Simple tips about how to use fertilizer from potato peelings in the garden and not only Potato peelings, the benefits of which for the garden have been tested by time, are an absolutely safe fertilizer for humans and completely free. Unlike chemicals, organic matter decomposes much faster, being processed by bacteria contained in the soil. It means that necessary microelements will reach their destination faster through the root system. " By-effect» rapid decomposition - heat generation. If you fertilize in the spring, the soil will warm up noticeably faster. The structure of the soil also improves. It becomes lighter and looser. This is especially important for peat, clay, and silt soils. Everyone knows that potatoes are very healthy. It contains many microelements useful for humans - potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, calcium, iron, sodium. But the same substances are necessary for correct height and development of plants. The most common chemical fertilizers contain nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and magnesium. Potato peelings contain a lot useful substances, so necessary for the plant. In addition, 10–25% (depending on the variety) of the potato mass is starch, and 3–5% is glucose. It is these substances that plants store in seeds, bulbs or tubers. Starch and glucose are the main nutrition for the developing embryo. Consequently, potato fertilizer will be useful for agricultural crops at all stages of development. Another important point is the availability of potato peelings. Potatoes in one form or another are present on the table of every family, regardless of financial situation, almost every day. Even if you remove the peel in a very thin layer, approximately a tenth of the mass of the tubers will still be thrown away. A more likely option is 15–20%. Now calculate how many cleanings you can accumulate by next summer if you ask similar goal from the beginning of autumn. Pest control One more thing useful property Potatoes are a wonderful bait for pests. It is especially loved by slugs, click beetles (its larvae are popularly known as wireworms) and the Colorado potato beetle. You need to start setting traps as soon as the first shoots appear or the seedlings are planted in the ground. This way you are guaranteed to protect the future harvest. A pest trap made from potato peelings is very easy to make. Making traps is not difficult. Dig into the ground glass jars, old unnecessary buckets and pans, tin cans or cut-off plastic bottles so that the edge of the container approximately coincides with the top edge of the pit. The container must be deep enough and without holes. Place potato peelings at the bottom every evening. To enhance the effect, you can pour them with sweet water (a tablespoon of sugar per glass), syrup, or add a little old jam that no one will eat anymore. In the morning, all you have to do is go around the containers, collect the pests caught in them overnight and destroy them. Just don’t throw what you’ve collected over the fence. After a few hours, the slugs and insects will return to your area. Another trap option is to bury a long piece of wire in the ground with peelings strung on it. Leave one end sticking out of the ground or mark the place where the trap is buried. Once every 2-3 days, dig it out, collect any pests you find and replace the bait with fresh bait. How to prepare and use fertilizer? The raw materials for preparing the fertilizer must be collected all winter. Peelings from boiled potatoes are not suitable as a fertilizer. Long-term heat treatment destroys all useful microelements. Of course, if you just spread fresh potato peelings over the beds, you won’t get a good harvest. They will begin to rot very quickly, especially in the summer, in the heat, spreading the corresponding “aroma”. In addition, mice, rats and other rodents living in the surrounding area will come running to your site - this is a wonderful treat for them. And in general, plantings “treated” in this way look very unaesthetic. At the same time, fresh potato (like any vegetable) peelings can and should even be added to the compost heap. Potato peelings are a good addition to compost. There are different variants fertilizers But in any case of cleaning, before fertilizing, it is necessary to thoroughly rinse and disinfect using boiling water, dry heat or cold to destroy the bacteria and/or fungi present on them. Otherwise, you will only contaminate the soil and healthy plants. To get it right, useful fertilizer, you need to proceed as follows: Rinse the cleaning in cool running water until visible traces of dirt disappear. Wait until they dry and lay them out in a single layer on newspapers or thin cloth. If weather permits, dry outside in a well-ventilated place, protected from direct sun rays and possible rain. When it’s already cold, do it in the apartment on the radiator or on the balcony. Complete drying takes 7–10 days outdoors and 2–3 weeks in an apartment. The exact period depends on the thickness of the cleaning. Those who want to speed up the process can dry them in the oven. Place the peelings on a baking tray covered with baking paper, place inside and leave for 3-4 hours at a temperature not exceeding 100ºC, closing the door loosely. The procedure will take even less time if it is carried out in a special electric dryer or microwave oven. The main thing is to choose the appropriate mode. The finished fertilizer becomes noticeably lighter, the peels are translucent and break easily. You can simply freeze the peelings. The disadvantage is that places in freezer There probably won't be enough to store them. Other most appropriate place- balcony. But as soon as the temperature outside is positive, the fertilizer will have to be used for its intended purpose. Thawing the peels and freezing them again is strongly not recommended. If the house was dried naturally, the cleaning is stored on the balcony, in an unheated garage, shed, etc., so that the cold destroys pathogenic bacteria and fungi. Place the oven-dried future fertilizer in linen bags and keep in a dry, cool, well-ventilated place. Perfect option- pantry. Grind dry peelings in a meat grinder, blender or food processor until powdery. This ready-made fertilizer is the so-called flour. In addition, this type of cleaning takes up much less space and is easier to store and transport. In spring and summer, use dry peelings to prepare an infusion. Place them in a bucket or barrel, filling the container about a third, fill it to the top with boiling water and close it tightly. Wait 3-4 days until a characteristic odor appears. Without stirring the contents of the barrel, scoop a liter of infusion from above, pour into a 10-liter bucket and add water (9 l). Now mix thoroughly and water the plants. The gruel remaining at the bottom of the container will also come in handy. It is dug into the ground under bushes and trees and added to holes when planting seedlings. Another option for preparing the infusion is to pour boiling water over the peelings, wait until it cools to a temperature of 35–40ºC, and strain.
Red and black currants are the favorite berries of residents of the northern regions of Russia. Currant berries can be eaten in fresh, you can cook fruit drinks and compotes, make jam, and use it as a filling for pies and pancakes. Currants grow well in harsh conditions, but this unpretentious plant should be periodically provided with additional power. Experienced gardeners Potato peelings are considered one of the most effective fertilizers for this crop.
Properties
Potato skins are rich in starch, glucose, potassium, magnesium, iron, fluorine and others useful elements. Their quantity can even compete with some store-bought mixtures for fertilizing plants. Almost any crop can be fed with peelings, but currants respond especially well to this fertilizer. Let's consider the main advantages of feeding from potato skins.
- Completely decomposed purifications provide the soil with substances that are required for the active growth of shrubs.
- Not only does the fertility of the land increase, but its structure also improves. The decomposed peel makes the soil loose and light, so this fertilizer is often used for silt, clay and peaty soils.
- This is an absolutely safe supplement. It is non-toxic, unlike store-bought chemical mixtures, so the gardener does not have to worry about his health, as well as the development of currants.
- Potato skins begin to affect the plant quickly. This organic fertilizer, which is processed by bacteria in the soil, and then in the shortest possible time transfers all its beneficial properties to the root system.
- Unlike others natural remedies Potato peels do not affect the increased growth of nearby growing weeds.
- This fertilizer can be applied at all stages of plant development, and can also be used not only for currants, but also for other crops.
- It's not only effective fertilizer, but also an excellent means of protection against insect pests.
- This is more than economical option fertilizers It is known that most people, after peeling potatoes, throw their waste into the trash bin. However, a responsible summer resident will not throw away such valuable fertilizer for currants, saving on the purchase of an expensive chemical mixture.
How to prepare fertilizer?
Thanks to such a simple and cheap (and in fact free!) fertilizer as potato peels, the gardener receives good harvest. A well-fed bush produces large, healthy and very sweet berries. But it should be observed simple rules preparing fertilizer.
The easiest way is to bury the cleaning under the barrel. However, this method will not work in the case of currants. The fact is that this crop has a superficial root system, and therefore buried potato skins can cause harm to young roots.
Special rules It also requires the preparation of potato peels, because it is important to preserve them until spring. The main preparation steps are given below.
- We thoroughly wash the cut waste in running water.
- Next, place them in a weak solution of potassium permanganate. This product will treat the skins against fungus, which often attacks potato skins.
- Place the washed peels in one layer on paper and leave them in a dry, ventilated area.
- If quick drying is necessary, it is recommended to first cut the peel into small pieces.
- When the husks are dry, put them in paper bags. In such containers it will remain until spring.
It is allowed to dry potato waste on a radiator or even in an oven at a temperature not exceeding 100 degrees, but in the latter case it is recommended not to completely close the oven so that there is access to oxygen, and the skins themselves should be on parchment. The crusts will dry completely in the oven in 3-4 hours.
A microwave is also suitable for this purpose, but it is usually difficult to predict how long it will take - it all depends on the power of the device and the thickness of the peel.
Another good way crust preparation - freezing. To do this, you should follow the following rules:
- wash the skins well in the above solution;
- Grind the skin using a meat grinder;
- Place the resulting slurry in a container and leave it in the freezer until spring.
Fertilizer preparation begins approximately 7-10 days before currant processing. As a rule, this happens in the spring. Recipe:
- pour the crushed husks into a bucket;
- pour boiling water so that the water is 5 cm higher than the cleaning;
- Leave the mixture in this form for a week.
This is the main recipe that is used to feed currants. But there are other ways to prepare an effective fertilizer that is suitable for both currants and other crops. For example, infusion:
- pour dried or frozen potato skins with boiled water;
- insist for 24 hours.
The resulting infusion is used for irrigation. In addition, you can make a kind of flour from potato peels - ground peels are considered a high-quality universal fertilizer. For this:
- prepare well-dried skins;
- grind in a meat grinder, blender or coffee grinder;
- We store it in containers, but not for long, since the peel, crushed to a crumb state, is susceptible to rotting, and is also a tasty prey for pests and pathogenic microorganisms.
How to fertilize?
The method of applying fertilizer is also important. As already noted, currants have a superficial root system, and therefore fertilizer should not be applied directly under the bush. For this purpose, a groove is dug. Fertilizer is applied in a certain way.
- Using a cord we make a projection of the crown of the bush. This should be done before flowering. The circle we get is the limits of the root system.
- Along this line we dig a groove to a depth of 20 cm.
- At the bottom we place a slurry of potato waste or ground peels and bury it.
- We carry out the procedure annually.
It is very useful to use such fertilizer when planting plants. To do this, we add fertilizer to the hole prepared for planting. We feed the crop every two weeks. However, in the case of currants, this method is not suitable. The fact is that with the regular decomposition of such a copious amount of purification, a large number of heat, and the soil may become overheated in summer time. Therefore, experienced gardeners warn that caution should be used when feeding currants with potato peelings. A couple of times a season is enough.
A particularly important period in the development of currants is the appearance of ovaries. At this time, she also needs nutritious and healthy fertilizer from potato peelings.
The potato infusion, the recipe for which was presented above, is recommended for use as a watering. Watering the plant with it is allowed once every two weeks.
Experienced gardeners know that potato peelings are not only an effective fertilizer for currants, but also excellent protection against pests, the appearance of which negatively affects the harvest. To prevent the adverse effects of insects, it is recommended to install potato traps as soon as the bush is planted in the ground. There are two known ways to use peelings as a means of pest control. First way:
- place the skins in any containers - cans, saucepans, glasses, the main thing is that the container is without holes;
- you can add sweet water, syrup or jam;
- bury the containers next to the currants so that their edge is flush with the edge of the ground;
- the next day all that remains is to pull out the caught insects from the trap and destroy them.
Second method:
- find the wire and thread it through the potato peelings;
- bury one end of the wire and leave the other sticking out on the surface;
- after a couple of days, dig out the bait and destroy the insects stuck to it.
Both methods have been tested, but caution should still be exercised. Jars and wire can damage currant roots. For this reason, some gardeners recommend simply scattering the peelings near the bush, and after a day, collecting them along with any pests and throwing them away.
Listen to a few more tips from agronomists on the rules for using potato peels as fertilizer.
- If the peelings were frozen during harvesting and then thawed, then they can no longer be re-frozen.
- There is no point in using boiled potato peels as a top dressing. All useful microelements are already lost during heat treatment.
- You can apply fertilizer in winter. To do this, clear the ground around the currant bushes and cover with film. When cleanings accumulate, you can dig out the snow, lay down fertilizer and bury it again. In the spring, you need to carefully dig up the soil.
- If potato skins are used as an auxiliary ingredient in the preparation of fertilizer, then they should not be mixed with ash. This is explained by the fact that the peel contains nitrogen, which, under the influence of alkali, is transformed into ammonia and evaporates. Such fertilizer will not bring any particular benefit.
- If there is a compost pit on the site, then you can store potato peels for later feeding directly in it.
Potato skins are an effective fertilizer for any type of currant. This fertilizer fertilizes the black variety especially well. A properly prepared and used mixture will be an excellent assistant in growing large, sweet, juicy berries.
To learn how you can use potato peelings, see the following video.
Potato tubers are covered with skin. It is of no value in cooking, but is actively used in agriculture. The main thing is to properly prepare raw potato peelings as fertilizer and to know what plants they are used for. If everything is done correctly, the farmer will receive almost free fertilizing to increase productivity.
Benefits of feeding from peelings
The use of inexpensive organic fertilizers for the soil allows you to minimize costs and the introduction of chemicals. There are not very many effective natural fertilizers, which forces farmers to look for new opportunities to increase productivity. And if not every household has manure or droppings, potatoes are present on the table of any family throughout the year, and waste from one root crop, even with fine cleaning, is at least 15-20% of the total volume.
There are many advantages to this organic feeding:
The versatility of the fertilizer concerns not only a wide range of plant crops, but also seasonality. The seedlings are fed with gruel and watered with an infusion of potato “waste”. In some cases, ground cleanings are used, obtaining a product that can be stored throughout the entire period. summer season rather than using it right away. Such organic matter is used in spring, summer, and autumn. It is rich in potassium, magnesium, nitrogen, phosphorus and other valuable elements, necessary for the plant at every stage of development.
How to prepare?
Organic fertilizer will only be beneficial if properly prepared. Potato waste must not be used fresh. When laid out on the beds, they will begin to rot and attract the attention of rodents. It is not recommended to bury raw peels in the ground. Decomposition will take a long time, and the risk of plantings becoming infected with late blight will increase.
The procedure for “converting” tuber waste into nutritious fertilizers is quite simple. The peel is thoroughly washed, squeezed, dried, and then resorted to one of following methods blanks:
How to improve productivity?We are constantly receiving letters in which amateur gardeners are worried that due to the cold summer this year there will be a poor harvest of potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, and other vegetables. Last year we published TIPS on this matter. But unfortunately, many did not listen, but some still applied. Here is a report from our reader, we would like to recommend plant growth biostimulants that will help increase the yield by up to 50-70%.
Read...
Dried potato peelings are more practical as fertilizer because they have a long shelf life. Frozen peels must be used in full immediately. If it is thawed, you cannot put organic matter back into the freezer.
How to store cleanings?
The peel begins to be collected in autumn or winter. If it was not laid in compost pit, but dried or frozen, organic matter must be properly preserved. Otherwise it will not be suitable for use. This is true for organic matter prepared in any of two ways.
The dried peelings are transferred to fabric bags. Polyethylene cannot be used. They do not allow air to pass through. Dried naturally In order not to worry about the presence of pathogens when we fertilize the beds, it is better to store potato peelings in a cool place, and then in the spring you can feed the plants without fear of scab and late blight.
Past heat treatment skins are stored in a cool and well-ventilated area. They are completely devoid of pathogenic organisms. Frozen peelings are left in the freezer or transferred to the balcony when frost hits outside. We must be careful to ensure that they do not thaw.
Preparing potato peelings
There are three options for preparing nutritional fertilizers with potato peelings, which can be used to fertilize various plant crops:
The pulp is placed in a hole or dropped next to the plant. Watering is carried out with infusion. Flour is used as a universal fertilizer. Its main advantage is its long shelf life, but it is not recommended to immediately grind the peelings in the fall. Flour can harbor pests.
For which crops is the fertilizer suitable?
Potato peelings are suitable as fertilizer for almost all garden, fruit, vegetable crops. They are versatile and effective, and are an excellent alternative to mineral fertilizers. For perennial crops, such organic matter is added to the soil in the fall, and for annual crops - in the spring.
Additional fertilizing is carried out in the summer
Organic beneficial fertilizer, unlike mineral compounds, does not simply release nutrients to plants, but improves the composition of the soil. It promotes the formation of humus - a fertile top layer. Speaking about the benefits of potato peelings, we cannot ignore the composition of this fertilizer.
It is rich in glucose, vitamin C, starch, fats, potassium, and salt. Getting into the soil, this set of nutrients enriches the soil and generates heat, which is especially important for full development vegetable and horticultural crops.
What plants need to be fed?
Potato fertilizer is of great value for crops that need starch and glucose. Fertilizing is necessary for raspberries, strawberries, currants, melons. It is also useful for other plants, including even indoor and garden flowers.
The need for nutrients, which are rich in purification, is especially high in seedlings. Feeding is best done in the nest. The gruel or flour is placed in the hole and covered with a small layer of earth. A second portion of fertilizer is added on top and sprinkled again.
Fertilizer for indoor flowers
Potato peelings are perfect not only for use in gardens, but also for home gardening. Indoor ornamental crops respond well to organic fertilizer. The greenery becomes more lush, and the plant itself is more resistant to pests and diseases.
For indoor flowers, watering is used. The infusion is added once a month. Fresh peelings buried in the ground are useful for saprophytic and epiphytic plants. Dracaena, orchids and other flower crops with aerial roots need decomposing organic matter.
Fertilizer of vegetable crops
Melons are fed by placing gruel in the hole. It is recommended to water cabbage, melons, pumpkins, cucumbers, watermelons, and squash with potato infusion throughout the season. This will stimulate the growth of green mass and increase productivity.
Radishes, garlic, onions and turnips begin to be fertilized through watering from the end of May. Fertilizing is applied every 2 weeks. It is better to pour the infusion into the furrows dug between plantings. This will enrich the soil so that the plants receive all the necessary elements.
Fertilizing flowers
Perfectly helps to keep flower beds in excellent condition. When replanting perennial flowers or planting annual flowers, you need to add a small amount of gruel to each hole. As practice shows, 1 scoop is enough. Further care involves watering with infusion during the active growth and flowering phase once a month.
Berries
The fertilizer is most useful for raspberries and strawberries. The first is fertilized by the root method. They bring in flour and loosen the ground. Water the bushes with infusion. On linear meter landings need approximately 5 liters. In the spring, ground peelings are also poured under the strawberries. Top dressing is used for mulch.
Shrubs
Annuals and perennials respond well to watering and root feeding. But, if we talk about the bush that benefits most from potato peelings, they are considered the best fertilizer for currants, especially black currants. The berries grow the size of cherries or raisins and acquire a wonderful sweet taste.
Fertilize currant bushes with dried potato peelings moistened with water, burying the peel at the roots 15-20 cm deep. This fertilizing is carried out when the soil has warmed up sufficiently. The event is held every two years. If the quality of the harvest does not meet expectations, it is carried out annually.
Watering every 2 weeks helps to increase the yield. In winter, the bushes, if the soil is covered with polyethylene, are also fertilized. They shovel the snow, scatter the cleaning materials, which are then buried.
Fertilizing fruit trees
The trunks are dug around, retreating approximately 50-100 cm, and the resulting furrow is sprinkled with flour. The soil must be well loosened. For each mature tree It takes about 1 kg of feeding, and for young ones - 0.5-0.7 kg.
This is interesting to know! Peeling potatoes will help get rid of slugs, wireworms, Colorado potato beetle. It is enough to spread the peel on the ground, leaving it overnight, and the next morning burn the waste along with the pests that have accumulated on it.
Restrictions
Organic fertilizer is not used for related nightshades. It is contraindicated for the following crops:
- nightshade;
- tobacco;
- physalis;
- tomatoes;
- capsicum;
- eggplant;
- potatoes.
Potato peelings as fertilizer
And a little about the author’s secrets
Have you ever experienced unbearable joint pain? And you know firsthand what it is:
- inability to move easily and comfortably;
- discomfort when going up and down stairs;
- unpleasant crunching, clicking not of your own accord;
- pain during or after exercise;
- inflammation in the joints and swelling;
- causeless and sometimes unbearable aching pain in the joints...
Now answer the question: are you satisfied with this? Can such pain be tolerated? How much money have you already wasted on ineffective treatment? That's right - it's time to end this! Do you agree? That is why we decided to publish an exclusive interview with Oleg Gazmanov, in which he revealed the secrets of getting rid of joint pain, arthritis and arthrosis.
Attention, TODAY only!
Thrifty owners personal plots They use food waste as fertilizer in the garden. In fact, this is not simple frugality, but caring for the health of the soil and replenishing its fertility. Think about how much vegetable waste, eggshells, spent tea leaves and coffee grounds, without bringing any benefit, are sent to a landfill! But all this can be an excellent organic fertilizer for the garden.
What food waste is used as fertilizer in the garden?
Probably the most popular food product is potatoes; they are included in many dishes and are a very tasty and healthy food in themselves. And its skin, cut in a thin layer, removed after cooking, dried or frozen, can become a raw material for compost (like any other vegetable waste), feeding for currants, pumpkins, zucchini, cucumbers (plants from the nightshade family should not be fed with potato peels, plants members of this family are susceptible to the same diseases) and even provide a breeding ground for beneficial soil organisms that help plants absorb nutrients from the soil.
The peel is scalded with boiling water to get rid of late blight pathogens, after which, depending on the further purpose, it is poured with water for infusion - the resulting slurry is placed in the soil as a nutrient medium for microorganisms or buried in the ground without soaking. Potato skins can also become bait for catching Colorado potato beetles. It needs to be laid out in heaps in several places in the potato plantation and waited. When the beetles gather on the peel, collect them in an iron bucket, pour kerosene over them and set them on fire.
At our site, we boil potato peelings along with carrot and onion peels for 15-20 minutes and water indoor flowers and seedlings with this water. Place the boiled waste under the currants. Directly from above, without dropping anywhere. After a week, not a trace remains of them - all the earthworms are taken away.
A natural fertilizer rich in minerals can be prepared from banana peels and grape branches. Any plants will respond gratefully to such fertilizer. The skins and twigs are poured with boiling water and infused for several days; the resulting infusion is watered over the plants after watering. plain water. They can also be dried and used to prepare soil for seedlings and indoor flowers, mulch (more details).
What else is thrown away in the kitchen that is not edible for humans, but very useful for plants? Eggshell. In a year, a family of three eats so many eggs that they accumulate 4-5 kg of eggshells. It can be used as a drainage layer for flower pots, infuse as a top dressing, can be crushed and applied to the soil. This fertilizer is rich in calcium and microelements. But the soil should not only be nutritious. It should also be loose and moisture-permeable.
Tea and coffee have long been loved by many people. If you don’t throw away the spent tea leaves and coffee grounds, but rather dry and store them, you can accumulate quite an impressive supply of substrate for improvement. physical properties land. If you mix tea leaves or coffee grounds with clay, heavy soil, it will be easier for plants to develop their root systems, will flow to the roots required air, water will be absorbed faster, which means it will water the plant faster and excess water will not remain in the soil. Also, these two kitchen wastes can be used as mulching material, this will help prevent excessive evaporation of moisture from the soil.
Here's another valuable video from Ivan Russkikh about using food waste to improve soil:
When buying vegetables, eggs, tea and coffee, you pay for peelings, shells, tea leaves and grounds too, so why not use them? With such fertilizers you can be absolutely sure that the crop is 100% natural and healthy, and almost free of charge! If you are a novice summer resident, feel free to use food waste as fertilizer in the garden - it is natural organic matter, and it will bring much more benefits to your country house than to a city landfill.
Many of you have probably heard that potato skins can be used as organic fertilizer for summer cottages. This is true, since they contain starch, potassium, and other valuable mineral components.
This method of fertilization is absolutely harmless, economical, and helps protect the garden from Colorado potato beetles (as well as their larvae), slugs, and wireworms. How to use potato peelings as fertilizer, for which plants they are suitable as fertilizing - we will consider below.
What benefits do potato peelings bring to the vegetable garden?
During the summer season, potato peelings are used as fertilizer and as protection against certain pests. Yes, and as bait for the Colorado potato beetle or slugs The potato skins worked great. You just have to spread them out on the surface of the earth before the sprouts appear, and when the pests stick around them (usually this happens at night) - destroy them. This will protect your crop from such a scourge.
It’s good to dig them into the ground near those plants that love starch, which is contained in potatoes in large quantities. As they rot, they will release it to the soil, thereby replenishing the lack of this product in it. And soaked peelings are an excellent way to ensure that seedlings of some plants take root well and quickly grow stronger.
For which crops is fertilizer made from potato peelings suitable?
Potato peelings can be used as fertilizer for a vegetable garden or garden, because their use improves the soil and has a positive effect on the harvest anywhere in your area. Let's consider how to use this tool for different types crops
This natural fertilizer will not affect nightshade crops, in particular: potatoes, eggplants, tomatoes, bell peppers. And given the common infections, the pathogens of which can survive in the fertilizing, the listed plants may still suffer damage.
- - all types of currants, raspberries, gooseberries, other berries and ornamental shrubs;
- - fruit trees;
- - strawberries and wild strawberries;
- — vegetable crops, especially pumpkin crops;
- - flowers, including indoor flowers.
How to properly prepare fertilizer from potato peelings
Potato peelings as a fertilizer for the garden have long proven themselves to be the best. It’s not for nothing that summer residents try to find out the most best recipe its preparations. Of course, you can just bury it in the ground. But in this case, along with the cleaning, the remaining phytophthora will also enter the soil. And besides this, it will take longer for them to completely decompose than if they enter the soil in the form of properly prepared fertilizer.
Therefore, it is worth remembering a few rules for its preparation:
- — Dried peelings should be crushed so that transportation to the dacha and further work it was easier with them.
- — Chopped dry potato peels are placed in a barrel and poured with boiling water. This will help cope with both late blight and other pests remaining from the fall.
- — The grounds formed after soaking are placed in the holes when planting seedlings, and the liquid is watered on top of the plants, which helps not only to fertilize the soil, but also to cope with some pests.
Pest control with potato peelings
Another useful property of potatoes is that they are a wonderful bait for pests. It is especially loved by slugs, click beetles (its larvae are popularly known as wireworms) and the Colorado potato beetle.
You need to start setting traps as soon as the first shoots appear or the seedlings are planted in the ground. This way you are guaranteed to protect the future harvest.
A pest trap made from potato peelings is very simple to make.
Making traps is easy. Dig glass jars, old unnecessary buckets and pans, tin cans or cut plastic bottles into the ground so that the edge of the container approximately coincides with the top edge of the hole. The container must be deep enough and without holes. Place potato peelings at the bottom every evening. To enhance the effect, you can pour them with sweet water (a tablespoon of sugar per glass), syrup, or add a little old jam that no one will eat anymore. In the morning, all you have to do is go around the containers, collect the pests caught in them overnight and destroy them. Just don’t throw what you’ve collected over the fence. After a few hours, the slugs and insects will return to your area.
Another trap option is to bury a long piece of wire in the ground with peelings strung on it. Leave one end sticking out of the ground or mark the place where the trap is buried. Once every 2-3 days, dig it out, collect any pests you find and replace the bait with fresh bait.
Feeding seedlings with potato peelings
Fertilizer from peelings is useful when planting cucumber and cabbage seedlings in the ground. Each finished hole at the bottom is fertilized with potato pulp. One scoop is enough. Sprinkle with soil. Plant seedlings. This will promote soil fertility, since the potatoes will be liked by the soil bacteria responsible for the formation of the fertile layer.
Feeding fruit trees with potato peelings
Dried cleanings are buried within a radius of 0.5–1 m from the trunk, depending on the size of the tree. Or sprinkle the resulting circle with “flour”, immediately afterwards loosening the soil well. The norm for one tree is 0.7–1 kg.
Feeding currants with potato peelings
Currant is one of the most common plants in summer cottages. Housewives value its berries for their excellent taste and abundance of nutrients, and gardeners value them for their ease of care. It is believed that currants are long-lived and can delight with their fruits for up to 15 years. Experienced gardeners know that without proper care, this shrub will not stop bearing fruit, but the quality and quantity of the harvest will noticeably decrease, and in order to avoid degeneration of the plant, currants must not only be watered and pruned, but also given additional nutrition
Potato peelings are the most favorite organic fertilizer for currants, because they contain a large number of substances and microelements useful for the bush: starch, glucose, phosphorus, iron, potassium, magnesium, fluorine, etc. Phosphorus promotes the active development of the root system and stimulates flowering. Starch, glucose and potassium make the berries juicier and sweeter.
Gardeners choose this type of fertilizer for several reasons:
- — no costs;
- — ease of preparing and preparing a solution for feeding;
- — environmental friendliness and health safety;
- — this fertilizer does not stimulate the growth of weeds.
You can collect potato waste throughout the year, but it is recommended to feed currants in early spring, before the flowering phase. You can do this in the summer, but in this case there is a risk of overheating the soil, since a large amount of heat is released as a result of the decomposition of the waste.
Potato peelings are an excellent source of potassium and starch, which currants love so much. It is thanks to them that currant berries become the size of cherries. Do you want to receive excellent harvests from your currant bushes? Then don’t be lazy to collect and dry potato peels over the winter.
Do you want to save as much as possible and not harm your plants? summer cottage? Then collect potato peelings and prepare organic fertilizer with your own hands.
Conclusion: in autumn and winter, do not throw away potato peelings, but rather freeze or dry them, and take them to the country in the spring. There they will be useful to you in gardening matters. After all, gardeners prefer natural fertilizers most of all, and most importantly, what benefits they bring to your garden.