Fertilizing Houseplants Naturally
To get the most out of indoor plants, they need to be fertilized. This allows them to grow to their potential and look stunning all year long. In addition to being safe and effective, natural fertilizers for houseplants offer an even release of nutrients. In addition, they are environmentally friendly and may even contribute to the improvement of the quality of the soil.
Houseplants can be fertilized naturally using natural organic matter. Natural organic material can provide your plants with nutrients. Coffee grounds, eggshells, banana peels and green tea are suitable household wastes for houseplant fertilizer. Commercial natural houseplant fertilizer can also be used.
Throughout this article, we will explore how you can fertilize potted plants using natural houseplant fertilizer and how to use safe, environmentally friendly nutrient sources, such as kitchen waste or commercial natural fertilizers. Here are some tips for naturally fertilizing your houseplants. Read on to discover the many advantages of natural fertilizers.
What Is Natural Houseplant Fertilizer?
The nutrients in natural fertilizers remain in their natural state, since the fertilizer materials have only been minimally processed.
These nutrients are often organic in nature and cannot be utilized by plant roots immediately as they must first decompose and be converted into minerals by soil microorganisms.
This is because natural fertilizers release nutrients to plants at a slower rate than chemical fertilizers. It’s more effective to think of them this way: They nourish the soil rather than the plants directly.
The words “natural” and “organic” are often interchangeable when used to refer to any naturally occurring fertilizer.
Organic fertilizers can only be made from organic materials that are derived from biological matter, but natural fertilizers can contain organic materials as well as mineral components.
There are natural fertilizers similar to those available in any gardening supply center, as well as soil conditioners (also called improvements or amendments) you should work into your soil before planting your plants.
The list of natural fertilizers used in agriculture is long, but several are well-known, including kelp, cow manure, alfalfa meal, limestone, and chicken manure fertilizers along with compost, worm castings, and tea.
Although natural fertilizers are great for farms and gardens, they also have a strong smell and are not recommended to use on indoor houseplants.
However, there are lots of homemade or commercial natural fertilizers you can choose from that are inexpensive, as well as effective in nourishing your indoor plants. In the next section, we investigate some of the most effective natural ways to fertilize houseplants.
5 Easy DIY Options
Fertilizing your plants naturally is as simple as feeding them with organic material that is found in the kitchen and household. Despite the fact that natural fertilizers are effective, they can be quite expensive compared to synthetic ones.
There’s no reason why household waste should cost anything, and it’s fun to put your household waste to good use by growing houseplants. This article shares the 5 best natural houseplant fertilizers.
Eggshells
In addition to providing micronutrient calcium to plants, eggshells can also lower the acidity level of soils in a similar way to agricultural limestone.
In addition to grinding them up and mixing them into the soil when it comes to planting, eggshells can also be steeped in boiled water to create a fertilizer tea you’ll use to pour over your soil.
Banana Peels
A banana peel’s potassium-rich composition, as well as its small amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus, and magnesium, makes it an excellent slow-release natural plant food.
If you don’t want to use banana peels directly on the soil, you can either cut them into small pieces and mix them with the houseplant soil, or puree them with water and mix it with the houseplant soil. In time, the banana peel will decompose, releasing nutrients necessary to your plants.
Coffee Grounds
In addition to coffee grounds mixed with soil, used for compost, or used to make liquid fertilizer, you can also soak them for a week in water. Nitrogen-rich coffee grounds contain relatively low amounts of potassium and phosphorus, which makes them better for foliage plants.
Aquarium Water
If you own a freshwater aquarium at home, you’ll always have a supply of houseplant fertilizer at your fingertips. Decomposing fish food and fish waste provide a wealth of natural nutrients to the waste water.
Changing the aquarium water can directly be applied to the soil so your houseplants can take advantage of it.
When you fertilize your houseplants with aquarium water, you are mimicking the natural nitrogen cycle. Biologically, nitrogen waste produced by fish is processed and utilized by plants growing in and around ponds, which helps the plants grow and purifies the water for the plants.
A type of agriculture known as aquaponics uses this technology to grow both fish and plants together, thereby creating a mutually beneficial environment.
Green Tea
Tea grounds provide excellent fertilization for plants such as Begonias and African Violets which prefer acidic soil.
Tea leaves have a pH that is lowered by tannic acid and contain a high concentration of nutrients, ensuring your house plants will flourish.
If you want to use the second brewed green tea directly on plants, you can do that after the water cools, or you can keep and compost the leaves and grounds for later use.
The Benefits
It has many advantages to use natural fertilizer instead of chemical fertilizer for indoor plants:
Gentle And Safe: Using natural fertilizers is safer than using chemical fertilizers because they contain fewer additives and break down slowly, which reduces the risk of burning your plants and prevents toxic salt buildup in the soil or leakage into the groundwater.
Soil Building: Fertilizers containing organic material enhance the structure of the potting soil, increasing air circulation, enhancing its ability to retain moisture, and nurturing the microbial ecosystem.
Environmentally Sustainable: In addition to being renewable and biodegradable, organic fertilizers are also much more environmentally friendly.
Affordable Options: You can make simple homemade fertilizers for less money from common household items by using things you already have. Commercial natural fertilizers are typically pricier than chemical blends.
Why Is It Important?
Many plants absorb the majority of their nutritional content from the soil through their roots. As plants flourish, the nutrients that they consume are constantly replenished by decomposing chemical compounds in organic matter and by other processes.