Fertilizing the olive tree: the best home remedies for nutrient supply

Generally the Olive tree a very frugal plant. As a true starvation artist, he even gets along without any fertilizer. therefore a certain tact is required: Too many nutrients damage the tree more than too few. The trees are at home in Tuscany and in the entire Mediterranean region, where they also thrive very well on poor soil. If the tree has enough water, it hardly needs any more. So a sure instinct is required when fertilizing.

Fertilize the olive tree

Fertilize only sporadically

The olive tree needed in the first three years its growth no fertilizer at all. During this time the trees develop their typical robustness. After that, fertilization is only applied in the growth phase: between April and September the tree forms new leaves and branches and grows. During this time he needs more nutrients. The tree is dormant between October and March, during which time you should not fertilize under any circumstances. The tree absorbs the nutrients from the earth together with the water.

With the new substrate, a freshly repotted olive tree has sufficient nutrients available for a few months. You don't have to fertilize the tree until later.

Since the trees in the pot or in the bucket only have a limited supply of nutrients, even the frugal olive tree cannot do without fertilization in the long term. However, it does not have to be special olive tree fertilizer; home remedies do too.

Fertilize with home remedies

Mineral fertilizers are often dosed so high that the olive tree is over-fertilized. The optimal mix looks like this:

• 20% nitrogen
• 15% potassium oxide
• 5% phosphate
• 2% magnesium oxide

There is also a certain density of Trace elements important: the tree needs boron and iron, copper and molybdenum, manganese and zinc. Most liquid fertilizers for Mediterranean plants contain such a mixture, but should be dosed very carefully. Alternatively, you can use organic fertilizer. The following home remedies are suitable as fertilizers:

Horn shavings

Commercial horn shavings are well suited, but they cost money and don't smell as pleasant. If the olive tree is in the living room, it is not so cheap. If the olive tree is outdoors, horn shavings are a suitable fertilizer.

Work horn shavings into the earth

The shavings are put into the ground between March and June. 80 to 100 g of it is scattered per square meter and lightly worked into the soil. However, the chips contain a lot of nitrogen and few other nutrients, so that the combination with compost makes perfect sense.

compost

Light compost can be used as a home remedy. You can choose this from Coffee grounds, tea grounds, quickly rotting plant waste and the like to manufacture yourself and cost nothing. Compost is spread between March and June: You should put the compost on the ground about three to five centimeters high and then work it in.

Plant manure for the olive tree outdoors

Plant manure has a very strong smell, which is why it is only suitable to a limited extent for olive trees in pots. In order to produce a nutritious nettle manure, around one kilogram of young nettle leaves should ferment in rainwater for 14 days. The mixture is stirred regularly and then roped off at the end. Then the liquid manure is poured into the irrigation water in a ratio of 1:10. It is sufficient to apply this mixture once a month from March to August.

Other home remedies

Pure coffee grounds are not enough to fertilize the olive tree. A garden compost with added plant waste is more suitable. You can also fertilize olive trees with pure chicken manure. The manure contains everything the tree needs and is easy to obtain. If you don't keep chickens yourself, you can ask farmers friends who are friends. However, bird droppings smell even more unpleasant than horn shavings and are therefore more suitable for fertilization outdoors.

Liquid fertilizer for Mediterranean plants

As an olive tree fertilizer, any liquid fertilizer is suitable for Mediterranean plants. Even citrus fertilizer is perfectly fine. Compo and Cuxin, for example, have this liquid fertilizer in their range. Chrystal fertilizer sticks for Mediterranean plants are also suitable. The manufacturers indicate how exactly the fertilizer should be dosed. The information is also completely correct for olive trees. Every two to three weeks you should add the liquid fertilizer to the pot along with the irrigation water. A small dose of well-sifted compost on top of the earth is also good for the tree.

Horn shavings are a cheaper alternative. Although this is not specifically advertised for Mediterranean plants, it also contains the nutrient mixture that the olive tree needs. The organic fertilizer has another advantage: it is not so easy to overdose. You need to dose liquid fertilizer really carefully, otherwise the tree will suffer.

Olive tree outdoors

Some areas of Germany are blessed with a mild climate that even allows olive trees to thrive outdoors. The Rhine Valley, for example, is warm enough, and there are also some places around Lake Constance. Olive trees in the open require even less fertilizer than trees in pots, because the supply of nutrients is simply greater.

Liquid fertilizer for Mediterranean plants is unnecessary outdoors. The trees will do very well if you mix some compost into the soil around the tree in spring or early summer. It doesn't really have to be more fertilizing. Nitrogen or other fertilizers are not good for the tree. If the soil is over-fertilized, the trees form long, thin branches and bear no or only extremely little fruit.

Overfertilization

Yellow leaves are a warning sign

The olive tree usually has silver-gray leaves. If the leaves turn yellow, this is a warning sign. The tree then usually suffers from too much waterlogging, from fungal attack or another disease. In very rare cases (with insufficient care) the yellow color of the leaves can be an indication of insufficient nitrogen in the soil. Before giving a little nitrogen, all other causes of the yellow coloration should be excluded by careful examination! Nitrogen can be added with a small dose of liquid fertilizer.

Quick help with overfertilization

Those who overdo it with fertilizing will be rewarded by the olive tree: The leaves turn yellow or brown, the branches are long and thin, the fruit yield decreases, and the tree becomes more susceptible to disease. There is no home remedy for overfertilization. If that actually happened, the substrate must be completely replaced, and as soon as possible. Then the tree recovers again.