Content
- Stinging nettle - make your own natural fertilizer for tomatoes
- All the ingredients and the right materials
- Uncomplicated preparation
- How are tomatoes fertilized with stinging nettle?
- Tips & Tricks
Stinging nettle - make your own natural fertilizer for tomatoes
In order to quench the great hunger for nutrients, the traditional stinging nettle has made a name for itself in tomato growing. The valuable natural fertilizer you can easily make yourself. Here you will find the proven recipe with instructions.
All the ingredients and the right materials
In order for the nettle to develop its full potential, we recommend the use of fresh, non-flowering plants. Suitable are both the large nettle (Urtica dioica), and the small nettle (Urtica urens). On a warm, sunny day in May is the ideal time for a harvest. Do not dispense with protective gloves to avoid contact with the burning hairs.
List of materials:
Although tomatoes are usually poured with tap water containing lime, the use of rainwater or pond water is recommended for nettle. The lower the calcium content, the faster the fermentation progresses. In addition, the foam and bubble formation is reduced.
Uncomplicated preparation
The manure vessel is set up in the sunny area at the back of the garden. Now layer the crushed leaves, sprinkle the rock flour over them and fill the water. Leave an edge about 10 centimeters high. This facilitates the subsequent stirring.
Last but not least, cover the tub with the grate without hermetically closing it. For the next 14 days, stir the liquid once a day. Add a dose of rock flour before each stir, keeping the stink in check. The nettle is ready when it stops foaming and has a dark color.
How are tomatoes fertilized with stinging nettle?
Nettle is never administered undiluted. Young tomatoes are fertilized weekly with a mixture of 1 part manure and 20 parts water. Older tomato plants pamper you with a stronger mixture in the ratio 1:10. Do not give the fertilizer to the green parts of the plant, but always directly to the roots.
Tips & Tricks
The unfriendly stench is significantly mitigated, the more oxygen is added to the manure. Therefore, install an aquarium pump in the barrel. To prevent the unit from becoming blocked by parts of the plant, fill the nettle leaves with a cotton sack or an old curtain.