Fertilizer tea is an easy and highly effective way to ensure your plants are getting the nutrients they need every time you water them, helping them grow healthy and strong. Check out both our Kellogg Garden Organics or G&B Organics fertilizers if you do not already have some on hand and let’s make some beneficial tea.
How to Make Fertilizer Tea:
- Fill a 5 Gal. bucket with water and let sit for 24-hours, allowing for the chlorine to gas-off.
- Add 1 cup of granulated fertilizer for every 1 gallon of water in the bucket.
- Stir gently and let the solution sit uncovered for another 24 hours.
- Using a cheese-cloth or material that will act as a strainer, pour the liquid contents into another bucket.
- Use this liquid solution (the tea), to water your plants as normal or use as a foliar feed on the plant. Pour approximately 2 to 4 cups for shrubs, or 6 to 8 cups for trees. Use full strength to foliar feed and for deep root feeding of all plants.
- Take the left-over strained fertilizer solids and “mulch” around the drip-zone of the plant(s) you are fertilizing.
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Where would we purchase the fertilizer to make tea Fertilizer??
Can we boil tea leaves? I see theirs an organic bag he stated how much to use,
Hi Nancy, we recommend using the Kellogg Garden Organics Tomato, Vegetable & Herbs Fertilizer you can find this product near you by clicking here. There’s no need to boil tea leaves to make fertilizer tea, follow these 6 steps:
1. Fill a 5 Gal. bucket with water and let sit for 24-hours, allowing for the chlorine to gas-off.
2. Add 1 cup of granulated fertilizer for every 1 gallon of water in the bucket.
3. Stir gently and let the solution sit uncovered for another 24 hours.
4. Using a cheese-cloth or material that will act as a strainer, pour the liquid contents into another bucket.
5. Use this liquid solution (the tea), to water your plants as normal or use as a foliar feed on the plant. Pour approximately 2 to 4 cups for shrubs, or 6 to 8 cups for trees. Use full strength to foliar feed and for deep root feeding of all plants.
6. Take the left-over strained fertilizer solids and “mulch” around the drip-zone of the plant(s) you are fertilizing.
Very nice, thanks for sharing.?????
We are glad you enjoyed our article post!
I forgot to use the granules mix in my dirt. By making the tea, how much is recommended to add around newly planted tomato and cucumber plants?
Hi Elie, you can use the tea to water your plants as normal, no special measurements are required. Happy gardening!
How often should you use the tea?
Hi Sameena, we recommend applying the tea no more than every 2 weeks. Happy gardening!
How long can you leave the fertilizer tea mixture in the bucket?
Hi James, it is recommended to use the fertilizer team within 36-48 hours. Happy gardening!
You recommend using within 36-48 hours. So if I have only two tomato plants, I would make a much smaller amount of tea? Say a gallon’s worth every two weeks and use what I make right away. Not sure I’m understanding your directions. I surely don’t want 5 gallons for just a couple plants!?!? (I am using your planting mix and tomato fertilizer).
Hi Pat, you can use this recipe to make any size batch of fertilizer tea. Simply mix 1 cup of granulated fertilizer for every 1 gallon of water.
Is fertilizer tea more effective than spreading the granular fertilizer in the soil? Thanks
Hi Wesley, that’s a great question! Fertilizer tea is a great way to ensure your plants are getting the nutrients they need every time you water them. Fertilizer tea provides your plants with a quick-release boost of nutrients and can be applied every 2 weeks as a part of your watering routine, immediately after transplanting to help with transplant shock, or whenever your plants need a pick me up. On the other hand, granular fertilizer provides your plants with a slow release of nutrients over a longer period of time when mixed into the soil or added into the planting hole.
Before applying fertilizer, we always recommend testing your soil to see what nutrients it needs. It’s also important to understand the nutrient and mineral needs of the plants you’re growing. Oftentimes, using these organic fertilizers in conjunction yields great results and healthy plants. Happy Gardening!
Hey, can I use tea leftovers that was dipped in milk?
Hi Mahir, when diluted with water, milk can make a good fertilizer for the garden. You are safe to use your used tea leaves in the garden.