeding. Many people think that coffee as a fertilizer for indoor plants is incredibly useful. Actually this is a myth. After all, coffee grounds have no nutritional benefit.for a plant. It can be used as a small soil conditioner. In addition, coffee residue can significantly increase the acidity of the soil. For flowering plants, this is a disastrous phenomenon.
You should also remember about eggshells. It is rich in calcium, but this microelement is practically not needed by the plant. The shell can act as a baking powder and drainage.
Conclusion
From the above options, you can choose the best houseplant fertilizer that is convenient for you and good for your green pets.
