Soil is a major source of nutrients needed by plants for growth. The three main nutrients are nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). Together they make up the trio known as NPK. Other important nutrients are calcium, magnesium, and sulfur. Plants also need small quantities of iron, manganese, zinc, copper, boron, and molybdenum, known as trace elements because only traces are needed by the plant. The role these nutrients play in plant growth is complex, and this document provides only a brief outline. – Plant nutrients in the soil, www.dpi.nsw.gov.au
The next step was to figure out how to add all those nutrients back to the soil. I needed something that was natural and I could make myself. The best solution I found was to make liquid fertilizer from grass clippings. I found several sites that covered the topic and gave recipes on how to make it. While the recipes varied the same principles applied. All you need is cut grass (freshly cut grass is preferred but dry grass is fine), water, and a container to put the mix in. I took what I learned and put together a very simple recipe that just about anyone should be able to do right now. Luckily for me, there was a bag of cut grass in the garage that was half-full.
So here is what I did.
Materials: blender, glass jars, cut grass, water
Most of the recipes I found suggested that you should just add the cut grass and water to the container you are keeping it in. The reason I blended the grass was to break it up into smaller pieces to increase solubility of the nutrients into the water.
I added 3/4 – 1 L of water and a couple of handfuls of grass to my blender and blended it.
Next, I poured the blended solution into a glass jar. Making sure that I poured out all the liquid first, then with what room there was left in the jar, I added the blended grass. Once that was done I sealed the jar. I’ve read some recipes that suggest letting the solution sit for 3 days and I found one that said you should let the solution set for 3 months. I think I’m going to go with the 3-day suggestion. So, I’m letting those jars sit.