Gardener reveals recipe for their ‘weed tea fertilizer’ – it’s cheap & packed with ‘good nutrients’ for their plants
A PRO gardener has shared a DIY recipe that enriches their plants and promotes growth.
They said the one-ingredient hack is packed with nutrients.
Redditor GameEnders10 shared the gardening tip in a viral post.
They explained that they regularly prepare “weed tea” as an inexpensive, money-saving fertilizer for their plants.
“I just pack a five-gallon bucket with weeds, epsom salt, couple ounces of molasses, and a couple cups of compost,” they said.
“I assume the sugar and the compost help kick off breaking everything down, if not because it’s not aerated, oh well still good nutrients.
“I put about four cups of this tea in a two gallon watering can, fill with water, and root drench every week or two once the plants start to flower.”
The experienced gardener had a variety of tricks up their sleeve to make the most of their resources.
In the cold, a simple household item helps protect their plants.
” Mow up and cover beds with tons of leaves and a couple of layers of cardboard every winter,” they said.
“[It] keeps soil good and worms love it.”
An easy trick helps replenish their compost bins for free.
“Making a compost pile every fall with mowed leaves, collected pumpkins after Halloween, and five gallon buckets of used coffee grounds I get from coffee shops,” they added.
They even relied on homemade solutions for pest control.
“Concentrated stuff for fungus and pests is cheap and lasts multiple years,” they explained.
“Copper, Pyrethrin, Spinosad are what I use. I use baking soda spray for fungus maintenance, some copper if I get an outbreak.
Easy gardening tips to save money, maximize space, and repel pests
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- Banana peels, vinegar, and coffee grounds are often recommended as natural fertilizers.
- Dollar Tree sells four packs of seeds for $1.25.
- Try a vertical planter like Amazon’s Mr. Stacky 5 Tier Stackable Planter, $35 to make more use of a small space.
- Use netting like the Garden Netting Pest Barrier, $8, from Amazon to keep away bugs that eat your vegetables.
- Try sacrificial planting to reduce the use of pesticides and keep pests away from your garden. Deliberately growing certain plants to attract agricultural pests can keep them away from the plants you want to protect. Examples include marigolds, lavender, catnip, and chives.
- For pesky weeds in your garden, the Grampa’s Weeder – The Original Stand-Up Weed Puller Tool with Long Handles, $45, from Amazon is a helpful tool you can use without having to bend over.
“Spinosad I use weekly for pests, pyrethrin if I get an outbreak.”
A few DIY projects saved them money on trellis plants and indoor gardening.
“I use 1/2 in conduit (3/4 might be better, but last year I had 12 tomato held up on 1/2 in and it went fine) to build my trellis with connectors from maker pipe so I can make it tall enough, relatively affordable,” they said.
“Wire rack with LED grow light bars helps me start a lot of seeds indoors which is much cheaper than buying pre-started plants,” they added.
“When I’m not being lazy, I also grow microgreens which are very cheap to grow yourself, once you have the trays.”
“Irrigation is pretty affordable with PVC pipes. Make the manifold, then I have 3 pipes going over each bed, and each bed has a ball valve,” they said.
“On the watering pipes, drill a 1/16 inch hole every eight inches or so.”