Fertilizers are necessary for indoor plants to thrive but do not solve all plant health issues. Some well-meaning plant parents over-fertilize plants because they think the plant has a nutrient deficiency.
Like any good recipe, it’s all about sourcing quality ingredients. These are my must-haves ingredients for creating a Natural Fertilizers For Houseplants
how to make Organic fertilizer for indoor plants
Natural Fertilizers for Indoor Plants
Here are some simple homemade Fertilizer For Indoor Plants a good nutrient boost naturally without eating a hole in your wallet:
- Crushed eggshells for lowering acidity and adding calcium
- Banana peels for adding potassium
- Used coffee grounds for adding nitrogen
- Green tea for acidifying the soil
- Molasses for adding macronutrients like carbon, iron, sulfur etc.
- Epsom Salts for adding magnesium and sulfur
- Wood ashes for increasing the alkalinity of soil
- Gelatin powder for a nitrogen boost
- Used cooking water for a general dose of essential nutrients
- Corn gluten meal for extra nitrogen
How to make your own houseplant fertilizer
Make a Simple Organic Fertilizer for Healthy Indoor Plants
Eggshells
Eggshells provide the essential plant micronutrient calcium and also help lower the acidity level of soils as a substitute for agricultural limestone.
With cleaned, crushed eggshells, you can pulverize them and mix them into the potting soil when you are potting your plants, or make a fertilizer tea that you pour into the soil by steeping them in boiled water overnight.
how to make Organic fertilizer for indoor plants
Banana peels
Banana peels are normally thrown in the compost or trash but they’re a rich source of potassium and they also contain small amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus and magnesium.
Banana peels are an ideal slow release natural houseplant fertilizer and there are a few ways to use them.
You can lay the banana peel directly on the potting soil or cover it over with a small amount of soil to reduce the smell as it breaks down.
You can also cut the peel up into small pieces and mix it into the soil before potting a new plant or blend the peels and mix with water to make a nutritious natural liquid fertilizer for your plants.
how to make Organic fertilizer for indoor plants
Coffee grounds
This is great for plants that prefer a slightly acidic soil mixture. The fact is that spiked coffee helps to lower the pH. If the coffee grounds are well dried and mixed with the substrate during transplanting or planting, this will improve the looseness of the flowers and the drainage. Such fertilization enriches the soil with nutrients and improves its quality and positively affects the beneficial microflora.
how to make Organic fertilizer for indoor plants
Used Cooking Water
When foods like pasta, vegetables, or eggs are boiled, many of the essential micronutrients which plants require are released into the water. This includes nutrients like phosphorous, nitrogen, and calcium.
Using cooking water to water your plants has a variety of benefits. Not only is it a free source of nutrients which would other-wise just be poured down the drain, but it will also help to promote nutrient storage in the soil and the soils ability to retain water.
This is helpful to plants like ferns or umbrella plants who prefer moist conditions.
how to make Organic fertilizer for indoor plants
Cereal Crumbs
Cereal crumbs gathering at the bottom of the bag or in your bowl can be annoying. However they are a great natural fertilizer for houseplants. The grains that cereal is made from are full of naturally occurring nutrients.
To make the most of your cereal crumbs, simply sprinkle them around your plant and cover with soil. Cereal crumbs can also be sprinkled over the lawn as a spring fertilizer.
how to make Organic fertilizer for indoor plants
Aquarium water as plant food?
Aquarium water contains (obviously) fish waste from the bottom of the tank, which makes a great plant fertilizer. So instead of throwing that water out the backdoor when you’re cleaning your aquarium, give it to your garden plants. Just be sure you use “fresh” water and not water from a saltwater tank. That would be BAD…really bad. Also be aware of the smell and stick to using this on your ornamental outdoor plants.
how to make Organic fertilizer for indoor plants
Green tea
If you drink green tea you can save the used tea bags and use them to create an easy and inexpensive homemade houseplant food.
Empty the tea leaves from the bag and place them on the soil or brew them in water to create a nutritious liquid fertilizer for your indoor plants.
Similar to coffee grounds, green tea is best for plants that like acidic soil.
how to make Organic fertilizer for indoor plants
Citrus peels
The peels of citrus, grapefruit, orange, and lemon have many vitamins on them. Thus, they provide nutrients and help sterilize the substrate. To make the infusion, you need to combine freshly boiled water with fresh peels. After half a day, the fertilizer should be ready.
The strained infusion is used for root fertilization of domestic plants. You can also use a sprayer to moisten the shrubs. It will control a range of diseases and pests (including spider mites).
how to make Organic fertilizer for indoor plants
Wood Ash
Adding ashes from burnt wood to your potting soil is an easy and safe way to raise its pH, meaning to increase the alkalinity.
Wood ashes also provide a healthy dose of potassium, calcium and phosphorous which are beneficial for many types of plants.
Just like epsom salts, adding wood ash to your soil is not a one-size fits all solution.
It should only be used in circumstances where it is required, or it could be harmful to the plants if the alkalinity is already high enough.
To find out if wood ash would be a good addition to your potting soil, you should perform a soil pH test to ensure the soil is below a pH of 6.5. With anything above a 6.5, wood ash could be harmful to the plants.
If you would like to raise the alkalinity of your soil, you can simply sprinkle the ashes on to the surface of the soil as a top dressing, and gently work it in to incorporate.
Be sure not to go too deep, to avoid disturbing the roots. Water in immediately after.
how to make Organic fertilizer for indoor plants
How to make fertilizer for indoor plants
Tip:
Epsom salt: contains the minerals magnesium and sulfate, which help to keep houseplants healthy and thriving.
Baking soda: stimulates blooms in flowering plants and also reduces the risk of fungal disease. This is especially beneficial for potted houseplants, which are prone to mildew as a result of overwatering and limited air circulation.
Household Ammonia: contains a large amount of nitrogen. However, it can be absorbed well by houseplants. This gives them a boost of vitality and vigor.
Three common ingredients that you’ll find at any supermarket for around $5 total (if you don’t already have them on hand).
Homemade Fertilizer For Indoor Plants
Materials and tools
- 1 gallon jug
- Epsom salt
- Baking soda
- Household ammonia
STEP 1
Measure 1 ½ tablespoons of Epsom salt into a clean gallon jug. A rinsed-out plastic milk jug with its lid makes a great container for this homemade plant food.
STEP 2
Add 1 ½ teaspoons of baking soda to the jug.
How to Make Homemade Plant Food
STEP 3
Measure a scant ½ teaspoon of household ammonia into the jug. Scant means slightly less than the full ½ teaspoon. Don’t overdo it with the ammonia; a little goes a long way!
STEP 4
Fill the rest of the jug with plain tap water, screw the lid on tightly, and swish well to combine.
STEP 5
Let sit for at least 30 minutes to allow the Epsom salt to completely dissolve. Label the container and store it in a cool dry spot where kids and pets can’t get into it.
how to make Organic fertilizer for indoor plants
Commercial Natural Fertilizers For Houseplants
There are many great natural houseplant fertilizers that you can purchase as either slowly releasing dry formulations or faster-acting liquids.
Natural dry fertilizers made for houseplants may be in the form of loose granular fertilizer that you sprinkle onto the potting soil or compressed spikes that you insert into the soil. They often contain bone meal, blood meal, rock phosphate, limestone, or dehydrated worm castings.
Common ingredients of natural liquid fertilizers include liquid kelp, fish emulsion, worm tea, compost tea, and plant extracts.
Because natural matter is complex and variable, you won’t find N-P-K ratios listed on the labels of these products. But if you need a certain one of the three main macronutrients, here are the natural fertilizers containing good amounts of eachto look for:
- Nitrogen: Fish emulsion, cottonseed meal, alfalfa meal
- Phosphorous: Rock phosphate, bone meal
- Potassium: Kelp meal, granite meal
Plants benefit from natural fertilizers. There are many different household items that you can use as a natural plant fertilizer. It’s best not to try these recipes for homemade Fertilizer For Indoor Plants all at one time, try one the first month and another the next month, and compare your results to see which fertilizer your plants respond to best.
