List of useless folk fertilizers

Fertilizers and preparations

For good growth, development during the growing season and a decent harvest, agricultural crops require a fertile soil layer. Gardeners' plots, which are cultivated annually, generally lack the necessary nutrients. To remedy this, they add all sorts of fertilizer additives. However, in some cases, these mixtures can not only create a good foundation for plant growth but also cause harm.

The most useless and dangerous methods

To harvest a good crop of fruits and vegetables, you need to know how to properly care for them. It's important not only to mindlessly combat pests and fertilize plants with traditional methods, but also to strictly adhere to the required dosage, frequency of treatments, and avoid mixing incompatible ingredients.

Mixture of mineral fertilizers

To save time, gardeners often mix different mineral fertilizers. However, applying improperly mixed fertilizers will degrade the soil's properties. For example:

Mixed saltpeter and urea, when reacting, immediately release ammonia into the air, resulting in rapid loss of nitrogen;
When superphosphate and nitrate are added to the soil at the same time, the mass hardens and cannot be dispersed.

Furthermore, ammonia fertilizers applied in large quantities by inexperienced gardeners pose a significant risk. Nitric acid salts, when absorbed into fruits and vegetables, are harmful to the human body. After consuming fruits and vegetables overfed with mineral fertilizers, the salts in the blood are converted into nitrates. This process causes bronchodilator and pulmonary spasms, toxicosis, and the development of tumors.

Excess phosphorus in the soil disrupts the interaction between fungal spores and plant roots. Without this natural process, crops will not develop normally or absorb water and nutrients from the soil.

Bone meal

Organic gardeners praise this animal by-product for its natural origin. Proponents of the method believe that bone meal reduces stress on seedlings during transplantation and stimulates root formation. Bone meal contains approximately 20-32% phosphoric acid and 3-5% nitrogen compounds. These elements are essential for plants to properly perform photosynthesis. However, in high concentrations, they are dangerous.

When adding more than 200 g of fertilizer per 10 liters of water, phosphorus-nitrogen fertilizer stimulates root formation at the expense of the above-ground portion of vegetable seedlings or fruit and berry plants. The vegetative mass of the plants weakens, and after 1-2 days, the roots struggle to absorb nutrients from the soil.

Important!

Don't apply bone meal to artichoke or large-headed protea plants. The fertilizer causes stem wilting and subsequent death of these exotic houseplants.

Fresh manure mash

Among natural fertilizers, the most common is fertilizer made from livestock excrement. It contains many nutrients that promote active plant growth and development and improve soil fertility.

However, microorganisms that consume manure produce liquid, carbon dioxide, and organic compounds for energy. During this process, the temperature of the fertilizer rises to 75 degrees Celsius. After feeding plants with fresh excrement, their root systems are burned and scorched. Therefore, fresh manure diluted in water should not be used. The slurry should be left to infuse for two to three days.

Ammonia

Ammonium hydroxide aqueous solution sold in pharmacies contains up to 80 percent nitrogen compounds. These compounds are a key nutrient for plants, which can only absorb them from the soil. Failure to adhere to the correct dosage and application frequency ammonia-based fertilizers will lead to an increase in vegetative mass at the expense of fruit formation. Excessive amounts of the substance in the soil will increase the risk of fungal diseases.

Furthermore, an aqueous solution of ammonium hydroxide is toxic. Adding more than 25 ml of ammonia to 10 liters of water can cause intoxication. Inhaling toxic fumes for more than a minute will cause sluggishness and an increased heart rate. Prolonged exposure to an improperly diluted working solution can cause serious neurological damage, including coma.

Wood ash with nitrogen-containing fertilizers

If your soil is low in potassium, wood ash can help. The main rule when applying wood ash is not to mix it with saltpeter or urea. Mixing these elements can actually harm plants rather than benefit them. When these substances interact, a reaction occurs that produces large amounts of ammonia. Excessive amounts of ammonia are dangerous for plants.

Important!

When mixing soil for sowing seeds for seedlings, it's best to add wood ash in the fall. By spring, the natural alkalinity will dissipate, preventing the delicate root systems of young plants from burning.

Useless and dangerous fertilizers will not provide plants with nutrients. Only proper application of homemade fertilizers into the soil will enable gardeners to produce a high-quality harvest.