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How To Make Liquid Fertilizer From Dry Fertilizer

by Idris Ya'u
This article was fact checked.
Helpful: 100%

In this article, you are going to learn how to make liquid fertilizer from dry fertilizer such as organic compost manure, cow manure, poultry manure, and granular inorganic fertilizer.

There are many reasons to convert dry fertilizer to liquid fertilizer:

Firstly, liquid fertilizer is already in the form of a solution and therefore it does not require ground moisture and heat to be dissolved and become available to the plant’s roots. And so when given or apply as a foliar spray or around the base of plants’ roots, the solution is easily absorbed by both plants’ roots and leaves.

This is because the dry fertilizer is already in the form of a solution and the fertilizer does not need to be dissolved in groundwater before it becomes available to the plants.

Secondly, sometimes dry organic fertilizer or inorganic fertilizer can be washed away by watering or during irrigation. You can stop this fertilizer runoff by converting the granular fertilizer to liquid fertilizer.

Thirdly, if you have dogs and birds in your house, they may turn into pests and whenever you feed your plants with granular or dry fertilizer, they can come (especially the dogs) and eat up the fertilizer. While the birds may scatter the area and hinder the fertilizer from becoming available to the plants’ roots for absorption.

Learn more on why it is sometimes important to use liquid fertilizer here

Importance Tips about Feeding your Plants with Liquid Fertilizer

  • It is important to know the following tips while feeding your plants with liquid fertilizer:
  • Always know exactly the type of fertilizer you are dealing with
  • Never feed your plants with concentrated liquid fertilizer
  • Dilute the solution after fermentation
  • It is better always to feed your garden plants with a weak solution of liquid fertilizer than to feed your plants with concentrated liquid fertilizer
  • With this basic and important information in mind, here is a step by step guide on how to make liquid fertilizer from granular fertilizer.

How to make Liquid Fertilizer from Dry Fertilizer

Liquid fertilizer can be made either from store-bought granular inorganic fertilizer such as NPK fertilizer or organic fertilizer that is produced locally produced at homes such as compost, poultry manure, and cow manure.

Here is a step by step guide on how to make it:

With Compost Manure

Compost manure is a compost fertilizer that is made from kitchen waste and other household organic matters. The manure is full of nutrients and so when given to the plants, dogs and birds usually come and scavenge on the fertilizer. So, you can prevent this problem when you convert the compost manure to liquid fertilizer.

Here is a step by step guide:

Recipes: compost manure, water, Bucket

Method: depending on the size of your garden or the number of plants you want to fertilize, you can put one cup of compost manure in one gallon of water, if you are just want to fertilize a small number of plants.

However, if you are planning to fertilize a garden of a reasonable size, you can steep up to one shovelful of compost manure in a bucket. In the general, the size of compost manure you can use depends on the size of plants and garden you want to fertilize.

To make the liquid fertilizer from dry compost manure, place one shovelful of compost manure in a bucket and fill the rest of the bucket with water. Cover the bucket with a lid and leave it to steep for 2-3 days. After 2 days, strain the tea into another container.

How to use: you need to combine this liquid fertilizer with water in the ratio 1:4 before feeding your garden plants. The remaining rescues can also be applied around the base of low maintenance plants such as shrubs.

Related: How To Make Liquid Fertilizer From Kitchen Waste

With Cow Manure

Cow manure is another good granular organic fertilizer, which can be easily be converted into a liquid fertilizer by simple combination with water.

Here is a step by step guide:

Recipes: cow manure, water, weeds, bucket

Method: blend one cup of weeds using a blender. Place these blended weeds into a bucket. And add one shovelful of cow manure into the bucket. Fill the remaining space of the bucket with water.
Cover the bucket and keep it in a warm place for about 3 days. On the third day bring out the fermented cow manure and strain it into another container.

How to use: remember, this tea solution of cow manure is very concentrated and you cannot feed your plants with it without diluting. You need to dilute the fermented cow manure with water in the ratio of 1:5, which means 1 part of cow manure solution to 5 parts of water.

Related: How To Make Compost From Kitchen Waste At Home

With Poultry Manure

Poultry manure is also one of the great dry fertilizers that can be found at some homes, which can supplement plants with many nutrients.

Here is a step by step guide on how to make liquid fertilizer with poultry manure:

Recipes: poultry manure, water, container

Method: collect one cup of poultry or chicken manure and blend in a blender. Place this blended poultry manure in a gallon and fill the gallon with water. Keep this gallon in a warm separate place and cover. Allow the mixture to steep for 2-3 days. After this time, bring out the mixture and strain it into another container.

How to use: mix this poultry manure tea with water in the ratio of 1:5, that is 1 part poultry manure tea to 5 parts water.

Note: To make it in large quantity, you can add two cups of poultry manure in two gallons of water, one shovel of poultry manure in one bucket of water, or two shovels of poultry manure in two buckets of water. The important thing is to dilute the concentrated solution with water in the correct proportion.

Related: How To Make A Compost Step By Step (With Pictures)

With Granular Inorganic Fertilizer

Sometimes plants may find it difficult to absorb granular inorganic fertilizer, but when you dissolve them in water and turn it into a liquid fertilizer, plants can absorb the fertilizer in this form so easily and make it available to the tissues for its physiological activities.

Here is a step by step guide on how to make liquid fertilizer from granular inorganic fertilizer like NPK fertilizer:

Recipes: granular NPK fertilizer, water, container

Method: depending on the number of garden plants you want to fertilize with the NPK fertilizer or any other granular inorganic fertilizer, in this article, we are going to use one cup of NPK in one gallon of water.

Measure out one cup of your granular NPK fertilizer and place in an empty gallon with a lid. Fill the rest of the gallon with water. Place the gallon in a separate place and leave it to steep for about one day. After one day, strain the tea into another container.

How to use: mix the mixture with water in one part concentrated liquid fertilizer and four parts water before feeding your garden plants.

Learn more on the preparation of organic liquid fertilizer here

Takeaway

Dry fertilizer can be converted at home into a liquid fertilizer by simply combining dry organic fertilizer like compost manure, cow manure, and granular NPK fertilizer with water in the right proportion in a such way the solution will not cause damage or injury to the plants when fertilized.

Recommended Composting Products:

  1. Compost Tumbler, buy here on Amazon
  2. Composting Grinder, buy here on Amazon
  3. Gardening gloves, buy here on Amazon

FAQs: What is the best way to make liquid fertilizer?

The best way to make liquid fertilizer is through a process called “brewing.” This method involves steeping or mixing organic materials in water to create a nutrient-rich solution that can be easily absorbed by plants.

By utilizing natural ingredients and allowing them to break down in water, you can create a potent liquid fertilizer that provides essential nutrients to your plants.

How do you make NPK liquid fertilizer at home?

Creating NPK (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium) liquid fertilizer at home involves combining specific ingredients to achieve a balanced nutrient composition. Here’s a basic recipe:

Dissolve a water-soluble nitrogen-rich source (e.g., urea, ammonium sulfate) in water. Add a phosphorus source (e.g., bone meal, rock phosphate) to the solution.

Mix in a potassium source (e.g., potassium sulfate, potassium chloride). Stir well until all components are dissolved.

Strain the mixture to remove any solid particles. Dilute the concentrated mixture with water according to the package instructions before using it on your plants.

What are the ingredients for liquid fertilizer?

The ingredients for liquid fertilizer can vary based on the desired nutrient content and the type of plants you’re growing. Here are some common ingredients:

Nitrogen sources: Fish emulsion, alfalfa meal, urea, composted manure. Phosphorus sources: Bone meal, rock phosphate, fish bone meal.

Potassium sources: Wood ash, kelp meal, banana peels (for potassium carbonate). Additional additives: Epsom salt (magnesium and sulfur), molasses (microorganisms’ food), seaweed extract (trace minerals), compost (overall nutrient boost).

Keep in mind that you can customize your liquid fertilizer recipe by adjusting ingredient ratios to match the nutritional needs of your specific plants. Always dilute the concentrated mixture before using it to avoid over-fertilization, which can harm your plants.

Conclusion

Applying dry fertilizer on the garden or farms sometimes comes to with some issues such as getting washed by irrigation or get eaten by some pets.

The best option sometimes is to turn the dry fertilizer into liquid fertilizer, which will be readily available to the plants’ roots when applied.

In this article, we looked at the steps on how to convert dry fertilizer to liquid fertilizer and also mention some common household organic waste, which can easily be converted into liquid fertilizer.

We hope this article will be of excellent help to you in understanding the steps of how to turn granular manure into liquid. Let us know your questions in the comment section below.

Reference

  1. Liquid fertilizer production from organic waste by conventional and microwave-assisted extraction technologies: Techno-economic and environmental assessment
  2. The Use of Waste to Produce Liquid Fertilizers in Terms of Sustainable Development and Energy Consumption in the Fertilizer Industry—A Case Study from Poland

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