However, it can be tricky to find natural pesticide and fertilizer options that work just as well!
Today we have some tips for you on how to keep your plant healthy while using non-harmful products:
To improve soil:
Bury the kitchen waste in the garden
To avoid bad smell and flies, cover up the kitchen waste with soil. The following year when you plant in it, it will look like a raised bed due to your previous actions.
Adjust pH with wood ash and coffee grounds
If you have various plants, the pH of each plant varies across your garden. To bring it as close to neutral as possible with large-scale soil amendments start alkalizing the soil in an Asparagus patch or other nutrient beds using wood ash from food burning stoves and fireplaces.
You can also use coffee grounds around ericaceous plants like azaleas, roses, rhododendrons for great results!
Weed tea as fertilizer
Attempting to mimic the nitrogen-rich green tea, you can use weed tea fertilizers since they too take nutrients from your garden plants.
Cut up weeds and dunk them in water (previously kept outside) and within a few days’ time, your fertilizer will be ready for application as either folia spray or soil fertilizer.
Use your pee to fertilize plants
Why would you want to do this? The reason is because urine contains a lot of nitrogen, which will help your plants grow.
For example, the NPK ratio for humans’ pee is 11-1-2 and that promotes lush foliage growth.
So if we dilute it with water in a 1:10 ratio and apply on the root zone then our plants should be able to absorb all those nutrients too!
Vinegar as weed killer
Instead of using chemical weed killers, try vinegar. Pour it into a spray bottle and drench the weeds (it is preferable to do this when it’s hot and sunny).
The acid will scorch the weeds in just days. Afterwards, water or sprinkle some baking soda.
Add oyster shells and eggshells to your garden beds
The calcium carbonate in the crushed eggshells and oyster shells will alkalize your soil.
Using a rolling pin, crush them into small pieces so you can easily use it to mix with dirt. This helps boost your soil’s health by increasing its pH levels making it more alkaline.
To fight diseases:
Bury some pennies in the garden
The use of copper can be an easy way to keep your soil healthy.
All you have to do is bury a few coins in the ground and they will release metal, which kills fungi spores that might harm other plants nearby.
Fight fungal diseases with baking soda
Baking soda is a natural fungicide that can help treat white spots on houseplants and vegetables.
Add 1 tablespoon of baking soda in water, add this solution to a spray bottle, then soak the plant or vegetable in it dripping down towards the soil for best results!
For bug control:
Neem oil
Neem oil is an efficient and effective solution for protecting your plants. It prevents the development of insects, including their ability to proliferate.
Start by adding a couple drops of any detergent (such as dish soap), 1/2 water or soapy liquid mixture with 1 teaspoon neem oil in spray bottle.
After 8 hours you need to drench the soil around the plant thoroughly before repeating every week until it’s no longer necessary.
Bring in some guests to feed on the pests
Plant these natural enemies to keep insects away – Aphid eaters! Aphids’ favorite food can be purchased online or at garden supply stores.
You should also consider planting yarrow, clover and mint because they act as insect repellents too!
Remove aphids with soap and water
Prevent and remove a mild infestation by giving your plants a bath.
Add 2 tbsp of dish soap in 1 gallon of water, mix well, spray the leaves or place them under shower to get rid of aphids more easily.
Control ants in the garden with borax and honey
The ants that live on your plants may not be as destructive as the aphids they protect, but you should take care of them.
To do this, mix borax and honey into a paste and apply it to the base of infested plant stems. This will dehydrate ants and serve as an organic ant-killer!
To promote plant health:
Drive a nail into a tree to make it yield
One trick to make an old apple tree blossom is driving a nail into its trunk. Many people in India do this because it works with coconut trees too!
The nails don’t even damage the tree, so you should try it and see if your own fruit-bearing plants flourish as well.
Coconut water for root development
Coconut water is a natural pairing for seedlings with high concentrations of cytokinin and gibberellic acid.
This enhances root development, so you can replace synthetic rooting hormones by using coconut water in your plant’s potting mix!
Improve fruit set with Epsom salt
Magnesium-rich Epsom salt can help your pepper plants produce more fruit. In a quart bottle of warm water, add two tablespoons of Epsom salt and shake to mix well.
Spray the mixture onto your plants for 2 weeks until fruiting is complete!
Extend growing season with tubs of water
Water tables in gardens can regulate the microenvironment and help plants to grow.
The water is heated by solar radiation, which then cools at night when released back into soil around it.
Place a black plastic sheet over tubs/pots of water for optimal heat absorption during day.
Rusty nails in watering can help fight iron deficiency
Dealing with iron chlorosis can be hard on your plants. When the leaves begin to turn yellow, you’ll know that they’re not getting enough iron in their diet of nutrients and water.
There are two ways you can fix this problem: either spray them down with some rusty-water or add a little bit of rust into the soil so it settles at plant roots level where its needed most!
Play music
As a result, it has been confirmed that music improves the growth of plants significantly. This is supported by observations, which show that different types of classical and jazz music improve plant health more than rock, or country songs.
Other interesting takes on this research include: vines in South Africa grow better with baroque while those in Italy love selected pieces from their favorite composers such as Mozart to stimulate their development.