Organic Lawn Fertilizer – Sites For Home Made Fertilizers & Insecticides?

Dawn F says

April 10, 2008 at 10:30 am

Start a compost pile!

There are people who think it's just a pile of "trash", or that it "stinks", but if you do it CORRECTLY, the only odor you get is that "good earth" smell!

You can start it as an open pile, or get some chicken wire, which is what I did when I first started composting. Get a roll of chicken wire about 3 feet tall, then roll out enough so that it makes a circle about 3-4 feet in diameter. Then you can use the wires on the ends to tie it together. Set it up in your yard and add leaves, grass clippings, old, dead plants you've pulled out of your garden or flower beds…you can even put vegetable matter from the kitchen in it–but NO ANIMAL MATTER! Don't put fat you cut off of meat or anything with oil in it. When you add grass clippings, try to separate them as much as possible because they tend to be very wet and will clump together and get mouldy. (My uncle spreads his out on his drive way to dry out for a day before he adds them to his compost pile.) Try to mix both "green" (freshly cut) and "brown" (dead, dried matter) to the pile, using twice as much brown as green if at all possible. (I've used mostly green and just tried to separate it as much as possible so air would circulate through it easier.) You can also add dryer lint and hair–from pets or yourself and children, if you cut their hair at home–to the pile!

If you can get manure you can add that to your pile for nitrogen, OR you can go to a garden or hardware store and get either bone meal or blood meal (or both) and sprinkle some of that on top of every foot or so of organic matter in your pile as you're adding it to the pile.

Then you're going to want to water the pile. Ideally, it should feel like a damp sponge–just wet enough to hold together a little bit when you squeeze it together–but don't make it too wet! A wet compost pile WILL start to stink if you don't turn it.

Once you've gotten about 3 feet of organic matter piled up, let "mother nature" do her thing for a week or so. Then go out with a pitchfork or something similar and turn the pile. The idea is to let the pile heat up and start to decompose. When you turn the pile, you're moving the stuff that hasn't decomposed to the center of the pile so it will decompose as well. This is totally organic and the BEST thing you can use on your lawn or flower and vegetable beds, but it does take some time.

You can also compost in dark, thick plastic bags and get usable compost in 14 days, but you can only do a small amount at a time. (I've tried this, but didn't have strong enough garbage bags and they ripped open–but what came out was pretty good!) You set it up the same way–organic matter, both green and dry, add water until it's "spongy" and turn it every day.

The great thing about composting is your using things you already have (grass clippings and plant matter) and you may even be bagging and putting in the trash. The stuff is going to compost naturally, even in a landfill, so why not keep it out of landfills and put it to use doing what it was designed to do? And you can set up as simple or complicated a system as you want. I've seen compost piles that were just piles, they were never turned, and in a year there was great compost! I've also seen systems with 3 or more really nice plastic-coated "official" compost bins, where the compost was transferred from one bin to the next weekly, and new matter was put into the newly emptied bin. It was like an assembly line, with each bin containing varied degrees of composted material. There is also a composting barrel on a stand with rollers, and you open a door on the side to add material to it, then roll it to turn the compost. Honestly! You can start composting for NO MONEY using garden tools you already have (and some manual labor, of course) or you can spend a lot of money on all sorts of composting contraptions. It just depends on how "into it" you want to get!

Check with your local agricultural extension agency, because they probably have lots of tips for your area, and also might have composting classes available to the public for a small fee. (I introduced a neighbor to composting, and she became so interested she took the class! Part of the fee she paid for the class was for some really nice plastic-coated compost bins with "chimneys" to help with air circulation to the center of the pile. These are REALLY nice compost bins, and she gave me one of them just because I had introduced her to composting! She was already an accomplished gardener, just hadn't checked into composting until she met me.)

I love composting because, not only am I doing a lot for the environment, but it's good exercise and helps me "blow off steam" if I get upset. When I'm mad, I just go out and turn my compost pile! What a great hobby! The link below will give you more in-depth information, and you can Google "composting" and get loads of information!

Good luck, and happy composting!
References :
http://www.compostguide.com/

20 years of composting experience

Comments

banananose_89117 says

April 10, 2008 at 9:50 am

First check your local codes. Where I live using unprocessed manure is legal. Then just go to a close farm and purchase (not free) manure. Nothing better than Mother Nature to fertilize though your neighbors may not appreciate the smell and your dog/cat might eat it.
References :
Devon B says

April 10, 2008 at 10:27 am

John Perez's site has some pretty effective solutions for home made insecticides & organic lawn fertilizers. Coming from a professional gardener with over 50 years experience, he shows a number of easy ways to create your own insecticides / fertilizers at home. Take a look.
References :
http://homemadeformula.pinurl.com
Dawn F says

April 10, 2008 at 10:30 am

Start a compost pile!

There are people who think it's just a pile of "trash", or that it "stinks", but if you do it CORRECTLY, the only odor you get is that "good earth" smell!

You can start it as an open pile, or get some chicken wire, which is what I did when I first started composting. Get a roll of chicken wire about 3 feet tall, then roll out enough so that it makes a circle about 3-4 feet in diameter. Then you can use the wires on the ends to tie it together. Set it up in your yard and add leaves, grass clippings, old, dead plants you've pulled out of your garden or flower beds…you can even put vegetable matter from the kitchen in it–but NO ANIMAL MATTER! Don't put fat you cut off of meat or anything with oil in it. When you add grass clippings, try to separate them as much as possible because they tend to be very wet and will clump together and get mouldy. (My uncle spreads his out on his drive way to dry out for a day before he adds them to his compost pile.) Try to mix both "green" (freshly cut) and "brown" (dead, dried matter) to the pile, using twice as much brown as green if at all possible. (I've used mostly green and just tried to separate it as much as possible so air would circulate through it easier.) You can also add dryer lint and hair–from pets or yourself and children, if you cut their hair at home–to the pile!

If you can get manure you can add that to your pile for nitrogen, OR you can go to a garden or hardware store and get either bone meal or blood meal (or both) and sprinkle some of that on top of every foot or so of organic matter in your pile as you're adding it to the pile.

Then you're going to want to water the pile. Ideally, it should feel like a damp sponge–just wet enough to hold together a little bit when you squeeze it together–but don't make it too wet! A wet compost pile WILL start to stink if you don't turn it.

Once you've gotten about 3 feet of organic matter piled up, let "mother nature" do her thing for a week or so. Then go out with a pitchfork or something similar and turn the pile. The idea is to let the pile heat up and start to decompose. When you turn the pile, you're moving the stuff that hasn't decomposed to the center of the pile so it will decompose as well. This is totally organic and the BEST thing you can use on your lawn or flower and vegetable beds, but it does take some time.

You can also compost in dark, thick plastic bags and get usable compost in 14 days, but you can only do a small amount at a time. (I've tried this, but didn't have strong enough garbage bags and they ripped open–but what came out was pretty good!) You set it up the same way–organic matter, both green and dry, add water until it's "spongy" and turn it every day.

The great thing about composting is your using things you already have (grass clippings and plant matter) and you may even be bagging and putting in the trash. The stuff is going to compost naturally, even in a landfill, so why not keep it out of landfills and put it to use doing what it was designed to do? And you can set up as simple or complicated a system as you want. I've seen compost piles that were just piles, they were never turned, and in a year there was great compost! I've also seen systems with 3 or more really nice plastic-coated "official" compost bins, where the compost was transferred from one bin to the next weekly, and new matter was put into the newly emptied bin. It was like an assembly line, with each bin containing varied degrees of composted material. There is also a composting barrel on a stand with rollers, and you open a door on the side to add material to it, then roll it to turn the compost. Honestly! You can start composting for NO MONEY using garden tools you already have (and some manual labor, of course) or you can spend a lot of money on all sorts of composting contraptions. It just depends on how "into it" you want to get!

Check with your local agricultural extension agency, because they probably have lots of tips for your area, and also might have composting classes available to the public for a small fee. (I introduced a neighbor to composting, and she became so interested she took the class! Part of the fee she paid for the class was for some really nice plastic-coated compost bins with "chimneys" to help with air circulation to the center of the pile. These are REALLY nice compost bins, and she gave me one of them just because I had introduced her to composting! She was already an accomplished gardener, just hadn't checked into composting until she met me.)

I love composting because, not only am I doing a lot for the environment, but it's good exercise and helps me "blow off steam" if I get upset. When I'm mad, I just go out and turn my compost pile! What a great hobby! The link below will give you more in-depth information, and you can Google "composting" and get loads of information!

Good luck, and happy composting!
References :
http://www.compostguide.com/

20 years of composting experience

Comments

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