Produce nettle manure against aphids / as fertilizer

Plant manure is a topic for almost every gardener today - also and especially for hopeful people Young gardeners who have vowed to promote all life in their garden and no harmful chemicals to use. Just until the first liquid manure is actually applied, not only does the city gardener's hesitant approach take some time... let's be honest, who wants to spray around with liquid manure in the garden? The following is a thorough explanation and clarification of why you should "want to splash around with slurry", especially with nettle slurry; after a look at what manure actually is:

Liquid manure - vegetable manure - nettle manure

Let's start with the manure: The people who can even relate to the term think of Odl or Puddel, Sudel or Bschütti, Gülle or Stinky broth... Joking aside, the stuff is just as unsavory as the regional names just mentioned suggest it: In a collecting basin called a cesspool collected liquid excrement (details deleted due to high disgust factor), which are pumped into slurry tanks via suction pipe and distributed as fertilizer on fields / meadows will. Where the liquid manure is increasingly in the process of conveying the nitrate limit values ​​in the groundwater to areas with which tap water from "Germany." cleanest food "becomes a health hazard (also a small side effect of factory farming, which those who eat a lot of meat usually don't hear about want).

The smelly, brown liquid smells a little less and is, above all, much safer For the environment and people, if they are not made from excrement but from plant residues will. This plant manure is the only manure for our northerners, every stinking stuff from living beings is called manure there (and, as in Bavaria, prefers to process it into biogas). Plant manure is created by mixing plant material with water and allowing it to ferment until the plant material has decomposed and the broth no longer foams.
It can be made from all kinds of plants; because it is about content and not about beauty, especially from the herbs, which some gardeners fight as non-herbs anyway. In terms of content, horsetail and groundgrass, dandelion and garlic, onion and chamomile etc. much to offer - plant manure occupy an important place within a supply concept that the plants in the garden are not quick and one-sided, but sustainable and ecological

nourishes:

• Sensible, sustainable fertilization aims to increase the fertility of the garden soil
• So the first question that is asked is not which nutrients which plant currently needs, but what the healthy garden soil needs
• Mineral fertilizers were developed by the chemical industry in times of famine after World War II
• In order to be able to provide the population with healthy food quickly, the plant nutrients were converted into water-soluble form
• In this way, they can be absorbed directly by the plant roots and act very quickly
• A concept that can only be used meaningfully in shortage situations, but which are no longer available today
• Today, lightning-fast fertilizers are usually overdosed, which is of no benefit to the plants or the garden soil
• On the contrary, excess nitrogen creates soft, water-rich tissues and plants that are prone to pests and disease
• Active substances not used by the plants, especially the easily soluble nitrate, are also washed out from the soil into the groundwater
• Organic fertilizers have a different, gentler effect because they are processed by soil organisms and are made available to the plants in a way that they can be called up
• After a soil survey that determines the status (should be repeated every few years), the soil is taken care of depending on the result and the situation
• Either green manure is sown, which protects the soil, loosens it and stores excess nutrients that can later be made usable for plants
• Or the garden soil is supplied with a harmonious mixture of the main nutrients via organic fertilizers
• The best organic fertilizer is compost
• The next effective fertilizers are guano, fresh and dried animal manure, horn shavings, blood and bone meal
• Plant manure contains nitrogen, phosphorus, potash and minerals and is therefore suitable for fertilization
• In the case of heavily draining plants, however, it is more likely to support the main nutrients
• Almost every herb has a few active ingredients against known garden pests such as aphids and Co. as an additional talent
• Plant manure is also an important plant strengthening agent that increases the plant's resistance to harmful organisms
• They do this by stimulating the plant's own defenses, producing pest-deterrent odors or by strengthening the plant cells in such a way that pests "bite their teeth"

Tip: The plants that are planted with a few species, well-planned garden without weeds, only supplied with fertilizers from the prepackaged or bottle

the same thing happens to people who no longer cook but only eat finished or prepared food: the variety is lost, and with it the ability of the metabolism to react to new substances or microorganisms, and thus often at some point Bless you.
For many natural gardeners, nettle manure is the "mother of plant manure", which is why it is best suited to explain the production of plant manure:

Make nettle manure

Fresh plants are best used to prepare plant manure, but dried herbs also have an effect. This is how the nettle manure is prepared:

• Have a suitable container ready at a suitable location
• Suitable vessels are e.g. B. Buckets made of plastic, the barrels sold for collecting rainwater are very suitable for larger quantities
• Barrels made of wood or earthenware are also suitable, but strong people should be available for transport
• Barrels made of any sheet metal, metal or aluminum alloys should not be used if possible, as they can react chemically with the brew or can disturb the reactions in the brew
• Suitable places are not too close to the house or the patio because the liquid manure becomes quite lively during fermentation and does not develop particularly pleasant smells
• The fermentation tank should not disappear in the last corner of the garden, because the manure is then usually no longer stirred every day
• 1 kg of fresh nettles or 150-200 g of dried nettles are needed for every 10 liters of water
• The complete plants are used without roots
• Fresh nettles should preferably not yet bear seeds that could germinate in the soil despite fermentation
• The sooner the nettle liquid should be ready, the finer the nettles should be chopped up
• The fastest liquid manure is made from nettles that have been shredded in a blender with a little liquid
• The herbs go into the fermentation vessel and are infused with the desired amount of water
• Rainwater or stale water from the rain barrel are best to use
• The fermentation vessel should not be filled to the top, as the foam produced during fermentation rises to the top
• After the herbs have been put in the cold water, stir well once
• Cover the fermentation vessel so that no thirsty birds or other small animals fall into the bin
• From then on, stir once a day
• If a handful of rock flour and a few drops of valerian extract are mixed in, it will absorb the unpleasant smell a little
• It takes about 10 days to two weeks for the fermentation process to complete
• The sunnier the vessel is, the faster it goes
• The completed fermentation can be recognized by the fact that the liquid manure no longer foams

Use nettle manure

There have been empirical values ​​for a long time about the use of nettle manure, which gives you a whole range of purposes at hand:

Ready-fermented nettle manure

• Undiluted, fermented nettle manure can be used as a bioactivator to promote rotting by pouring it over the compost heap
• In 10-fold dilution, it can be applied all year round to promote growth on the garden soil wherever there is a visible need
• When diluted 20 times, the fermented nettle manure promotes the growth of seedlings
• In addition, a root bath in nettle manure diluted 20 times helps against late blight on potatoes and other nightshade plants

The "general manure fertilization" in 10-fold dilution helps plants that a little

seem reluctant to get back into a better mood to grow. It can also be applied to plants that are expected to show a strong growth spurt in the near future. Plants that are sensitive to nitrogen-rich food supplements would be "pushed too hard"; Peas, carrots, garlic and onions count for example. B. to them. All heavy consumers, on the other hand, can use a fast-acting fertilizer boost in the time before harvest.
The classic, heavily consuming plants are among the cruciferous plants (radish, radishes, rocket, all types of cabbage except for Kohlrabi, kale, swede) and the nightshade family (eggplant, potato, peppers, etc., tomatoes, cucumbers, cucurbits) Find. But also artichokes, strawberries, rhubarb, beets (Swiss chard, beetroot, sugar beet), celery, sunflowers, asparagus, Spinach, chrysanthemums, geraniums and all fruit trees look forward to a few sips of nettle manure during the Growing season.
In addition, nettle manure promotes the development of the green leaf pigment chlorophyll in all green plants, which increases the rate of photosynthesis and thus promotes growth, attracts useful soil producers such as earthworms and has a preventive effect against the proliferation of Mushrooms.
If it is not about repelling pests, but about fertilizing, the liquid should not be poured over the leaves, but only on the soil in the root area. Because the liquid manure in 10-fold dilution is still so strong that it could burn tender leaves and stems.

Fermenting manure

If you have sensitive plants in the garden, you can divert a little liquid manure during the fermentation process. Mix one liter of fermenting nettle manure with half a liter of horsetail manure, and you have an excellent plant tonic against aphids and spider mites. You can go a long way with these 1.5 liters: The powerful essence is diluted 50 times before it is sprayed onto the plants just before the leaves and flowers form. Nevertheless, you should always apply manure sprayed directly onto the plants whenever possible Plants are not fully exposed to the sun, i.e. on cloudy days, in the evening, at dusk.

Cold water extract from the nettle

Theoretically, you could branch off the cold water extract from a liquid manure that has just been prepared; Since it is applied undiluted, it can also be put straight into the watering can. Put 1 kg of crushed nettles in a 10-liter watering can, let them stand for 12-24 hours and then pour or spray the mixture wherever there are too many aphids. Repeat the treatment until the aphids are decimated to the last. With these leftovers you can simply wait until they move to the next plant or bless the temporal. Again, the following applies: Do not work in direct sun so that there are no burns.

The nettle manure can be used in larger quantities in spring (as soon as enough nettles can be collected) and some of them are filled into tightly sealed containers, in which they will stay until autumn holds. Before bottling for a somewhat longer storage, not yet decomposed parts of the plant should be strained or collected and placed on the compost for further rotting.

tip
If someone tells you that the stinging nettle manure is unlikely to last until autumn: it could be Liquid full of living microorganisms, which works just like self-made elderflower sparkling wine and in extreme cases could "explode". But it doesn't matter, if you really want to have nature around you in the garden, you have to do with a lot of living organisms, all of them can behave a little unexpectedly... and a liquid manure that continues to ferment or turn over can still turn the compost enrich.