Putting Weeds to Good Use in Your Garden: Tips for Recycling Weeds

Weeds in a garden cause a multitude of problems. Time is wasted first on weeding and then on disposal. Making your own compost from them enriches the soil and helps you achieve a bountiful harvest. But making fertilizer isn't the only use for weeds. Weeds can also be used to make mulch and insecticides.

DIY organic fertilizers

Compost is decomposed plant and food waste. Worms and insects participate in the biodegradation process. It takes several weeks, sometimes even months, to produce compost. Only then can fully digested organic matter be obtained.

The plant material includes hay, straw, green branches and leaves, plant roots (no need to shake off the soil), bark, ash, composting additives, and food scraps. Biopreparations can be used to speed up decomposition.

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Methods for making compost from weeds

Fertilizers made according to this recipe "mature" only by the following season. However, even a weak woman can make them:

1. Completely finished compost is not removed. The remains of last year's compost stimulate the decomposition of the next batch.
2. The pulled weeds, roots and all, are allowed to dry and then placed in a silo. The contents should resemble a layered cake: dried grass, a small amount of food scraps, soil, and a layer of earth.
3. In dry weather, fill with water.
4. After the end of the summer season, cover with a layer of soil and film.

Weeds that mature in compost bins decompose more quickly. Layers of organic matter are laid in a specific sequence: grass stalks (such as bluegrass), leaves and tops of garden plants, ash, soot, sawdust, and weeds. All components are pre-dried.

It's a good idea to loosen the compost bin with a pitchfork every week. This compost is black, crumbly, and smells of moldy mushrooms, rotted hay, and forest soil. There's no foul odor.

Herbal infusion

Weeds can be used to make a growth activator. Spraying the mixture also repels pests. To make an organic solution, fill a prepared container with fresh weeds (dandelion, chamomile, quinoa, nettle, yarrow, and couch grass). Do not add quarantine plants. No compaction is required. Fill the container to the brim with water, leave it uncovered for a week, and stir once or twice a day. When fermentation is complete, the sediment will settle to the bottom and the liquid will become clear.

Before watering the plants, strain the infusion. For root feeding, dilute with water at a ratio of 1:10; for foliar feeding, dilute at a ratio of 1:20. This helps replenish nitrogen fertilizer deficiencies.

Weed mulch

A cover of mown or weeded grass will protect the soil from drying out, plants from overheating and sudden temperature changes, and suppress the growth of weeds.

To prepare mulch, shake the roots free of soil to prevent them from re-establishing themselves, and spread the plants over the selected area in a single layer (up to 14 cm). This type of mulch doubles the strawberry yield and increases apple yield by 1.5 times. Roots are not exposed after heavy rains, and after watering, a hard crust that blocks oxygen from forming on the soil does not form.

Insecticides from weeds

Weeds are used to make pest infusions. The most commonly used herbs are:

1. Wormwood. Helps get rid of weevils. Add 1 kg of slightly dried stems and leaves to 3.5-4 liters of water, simmer over low heat for 10 minutes (or use a double boiler), and let steep for 20 minutes, covered. Before watering, dilute the mixture in 8-10 liters of water. To improve adhesion, stir in 40-50 g of grated laundry soap. The soap-free infusion can be sprayed in the garden shed to repel flea beetles.
2. Dandelion. This homemade insecticide suppresses aphids and leafhoppers. The weed is pulled out by the roots, the soil is shaken off, the weed is crushed, and the solution is added to water at a ratio of 150 g to 5 liters of water. Let it steep for 2 hours. No need to dilute before spraying. For root watering, use a different recipe: pour 5 liters of boiling water over 1 cup of green stems and leaves. It can be used after an hour, diluted 1:10.
3. Celandine helps prevent rot in garden bushes, currants, and raspberries, and rids them of pests. To prepare an infusion, pour 4 kg of fresh shoots or 1 kg of dried shoots into a bucket of water and let steep for 1.5 days, stirring occasionally. Spray the bushes and plants in the garden beds.

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Practical use of weed control can save time and money. Reducing the cost of home remedies can significantly improve your budget. Chemical fertilizers and insecticides are expensive.