Are you fond of houseplants? Then you must be aware of the fact that knowing the right time to feed your houseplants is quite a tricky task.
Just like outdoor plants need food and nutrition for their growth and development, similarly your houseplants too need nutrition to thrive and grow. Hence , Organic fertilizers are the best way to feed them as they don’t harm your soil as well as the environment.
Every plant requires Sunlight, water, and a healthy soil medium to grow. As houseplants are grown indoors they need proper care and nutrition to grow.
Organic fertilizers continuously release nutrients to the soil making them nutritious for your indoor plants to grow effectively Click To TweetHence there are various options to provide your plants with proper nutrition and organic fertilizers provide ample nutrition to your houseplants.
There are various natural organic fertilizers for your houseplants that can boost their growth.
Organic fertilizers basically comprise plant-derived materials including dead decayed plants to animal manures and agricultural by-products.
Types of Organic Fertilizers
There are various types of organic fertilizers that are beneficial to your houseplants. Feeding your houseplants with proper nutrition is as essential as feeding your own body.
Natural organic fertilizers are the ones that are naturally made with minimal processing so that the nutrients remain intact.
Though organic fertilizers are slow releasing but also, they benefit your soil health and provide nutrition directly to soil making them more fertile.
In the case of indoor plants, they require proper fertilization in order to thrive, so natural organic fertilizers prove to be best for them. Adding natural organic fertilizers to your potting soil makes them more healthier and helps the plants to bloom.
Organic fertilizers continuously release nutrients to the soil making them nutritious for your indoor plants to grow effectively,
There are various types of Organic Fertilizers that you can use for your indoor plants
Although there are some organic fertilizers that are produced commercially and can be a bit expensive.
So, there are plenty of naturally made homemade organic fertilizers that you can feed your houseplants.
Here is a list of some
Banana peels
Banana peels are a great source of potassium for the houseplants. They have comparatively low levels of nitrogen, phosphorus and magnesium.
These are slow releasing organic fertilizers and provide a continuous supply of nutrients to your houseplants.
There are basically two ways to add banana peel to your soil: either add the peel directly to the soil or else blend the peels with water and use them as liquid fertilizer.
They are very nutritious and enhance the growth of your houseplants.
Coffee Grounds
Are you a coffee lover? Then this is a great way to feed your houseplants with coffee grounds. This organic fertilizer is very easy to use.
You can either mix the coffee grounds directly into your potting soil or else mix them with water and you can use it as a liquid fertilizer too.
Only drawback is that it can make your potting soil a bit acidic, so it’s better to use them for the houseplants that love acid soil such as Christmas Cactus, Jade Plants, ferns.
Eggshell
Eggshells are the best provider of calcium to the houseplants. Along with calcium they are a great source of phosphorus that helps your houseplants to grow.
Inorder to use the eggshells as a fertilizer, first you need to remove the inner membrane and then wash and dry them. They help in reducing acidity of soil.
Either the eggshells are crushed and mixed directly into the potting soil or else overnight soaking them in water and then can be used as a liquid fertilizer.
Cooking Water
Cooking water can be a great nutrition drink for your houseplants. Cooking water basically refers to the water that you use to boil your vegetables.
Cooking water can be a great nutrition drink for your houseplants. Cooking water basically refers to the water that you use to boil your vegetables. Click To TweetAfter straining the vegetables, allow the water to cool down completely and then use this to your plants. Your houseplants are definitely going to love this nutrient packed drink.
Green Tea
If you are a green tea lover then this is a great way to feed your houseplants with your used tea bag. They are the perfect food for your houseplants.
Either you can place the tea leaves directly on the soil or you can use the brewed water as a liquid fertilizer to your houseplants to provide enough nutrition.
Like Coffee grounds, Green tea too works best for acidic soil. So it’s better to use them for houseplants that love acidic soil.
Molasses
Molasses are liquids with thick consistency that are produced from sugarcane juice. These organic fertilizers contain abundant nutrients that help in efficient growth of plants.
One tablespoon of molasses should be mixed in half gallon of water and applied to the plants.
For adding extra nitrogen to your soil you can also use other natural organic fertilizers like Gelatin powder and corn gluten meal.
Apart from the above listed natural organic fertilizers that you can easily make at home there are some other organic fertilizers and the list is
Worm Compost Tea
Worm compost tea is basically a liquid fertilizer that is made when worm castings are soaked in water.
When worms are released to a compost bin, they feed themselves with all the organic material and then they release castings that are filled with beneficial microbes.
Then these worm castings are steeped in water similar to tea leaves and then the water is used in a spray bottle in order to apply to your plants.
Epsom salt
Epsom salts are a rich source of magnesium and sulphate which works great for the growth of houseplants.
It is one of the easiest natural fertilizers to make, dissolve one teaspoon of epsom salts in one litre of water. You can even spread epsom salts over the soil surface.
Regular application of epsom salts can encourage plants to grow larger and greener, as well as extend their lifespan.
Aquarium water
Aquarium water is a rich source of nutrition that is derived from decomposing fish food and waste. This fish water contains large amounts of nitrogen and potassium.
So, next time when you clean your aquarium don’t throw the water instead use it on plants.
Alfalfa meal
Along with a rich source of nitrogen and potassium, alfalfa meal is also rich in minerals, vitamins and contains a growth hormone called triacontanol.
It helps in improving soil structure and along with this it makes the nutrients present in soil easily accessible to plants. The good part is it is derived from plants.
Blood meal
Blood meal is rich in nitrogen and some trace minerals. It is basically a by-product of cattle farming. It is in dried powdered form and is used in various organic mixes that are applied to the potting soil.
Rock Phosphate
Rock phosphate is a slow releasing phosphorus organic fertilizer that can be used as soil amendment.
Although garden soil contains phosphorus in abundance, it is required for the potting soil as it encourages flower growth of indoor plants.
Apart from these organic fertilizers, vermicompost is one of the best organic fertilizers as it contains high amounts of nitrogen along with macro and micro nutrients.
Not only is vermicompost a great organic fertilizer but also it is a good soil conditioner. Hence you should use vermicompost in your potting soil that acts as a great growth medium.
Various Organic Fertilizers for specific plants
Here is a list of some organic fertilizers as per some of your favourite houseplants
Snake Plant
Though snake plants are not heavy feeders of fertilizers, they still require some amoūnt of nutrients from time to time for their proper growth.
Hence , alfalfa meal, blood meal, worm compost and corn gluten are some of the best organic fertilizers for your snake plants.
Jade Plant
Jade plants usually prefer organic mixes in their potting soil. But these Jade plants don’t require high amounts of fertilizers but they require all the elements in small amounts.
Organic fertilizers such as bone meal and fish emulsion works great for these Jade plants to grow.
Spider Plant
Spider plants don’t require any specific fertilizer rather a potting mix of soil containing organic fertilizer will work best for you spider plants to grow effectively.
Goldfish Plant
Goldfish plants require a slightly acidic soil medium to grow , hence using organic fertilizers that are acidic in nature such as Coffee grounds and green tea.
Pothos
Pothos grow best when you provide them with all organic fertilizers. Basically, all the above mentioned natural organic fertilizers can be used for the growth of Pothos plants.
Aquarium Plant
Your aquarium plants also need a good amount of organic fertilizers to thrive and grow. So the best natural organic fertilizer is to mix Epsom salt, Potassium sulfate and salt peter in 3:2:1 ratio.
Apply the mixture in small amounts by mixing one teaspoon in 10 gallons of water initially. Everytime you change your aquarium water, add this mixture to your aquarium.
Iron and zinc are beneficial for aquatic plants to live longer.
Conclusion
These are some of the Organic fertilizers that are best for your houseplants. So , now after reading this you must have got a clear idea on how to enhance the growth and flowering of your houseplants.
Natural organic fertilizers are not only beneficial to plants but they are eco-friendly and inexpensive too. So, you must definitely go for eco-friendly natural organic fertilizers to feed your houseplants and watch them grow bushy and green.
You may also like to read
Fertilizers for Vegetable Garden – A Complete Guide
How to grow Mortgage Lifter Tomatoes – A complete guide
Gardening Mantras
Written, edited, and published by gardeningmantras.com editorial team.
2 thoughts on “Best Organic Fertilizers to Feed Your Houseplants”
Very good information, can we make it in Large scale to use it in farm land for growing big field.
Very good information, for growing big plants.