One of the sweetest joys of gardening is finding little ways to make your garden help itself. If you’re looking to make homemade weed fertilizer, this joy can smell suspiciously like swamp stew. The next time you’re knee-deep in weeds and thinking the garden’s out to get you, remember this: you’re standing on a gold mine for the best DIY fertilizer your plants could ask for.
A video by @saraonthefarm shows how a bucket, some unwanted greens, and a brief stint of garden alchemy can turn common weeds and scraps into a rich fertilizer that mimics the benefits of cover crops.
What Cover Crops and Weeds Know That You Might Not
Many of the weeds sprouting up around your garden are more beneficial than you think—digging deep with their roots, pulling up nutrients, and storing them in their stems and leaves. With a little water and time, you can extract all that good stuff and give it right back to your plants.
How to Brew Your Own Weed Fertilizer
Rocket science is a pretty hot topic right now, but this isn’t one of those times—it’s more like making soup you’d never, ever want to eat.
Here’s how she makes rich fertilizer from weeds and cover crops:
- Pull up a bunch of weeds (roots, leaves, stems—everything).
- Drop them into a bucket like you’re making salad for a troll.
- Add a few handfuls of garden soil—this brings in helpful microbes.
- Fill the bucket with water until everything is submerged.
- Cover it loosely with a lid or an old plate.
- Let it sit in a shaded corner for 2 to 3 weeks.
By the end, you’ll have a dark, gunky brew that smells like it could peel paint. That’s normal. Strain it, dilute it with water (1 part brew to 10 parts water), and feed your plants around the roots. They’ll love you for it—even if your nose doesn’t.
The strength of your brew will vary depending on what you add and how long it steeps. Warmer temperatures speed up fermentation, so in the heat of summer, it might be ready in as little as ten days. Cooler conditions may need the full three weeks or a little longer.
Want to Make It Stronger?
You can boost your mix with a few kitchen odds and ends. Banana peels add potassium, coffee grounds contribute nitrogen, and crushed eggshells bring in calcium. If you’ve got nettles or comfrey growing nearby, toss a few handfuls in—they’re like the multivitamins of the plant world.
Just don’t throw in anything greasy, meaty, or dairy-based. This isn’t a trash can, and your garden doesn’t want lasagna.
Turn Your Weeds Into Gold
Weeds are surprisingly helpful. They mine minerals from the soil and store them in their tissues. When soaked, those minerals dissolve into the water, creating a nutrient-rich liquid that plants can easily absorb through their roots.
Read more
Easy Tips to Turn Banana Peels into Liquid Gold
How to Stop Weeds from Taking Over Your Garden
