Plant food supplies both indoor and outdoor plants with the nutrients they need to grow throughout the season. Though there are many commercial blends available in stores, you can also make your own organic plant food using ingredients found at most gardening centers. According to "The Michigan Gardening Guide," you should use this mixture sparingly. Apply a level teaspoon of the plant food to the base of each plant once a month.
Bone Meal
Your homemade organic plant food will contain one part bone meal. Bone meal, which is a slow-to-decompose mixture of crushed and coarsely ground bones, contains a high level of phosphorus. Phosphorus is a valuable resource for plant root development. Bone meal is also a good source of calcium, which increases soil pH and strengthens plant cell walls. In some plants, such as tomatoes, calcium is an important tool for warding off diseases such as blossom end rot.
Blood Meal
This plant food mixture requires one part blood meal. Blood meal is ground dried blood, usually from slaughterhouses. The plant food ingredient is a rich source of nitrogen, which is released slowly into the soil. Nitrogen helps build plant protein, producing lush, green leaves and plump fruits.
Wood Ashes
The final ingredient in organic plant food is two parts wood ashes. Wood ashes are important for plant development because they contain large amounts of potassium, calcium and magnesium carbonate. These nutrients are quite alkaline and have the ability to neutralize acidic soils. They also contribute to overall plant heath and development, especially as seedlings are growing. The water-soluble nutrients in wood ashes sink quite easily into the soil, delivering their goodness to plants as soon as they're watered.
References
- "The Michigan Gardening Guide;" Jerry Minnich; 1998
- The-Organic-Gardener.com: Bone Meal Organic Fertilizer
- University of California Cooperative Extension: Wood Ashes as Fertilizer
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