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How To Make Your Own Liquid Fertiliser

Get kids involved in making natural liquid fertiliser! Learn how to create manure tea, seaweed tea, compost tea, and weed tea with simple steps. This fun gardening activity teaches children how to nourish plants using homemade, eco-friendly fertilisers.

MANURE TEA
(Using chicken, horse, or sheep manure)

  • Put a spade or two full of manure into the sack or pillow case and place it in a bucket with a lid

  • Cover with water and put the lid on the bucket

  • Let it sit for one to two weeks

  • When you're ready to use it, dilute the liquid in the bucket with water at ratio of 1 part liquid manure:16 parts water, or until it looks like weak black tea

  • Apply around the base of your plants

  • You can empty the manure-filled sack into your compost afterwards, or bury in the garden

Child pouring liquid fertiliser on a strawberry plant

SEAWEED TEA

  • Collect some seaweed (you won't need a large amount)

  • Rinse the seaweed well to remove excess salt, then place it in a bucket with a lid

  • Cover the seaweed with water and put the lid on the bucket

  • The seaweed needs to decompose so let it sit for about eight weeks in a dark place

  • Store away from buildings as it can get smelly

  • When ready dilute to a ratio of 1 part liquid seaweed to 2 parts water

  • Apply around the base of your plants

COMPOST TEA (Using compost or worm castings)

  • Put a shovel full of compost or worm castings into a bucket with a lid

  • Cover with water and stir the mixture

  • Put the lid on the bucket and let it sit for four days

  • When it is ready, strain through an old t-shirt and dilute 1 part compost to 10 parts water

  • Use immediately

WEED TEA

You can use all sorts of weeds from around your garden for this, especially those with tap roots, such as dock, comfrey, dandelions or wild fennel. The long tap roots mean the plant can absorb more nutrients, which are passed into the leaves. When these leaves are put in the weed tea, the nutrients will leach into the water, ready to be poured back into the garden.
 

  • Collect your weeds and put them in a bucket with a lid

  • Cover them with water then put the lid on the bucket

  • Let it sit for about two weeks

  • Dilute with water to a ratio of 1 part weed tea to 10 parts water

  • Apply around the base of your plants

  • Once the weeds have decomposed in the bucket, add them to your compost bin

Did you try this activity? 

I'd love to hear how it went for you!

Tag @growingkiwigardeners on Facebook or Instagram or send me an email!

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