Nettle is considered a weed by most people, but experienced gardeners know that it is an extremely useful plant on a farm or garden, and nettle slurry is an effective and natural preparation for plant protection. How to prepare and what to use nettle manure for? Below are some helpful tips.
Preparing nettle manure is not difficult, so it will certainly not cause you a problem. Before starting work, it is worth preparing all the necessary products and items, although, in fact, there are really few of them.
How to make nettle manure?
First, some valuable information.
Young leaves of the herb, before flowering, are best for making slurry.
The solution must be prepared in a plastic or glass vessel (preferably a large bucket or barrel) so that the liquid manure has space for fermentation and that it can be stirred freely. It is absolutely inadvisable to set liquid manure in metal and concrete vessels.
You must prepare for the presence of an unpleasant odor ... in fact, fermenting manure smells very bad, so it is best to place the pot in a sheltered and warm place, away from home.
The liquid manure container must not be covered tightly! The reason is, of course, the ongoing fermentation process, which requires access to oxygen. In order to protect the liquid from uninvited insects, we recommend covering the container with gauze or a net.
The slurry should be stirred daily, and it is best to wear rubber gloves when mixing, which will minimize the risk of 'smell' transferring to the skin.
Slurry acquires full properties after about 2 weeks (after the foam disappears from the surface and changes its color to brown-green), but you can safely store it for up to a month.
To prepare 10 liters of liquid manure, you need about 1 kg of nettle leaves. Put the leaves cut into smaller pieces at the bottom of the dish, and then pour water. The best would be rainwater, although traditional tap water or deep water intake will work just as well. Remember to mix the fermenting slurry systematically every day.
Attention! The prepared solution should be diluted with water before use! For watering plants, the proportion of the mixture is 1:10 (one portion of slurry for 10 portions of water), and for spraying in the proportion of 1:20.
What to use nettle manure for?
Nettle manure contains a wealth of valuable elements that support the development of plants. These include, among others, nitrogen and potassium, but also magnesium, calcium, iron, silicon, organic acids and mineral salts. The mixture is primarily a natural fertilizer that you can use without fear of over-fertilizing plants, although in some cases we recommend caution.
Nettle manure can be used to water garden plants, vegetables, fruit trees and shrubs, and even conifers. Almost all plant species tolerate natural nettle fertilizer very well, and the recommended frequency is one watering every two weeks. The action of a natural fertilizer prepared from nettle is primarily: healing plants, improving growth as well as improving and accelerating the process of producing chlorophyll, thanks to which plants are better and more intensely colored. Nettle manure also attracts earthworms, which with their presence improve soil porosity and fertilize the substrate.
It is worth remembering that nettle slurry is a fertilizer that provides plants with increased amounts of nitrogen, so it should not be used for species sensitive to its excess, root vegetables and those with a relatively short growing season. As a result of fertilizing these plants, nitrates, i.e. nitric acid derivatives, may accumulate in them, which in excessive amounts are dangerous to health.
Plants that should not be watered with nettle manure are: azaleas, heathers, rhododendrons, peas, beans, garlic and onions.
In addition to watering in the form of fertilizer, nettle slurry will also be used as a spray against popular plant pests and fungal diseases. The solution helps fight spider mites, cup mites, aphids, gray mold and powdery mildew, among others.
The best and most visible effects are achieved by spraying the plants in the initial stage of the disease or when the pests have not multiplied too much. In the very advanced stages of the pathogen, it will be necessary to reach for specialized chemical preparations that will protect the plants from more serious damage.
Don't throw the leaves out of the manure! The leaves at the bottom of the vessel can be used for composting plants.
You will find ready-made nettle manure in garden stores, but before buying, make sure that the composition of the preparation is as close to natural as possible, i.e. it does not have any admixtures of other substances. Only such a preparation will be able to compete with self-prepared nettle manure, and what's more - you will avoid the need to mix the smelly substance.
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