In almost every apartment there are flowers on the windowsills. They need timely and proper care. Top dressing is an important component of plant life at home. Without it, the flower will slowly develop, inflorescences and buds will not ripen and unfold in full force. In other words, you will not get plentiful lush flowering.
Today in specialized stores you can find many different organic fertilizers. On the packaging of each of them, the manufacturer promises to get an excellent result. But many housewives know that you can use no less effective improvised means. At the same time, you will receive a plentifully flowering plant on your windowsill and save family budget funds.
So, we first decide what are fertilizers for indoor plants for?
When to feed ornamental plants?
Every housewife wants all the flowers in the house to be healthy, strong and beautiful. To get abundant lush flowering, you should fertilize the flower on time. There are some rules that every grower should know:
- The ideal time for feeding is from mid-spring to mid-autumn. In winter, fertilizers are not applied or their quantity is minimized. Remember that the concentration and quantity of fertilizers must be reduced gradually, as well as increased.
- Fertilizing plants need plants that do not bloom for a long period or have stopped growing.
- Fertilizers are applied when thin stems appear on the flower with leaves stretching upwards.
- Be sure to feed the soil, if the flower has a painful appearance, discards the leaves.
Regardless of the type of fertilizer, they must be applied to moistened soil. So you can protect the root system from burns. You should also pay attention to the type of plant (flowering or deciduous). Each of them needs different microelements. Therefore, it is not recommended to use one mixture for all colors.
It is also necessary to monitor the quantity and quality of fertilizers applied. After all, their overabundance can disrupt the development, growth and flowering of the plant.
Fertilizers for plants at home
To date, there are many options for feeding flowers. At home, they use a variety of substances and products, most often sugar, yeast, banana peel, succinic acid, wood ash, etc.
The effectiveness of home fertilizer generates a lot of discussion. Therefore, the reviews of specialists and gardeners can be radically different. So, what kind of houseplant fertilizer can I use?
Before proceeding with certain actions, it is necessary to carefully observe the reaction of the flower.
Dry yeast
Often floriculturists at home use dry yeast as fertilizer for plants. This is a natural organic product that you can feed all plants. It contains many trace elements and nutrients.
Dry yeast is easy enough to make fertilizer. It is necessary to combine 7-10 liters of warm water with 2-3 tablespoons of sugar and 1/3 teaspoon of yeast. Mix well and leave for 24 hours in an open container. Otherwise, yeast and sugar will react, resulting in gas evolution.
After a day, take 1 part of the resulting solution, mix it with 5 parts of water and water the plant under the root.
Ashes (ash)
Many people know that ash is an excellent fertilizer, it is often used by summer residents when growing vegetables in the open ground. At home, you can use ashes from previously smoked cigarettes. This fertilizer gives strength to the growth and development of the flower. In addition, it is a universal means of protecting plants from various diseases.
Fertilizing the soil with ash is easy - just pour it into the pot, and over time it will penetrate gradually into the soil.
Wood ash can also be used. As a top dressing, use a solution of 2 tablespoons of ash dissolved in 1 liter of water. The mixture is set aside for 2 days, then it is subsequently watered with flowers. Use such fertilizers for indoor plants at home 2 times a month.
Sugar
One of the most popular natural fertilizers for indoor plants is ordinary sugar. Everyone knows that in the process of splitting, it breaks down into glucose and fructose. It is glucose that is so necessary for plants, because it performs 2 main functions:
- Construction. Promotes the formation of complex organic molecules.
- Energy. This is a source of energy for all vital processes of a plant.
There is one “but” to using sugar. Glucose is an excellent building material, provided that it is well absorbed. This process requires carbon dioxide. With a lack of the latter, sugar will play a bad joke. It will be an excellent source of mold, rot and disease. Therefore, experts recommend combining the Baikal EM-1 preparation with sugar top dressing. This combination will give 100% result.
To prepare fertilizer for indoor plants, you need to dilute 2 tablespoons of sugar in 1 liter of water. Such top dressing should be carried out no more than 1 time per month.
By the way, sugar can be replaced with pharmaceutical glucose. Such top dressing will be more effective. To prepare the solution, you need to use 1 tablet of glucose per 1 liter of water. Feeding should also be used no more than 1 time per month.
Bananas
Many people know that a banana contains a lot of useful trace elements and vitamins. But nutrients are found not only in the pulp, but also in the peel. Therefore, the latter is actively used in the preparation of fertilizers.
Housewives use banana peels as fertilizer for indoor plants in fresh and dried form. Infusions and spray solutions are also prepared in advance.
The banana peel is washed and dried in the oven, in the sun or on a battery. After grinding in a coffee grinder and placed in a paper bag.
The powder is mixed to the soil during transplantation in a ratio of 1:10. Monthly it can be used as a mulching material.
Dried banana slices should be placed only in the lower layers of the soil. They will fulfill the role of drainage.
Fresh peel can be cut into large elements and placed deep in the ground. But it is often difficult to determine the required number of pieces for a container that can decompose. Moreover, in flower pots, the processing of this biological material is slow.
Banana peel infusion is used to saturate the soil with useful trace elements. The peel of the banana is washed, cut, placed in a 1 liter jar, pour 0.5 liter of water and left for 24 hours. Then add another 0.5 l of water and water the plants.
Banana peel as a fertilizer for indoor plants shows excellent results in use. You can prepare a complex fertilizer, for which you need:
- Skins 4 bananas.
- 20 g of magnesium sulfate.
- 2 tsp egg shell powder.
All components are thoroughly mixed and poured 900 g of water. The container is closed and shaken thoroughly to dissolve all components. The solution is used to spray leaves and soil. Apply no more than 1 time per week. Store complex fertilizer in the refrigerator.
Citrus and Aloe
A citrus fertilizer will help protect indoor plants from ants and parasites, saturate the soil with nutrients. For this, it is necessary to insist for several days the peel of pomegranate and citrus on the water. After the infusion, you can use it as a top dressing when watering.
Aloe juice is a panacea for plants that are poorly developed or are in a weakened state. It is recommended to use only an adult flower over 4 years old in order to prepare fertilizer for indoor plants. Reviews of many summer residents show that this is an effective way of feeding.
Previously cut aloe leaves are placed in a bag and sent for 10 days in the refrigerator. This procedure helps to reduce the concentration of juice. After the leaves are ground, squeeze the juice. Ornamental plants are fertilized with a solution of 1/4 teaspoon of juice diluted in 1.5 liters of water. They are watered with plants 1-2 times a week.
Onion and garlic
Every housewife uses onions daily for cooking. You should not throw onion peel into the bin, because it is an excellent fertilizer for indoor plants. It is soaked in water for several days, and then the plants are watered. This type of top dressing is ideal in winter.
Garlic is also an important plant. In the summer, an infusion is prepared from its shooters or directly from the head itself, previously ground. Garlic is poured into 1 liter of water and left in a dark, warm place for 5 days. After infusion, filter and use 1 time per week. 1 tablespoon of infusion is diluted in 2 liters of water. This is an excellent prophylactic against the development of fungal diseases.
Aspirin and Castor Oil
Flower crops tend to develop diseases. What fertilizers for indoor plants are better to choose for prevention? To increase immunity, many flower growers use aspirin water. To prepare a solution, 1 tablet of the drug is diluted in 1 liter of water. The resulting liquid must be treated superficially with a spray gun.
Castor oil is also actively used to strengthen the root system of the flower, increase the number of bud ovaries. To prepare this fertilizer, you need to dilute 1 teaspoon of oil per 1 liter of water. Shake the liquid well. Water the plants during the period of active ovary buds.
Aquarium water
Experienced gardeners claim that the water from the aquarium contains a large amount of nutrients. They are able to stimulate the proper development and growth of the flower. Such water is also characterized by a neutral pH level, which is ideal for indoor plants.
Experts recommend using water from the aquarium as a top dressing in the spring and summer, when the plant is in the stage of active growth, new leaves are laid, buds develop. During this period, you need to carefully monitor the watering. He must be moderate. In addition, you need to alternate irrigation using ordinary standing water.
Humus
This universal fertilizer is considered humus. It is used as top dressing both for indoor plants and for vegetables in a summer garden. Therefore, many flower growers claim that humus is an easily accessible, nutritious, high-quality and effective remedy. But it should be remembered that different types of plants react differently to this top dressing. For example, monstera, palm trees, dieffenbachia, ficus, citrus fruits do not tolerate humus based on bird droppings.
Indeed, such a composition is several times higher than the concentration of trace elements, compared with mullein. Therefore, it is carefully used to fertilize home ornamental plants.
Bird droppings must be diluted with water (10 g per 3 l). Before top dressing, the earth must be watered.
Myths
There are myths in the use of a particular feeding method. Many believe that coffee as a fertilizer for indoor plants is incredibly useful. This is actually a myth. After all, coffee grounds do not have any nutritional benefits for the plant. It can be used as a small soil baking powder. In addition, coffee residues can significantly increase the acidity of the soil. For flowering plants, this is a fatal phenomenon.
You should also remember about the eggshell. It is rich in calcium, but this trace element is practically not needed by the plant. The shell can act as a baking powder and drainage.
Conclusion
From the above options, you can choose the best fertilizer for indoor plants that will be convenient for you and useful for your green pets.