Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Tuesday's Tightwad Tip

I don't know about you, but I love it when I find good tightwad tips. My all time favorite is " Make your own". There are so many sights on the internet that specialize in frugality and money and finance tips that I won't even begin to go there.
I will tell you that anytime I find a recipe to "make my own", I have to try it. Some have been awesome, some disastrous, and some mediocre at best, but they have all been fun. I make some of my own condiments, my own cleaning supplies and even my own organic fertilizers.
The fertilizer was amazing and I even fed it to some epiphyllum cacti
that grew as much as 6 feet long last summer. I found the basic recipe on the brugmansia forum at Daves Garden. Then I kept working with it until I found a mixture that I liked. Living close to the beach, my yard is like sand. I have amended it for years with compost and potting soils, but they just filter through.
Anyway here is the formula ( recipe) that I ended up using. Try it out and let me know what you think.

Organic Plant Food

2 cups warm water
12ounces beer
1/2 cup household ammonia
1cup epsom salt
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 tsp super thrive

Mix well and use 1-1.5 Tbsp per gallon. You can use it twice a week and the leftovers should keep 3-4 weeks. Refrigerate the leftovers because it has a tendency to mold and smell really bad.
( Yet another lesson learned the hard way LOL)

I use it as a foliar feed as well as watering it in. I try not to feed them though when the temperatures are extremely hot.

2 comments:

Melissa said...

How interesting, thank you for sharing it. My yard is mostly sand too. I will definitely give this a try. Do you know a good pesticide that is good for the environment? I tried the whole Dawn thing but it killed my tomatoes dead.

Leslie said...

That flower is beautiful!

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