Are you planning on your garden one day supplying a portion of your food? If so, you know that to bring in a good crop you need plant food and fertilizer and when you're counting on vegetables for the table it’s not a time to experiment.
If we ever need our gardens to produce we will want knowledge on our side. I love my garden, it’s a great source of pleasure and nourishing crops, but as part of a survival plan there’s much to learn.
I’ve done some research on fertilizers and soil amendments you may not have thought of, but first I have a few suggestions. First: have a few bags of your favorite fertilizer and insecticides as a back-up, and a few books specifically written for survival gardening. Then print this article and others like it and keep them in a binder.
OK.. now for a few Gardening hints you may not have thought about.
NPK stands for Nitrogen/Phosphorous/Potassium. These are the big three that plants need to grow. I'll include those letters where applicable for more experienced gardeners.
We live in Idaho and usually this is a dry time of year. We have several large dogs and often have large brown spots on our lawn. This year is different. We have had an extraordinary amount of rain. This year our lawn has big deep-green spots. We wondered what happened until we read the following.
Human Urine:
Human urine contains nitrogen, phosphates, and potassium (NPK 12/1/3). It is sterile when it comes out of the body. By itself it is far too concentrated to use directly on plants. It can be used directly in a compost pile or diluted with eight parts water and used on your plants. You may need to dilute even more, but heavy rain was perfect for our lawn. You don’t want to lose a row of plants so test the mixture on a single plant to insure that the mixture is not too strong.
Use immediately or store it in a sealed container as it will allow bacterial growth if left exposed. Only urine from healthy individuals who are NOT on medication should be used. Once diluted and in the soil, bacterial growth is no longer an issue.
For those who are grossed out by this or question the idea of using urine as a plant food, consider that most well-known plant foods contain urea.
Bone meal:
Bone meal contains phosphates and nitrogen (heavier on phosphates than nitrogen (NPK 4/12/0). Bone meal can be easily made at home. Use bones ONLY from animals you know were healthy.
First boil for about an hour to remove any fat or meat, think: Beef/chicken soup. Dry the bones in an open fire or oven. Once completely dry crush them to a powder, or as close as you can. If they’re very dry they will crush easily.
A second method is to boil the bones for an extended period of time (maybe 24 hours), then you can simply crush them down to a mush. Allow the mush to dry if you want a powder or use them as a mush.
Dig the bone meal into your soil. It is a long acting, slow release fertilizer. Very useful used at the bottom of potato trenches or dug into the soil near fruit trees/bushes. use bone meal at about five pounds per fifty square feet when first preparing the garden, slightly less the following season.
Blood Meal:
Blood meal is a perfect nitrogen source and may contain some trace phosphates and/or potassium (NPK 12/0/0) depending on source. Blood meal has the alternate names of dried blood and powdered blood. Commercially available types are typically made from cattle blood although other animal blood works as well. Again only use blood from animals you know were healthy.
Blood meal is made by dehydration, preferably to a powder. If you don’t have the patience for the drying time, it can be used while still relatively clumpy. This can be done in a solar dehydrator or, if you live in a non-humid area by leaving a container out with a thin layer of blood. The quickest way is to put a thin layer of blood in a heat-safe container, next to a cooking or heat source. Keep the blood inaccessible to insects. Caution: this causes a nasty smell indoors and pans may need extensive cleaning.
Blood meal is a quick acting source of nitrogen and can be used in powder form or mixed in with water.
Blood meal is good for your compost and, if sprinkled around the perimeter of a garden, may keep some of the four-footed garden critters away. Caution: Do not apply blood meal to seedlings and in warm, most climates use less than recommended. Application rate is 5-10lbs per 100sq ft. One application lasts up to 4 months.
Wood Ashes:
Wood ashes are a good source of potassium when dug into the soil (NPK 0/1/3). You have to be careful with Wood Ash as it turns the soil alkaline. In an area of acidic soil a moderate treatment of wood ashes shouldn't be a problem. If you live in an area with more alkaline soil, you'll want to find a different potassium source.
Be sure any ashes you use are from trees that did not receive heavy pesticide or other problematic chemicals. Wood ash application rates will range, depending on the ash used and the soil. Start small and slowly increase the amount.
In the coming weeks, well talk about other fertilizers, composting and heritage seeds and how to store them.. stay tuned.
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