In France it is a punishable offense to advertise or make recommendations for stinging nettles as fertilizer. It would be better to sell artificial fertilizers than for every gardener to produce his own fertilizer that is freely available in nature. It's (still) different in this country…

Fresh nettles are used to make nettle fertilizer

Is the fertilizer effective?

The stinging nettle is extremely effective as an organic fertilizer. A natural fertilizer could not be easier to produce and hardly better in its potency. You can do without expensive guano fertilizers, blue grain and the like if you take the trouble to make a brew or liquid manure from nettles.

Nettles grow almost everywhere where there is nutrient-rich and moist soil. They are regarded as indicator plants for nitrogen. They not only contain a lot of it, but also lots of minerals and trace elements. With them, the plants can be fertilized every week without any worries.

For which plants is nettle fertilizer suitable?

All useful and ornamental plants (preferably vegetables such as tomatoes, pumpkins, cucumbers and other heavy consumers such as roses), even the lawn, can be fertilized with nettle manure or nettle broth. You should note the following mixing ratios (nettle liquid manure: water) when using liquid manure:

  • Lawn: 1:50
  • Young plants: 1:20
  • older plants: 1:10

How is the fertilizer made?

Making nettle manure yourself is very easy. All you need are stinging nettles, water, a wooden or plastic container of at least 12 liters, scissors or a knife, a stick and gloves.

That's how it's done:

  • Harvest 1 kg of fresh nettles
  • Roughly chop the nettles
  • Put pieces of nettle in the bowl
  • Add 10 liters of water
  • stir with a stick
  • If necessary, cover with a safety net, for example fine-meshed curtain fabric, cotton cloth, gauze diaper and fasten with rope

Now it's time to wait. Depending on the warmth at the location, it takes 1 to 2 weeks until the liquid manure is ready. It is only ready for use when the liquid no longer foams or forms bubbles. Warning: it smells strongly of ammonia.

Make a nettle broth

If you need the fertilizer immediately, you can make a decoction. However, this one is less effective because it is not fermented. You also use stinging nettle leaves and, in contrast to manure production, only let them soak in water for 12 to 24 hours.

Nettle fertilizer is also a pesticide

With the nettle fertilizer you kill two birds with one stone: it supplies the plants with nutrients and it acts as a pesticide against aphids, for example. To do this, you should apply the liquid manure or the brew directly to the affected areas.

tips

Nettle fertilizer can also be made in late fall, winter, or early spring when plants are not growing outside. You can collect and dry the stinging nettles at harvest time and later use them to make a liquid manure. There is also stinging nettle powder available commercially for those who shy away from picking it themselves.

Category:

Herbs