I'm hoping to create a more natural environment for growing food in my apartment garden, so I figured making fertilizer with nettles would be a great idea.
Why nettles? Well, nettles are dynamic accumulators, which means they are nutrient and mineral gatherers in soil.
They acquire nutrients and minerals and re-distribute them in the ground when they decompose.
This is what happens in a natural environment and it increases the fertility of the soil. That's why nettles are a great choice for nettle compost tea.
Nettles contain:
Magnesium
Calcium
Iron
Potassium
Copper
Zinc
Nitrogen
Chlorophyll
How to Make Nettle Fertilizer:
1. Soak the nettles in hot water for about 20 minutes and add to plants by diluting this 1:10.
2. For more effective methods, you could soak them overnight and dilute 1:20
Nettles are a common weed, especially in the UK, meaning you can harvest them on your walks in parks or the woods. You'll need rubber gloves as they can sting.
Because they are considered weeds, you can buy them for really cheap and grow them yourself. They are quite hardy and resilient growers even in containers.
You can buy Nettle seeds cheaply on Amazon. In the past, I got 2000 seeds for £2.50.
Personally, I grow nettles and drink a lot of nettle tea. I figured I could use the leftovers to make fertilizer, which helps with my zero-waste and reuse goals.
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