Homemade Fertilizers for Gourds
Hello gardeners, we are back with a new and natural topic today. The article is all about homemade fertilizers for gourds. Gourds in this article include bitter gourd, ridge gourd, snake gourd, and bottle gourd. You want to have natural and organic gourds in your home? Well, and then you need to follow this article to know about homemade and natural fertilizers used for gourds.
Introduction to Homemade Fertilizers for Gourds
Here in this article, we are going to discuss the gourds listed below:
Bitter gourd – it’s a tropical and even subtropical vine of the Cucurbitaceae family, and it is widely grown in Asia, Africa, and therefore the Caribbean for its produce. Its many sorts differ substantially within the shape and bitterness of the fruit.
Ridge gourd – it is a genus of tropical and even subtropical vines and belongs to the cucumber family. It is usually planted and eaten as a vegetable but must be harvested at a young stage of development to be edible. The vegetable is popular in India, China, and even Vietnam. When the fruit is fully ripened, it’s very fibrous.
Snake gourd – It is well known as a tropical and subtropical vine. It is a very long fruit. In Asia, it’s eaten immature as a vegetable very similar to the summer squash and in Africa, the reddish pulp of mature snake gourd is employed as a cheap substitute for tomato. Common names for the planted variety include snake gourd, serpent gourd, chichinda, and even padwal.
Bottle gourd – Calabash (Lagenaria siceraria), is also known as bottle gourd, white-flowered gourd, long melon, and New Guinea bean. It is a vine usually grown for its fruit. It can be either harvested very young to be consumed as a vegetable, or it can even be harvested mature to be dried and it is used as a utensil. When it is very fresh, the fruit has a light green smooth skin and even white flesh.
A Step-By-Step Guide to Homemade Fertilizers for Gourds, Natural, and Organic Fertilizers
Organic fertilizers are the fertilizers that are naturally produced and they even contain carbon (C). Typical organic fertilizers include many mineral sources, all animal waste including meat processing, manure, slurry, and even guano, plant-based fertilizers, such as compost, and even bio solids. The main organic fertilizers are peat, animal wastes that means often from slaughterhouses, plant wastes from agriculture, and even treated sewage sludge.
Advantages in Using Homemade Fertilizer for Gourds
- Organic fertilizers will improve the soil texture
All the organic materials and even organic fertilizers will improve the soil texture, by allowing it to hold water longer, and will increase the bacterial and even fungal activity in the soil. So, they not only assist your plants, but they help the soil. On the other hand, synthetic fertilizers will deplete the soil of its nutrients, by making it very unproductive.
- Organic fertilizers are very safe
Although you will not want to eat or drink them which means fish emulsion tea is none too tempting, you can rest assured that organic fertilizers are very safe for the environment, your family, and even your pets. But the synthetic fertilizers usually require a significant amount of fossil fuels to produce and process and often runoff into nearby water sources like streams and even lakes.
- Organic fertilizers are very easy to apply
Organics are just as very easy to apply as their synthetic and non-organic counterparts. By adding them to soil or spraying them on leaves — however, you use them, and add countless benefits to your garden while providing the same amount of convenience and even ease as chemical fertilizers.
Disadvantages in Using Homemade Fertilizer for Gourds
- Not all products are usually created equally
Not all products are created equally and many other organic products produce inconsistent results. You need to make sure you are selecting a product that is industry vetted by reviewing any university studies or even in any case studies.
- Nutrient levels are very low
The level of nutrients present in organic fertilizer is often very low. Also, the nutrients are usually complexes in the organic chemical structure and this means using organic fertilizer may not produce the pop of good colour seen with chemical fertilizer. Using organic fertilizer is a process, but it is not an event.
- DIY compost is a very complicated procedure
While you can even produce your compost, it is a messy and even complicated process that often leads to an inconsistent product and then end-result.
Best Natural Fertilizer Used for Gourds
Organic gardening is as popular as ever, and even the methods we use will play a critical role in our health and the health of the planet.
- Grass clippings
If you have an organic lawn, then make sure to collect your grass clippings to use on your plants. Half an inch to an inch of grass clippings makes very great weed-blocking mulch, and even it is also very rich in nitrogen, which is a very essential nutrient for most plants.
- Weeds
Just like grass clippings, many of the weeds that you will usually find in your gardens are very high in nitrogen and that will make a very excellent fertilizer. The problem is, once you have pulled the weeds, you certainly will not want to put them back in the garden because any seeds will sprout and even make new weeds. The solution is to make weed tea. To do this, you need to fill a five-gallon bucket no more than 1/4 full of weeds that you have pulled. Then you need to fill the bucket the rest of the way with water, and then let the weeds soak for a week or even two. Once the water turns nice and brown like tea, then pour this weed tea on your plants.
- Kitchen scraps
Put your kitchen and even garden waste to work by making your compost. Compost releases nutrients very slowly, which means well-composted plants can easily go a year or two without requiring reapplication of any fertilizer. Compost will also help the soil retain its moisture, which is very essential for vegetable gardens to survive during hot and dry summers.
- Manure
Manure comes from a variety of sources which include cows, horses, chickens, and even bats. Each type of manure is very high in nitrogen and other nutrients, but you will need to use it very carefully. Raw manure is highly acidic and it may have more nutrients than your plants need, so too much can even burn your plants. It is best to use composted manure for plants. Since it is very less nutrient-dense and even acidic, you can use more of it to improve your soil’s water retention without risking any of your plants. You will not have to wait long—manure very quickly turns to a perfect odour-free soil amendment.
- Tree leaves
Rather than bagging up the autumn leaves and putting them out on your curb, collect them for your gardens instead. Leaves are rich with trace minerals, they attract earthworms, they keep moisture, and they’ll help make heavy soils lighter. You’ll use leaves in two ways: Either till them into your soil (or mix crushed leaves into potting soil), or use them as a mulch to both fertilize your plants and keep weeds down.
- Coffee Grounds
Coffee grounds accompany tons of uses, but one among their best is as a fertilizer. Many plants, like blueberries, rhododendron, roses, and tomatoes, thrive best in acidic soil. Recycle your dregs to assist acidify your soil. There are a few of the ways to try to do this— you’ll either top dress by sprinkling the used grounds over the surface of the soil, otherwise, you can make “coffee” to pour on your gardens. Take into 6 cups of used dregs for up to every week to form garden coffee, and then use it to water your acid-loving plants.
- Eggshells
If you’ve ever used lime in your garden, then you recognize it comes with many benefits — chiefly, it helps lower the acidity of your soil for plants that don’t like acid, and it provides plants with much calcium, which is an important nutrient. Lime itself is an all-natural fertilizer that you simply can purchase at the garden centre, but if you’d rather save money, there are less expensive thanks to getting equivalent benefits. Simply wash out all the eggshells from your kitchen, save them safely, and then crush them to use in your garden. It seems that eggshells are 93% carbonate, which is that the scientific name for lime.
- Epsom Salts
1 tablespoon of Epsom salts can be easily combined with 1 gallon of water and then put into a sprayer. You need to apply once a month, directly to the foliage, for a very quick dose of magnesium and even sulphur.
You may also check this: How To Grow Cabbage In Polyhouse.
Best Homemade Fertilizer for Growing Gourds
- Powdered milk
Powdered milk is a very good and excellent source not only for human consumption but also for your plants. This is a very good source of calcium that needs to be mixed into the soil before planting your plants. Since the milk is in powder form, then it is ready for use by your plants. This is one of the best homemade fertilizers for gourds
- Matches
The very old-fashioned easy-strike matches are a very good and great source of magnesium. To use these matches as a fertilizer, then you need to simply place the whole match in the hole with the plant, or even soak the matches in water. The magnesium will dissolve into the water and then make the application easier. This is one of the best homemade fertilizers for gourds
- Horse feed
This is one of the best homemade fertilizers for gourds. Horse feed is a very good and excellent natural fertilizer for plants. The magic ingredient in this is molasses. To use horse feed as a fertilizer is very simple and even easy. It can be easily used as a soil amendment just by sprinkling it on top of the soil. Alternatively, it can be evenly dissolved in water alone or even combined with another organic fertilizer and then applied as a soil drench.
- Hair
This is one of the best homemade fertilizers for gourds. Hair is a very good and excellent source of nitrogen and it will also double duty as a deer repellent. A very good source for this hair is not only your hairbrush but also the local barbershop or even any beauty salon. Many of these establishments will save all the hair for your garden if you ask them for it. But you should not limit yourself to only human hair. Dog hair, horsehair, and even cat hair work just as very well.
- Green tea
This is one of the best homemade fertilizers for gourds. A weak solution of green tea can be easily used on your plants every 4 weeks. You need to use 1 teabag with 2 gallons of water.
- Banana peels
This is one of the best homemade fertilizers for gourds. We eat bananas for their potassium, and even plants love potassium too. Simply bury peels in a hole alongside the plant so they can compost naturally. As the plant grows, bury the peels into the soil’s top layer. Both of these approaches will easily provide much-needed potassium for the plant’s proper growth.
- Cooking water
This is one of the best and natural homemade fertilizers for gourds. Many different nutrients are usually released into the water that food is cooked in. Water that is used to boil potatoes, other vegetables, and even eggs, can be easily used as a plant fertilizer. But just remember to let the water cool before applying it to your plant’s soil.
In case if you miss this: How To Grow Organic Lettuce.
How to Prepare Homemade Fertilizers for Gourds?
- Simple tea fertilizer
This simple fertilizer has been used for thousands of years. Give it a try to your plants for a very quick and even inexpensive dose of nutrients for your plants.
Instructions to prepare simple tea fertilizer:
In a 5-gallon bucket, you need to mix up to 1/4 cup of Epsom salts, and 2 cups of urine, and even 2 cups of wood ash that means again, no lighter fluid or even charcoal, please.
Then better to fill the rest of the bucket about halfway with grass clippings or pruned green leaves, or even green weeds pulled right out of the ground.
After that fill the bucket to the top with water and then allow the mix too steep for three days.
After steeping, you need to strain the tea or decant it into empty milk jugs or even old 2-liter bottles.
Before you use it, better dilute by 50% by mixing half water and half tea into your watering can.
Then apply this wonderful mix by pouring it directly onto the soil around your plants very well.
- Homemade fish emulsion fertilizer
Fish emulsion is a homemade fertilizer made out by using fish waste that means such as fish parts and guts and also water. This organic all-purpose fertilizer has also been around for thousands of years and it works well and great, but it takes few weeks to make, and the mixture must have the least time to rot before you can use it. Yes, there will be some bad smell here because it is made from rotting fish, after all.
Instructions to prepare homemade fish emulsion fertilizer:
To start the process, you need to fill a 55-gallon drum about one-third full with a ratio of 2 parts water and then 1 part fish waste.
Then allow this mixture too steep for nearly 24 hours.
After steeping, you need to add some more water to the drum until it is full.
Cover very loosely and then let the drum ferment for several weeks because we usually allow about 3 weeks for fermentation.
To use, better apply the fish emulsion fertilizer to the soil around your plants at a rate of 3 gallons of liquid for every 100 square feet of yard or garden.
- Seaweed Fertilizer
Another homemade fertilizer with a thousand-year pedigree. Not only is seaweed an all-purpose organic and natural fertilizer, but it also contains mannitol. Mannitol is a good compound that increases a plant’s ability to absorb nutrients in the soil. Either fresh or even dried seaweed can be easily used to create the all-purpose fertilizer. However, if you use fresh seaweed or dry, salted seaweed, better ensure it is thoroughly washed before using.
Instructions to prepare seaweed fertilizer:
You need to add 8 cups of chopped seaweed to a 5-gallon bucket and then fill it halfway with water. (Rainwater is always the best option if it is available.)
Then very loosely cover the container, and then let the seaweed steep for about 3 weeks.
After steeping, you need to strain the complete seaweed and then transfer the liquid to a container to store it for up to nearly 3 weeks.
To use, you need to mix half water and half seaweed tea into your favourite watering can and then apply it to the soil around your plants. Your plants will thank you for it within just a few days by showing their good result.
That’s all folks about homemade fertilizers for gourds, hope this will help you grow plants naturally and organically.
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