How to properly prepare fertilizer from mullein, for which plants it can be used

Among all organic fertilizers, the most common and well-known is cow manure, or mullein.
Nowadays it is rarely used by large agro-industrial enterprises, but in small farms and summer cottages it is still the number one top dressing. Dear readers!
For you, we have created communities on social networks in which useful articles and interesting ideas are published several times a day! Subscribe and receive useful content in a convenient format! In this article we will tell you how to properly prepare mullein fertilizer so that it is as effective as possible. You will also learn some tricks for using this fertilizer.

Chemical composition of mullein

Mullein is a waste product of a cow, cow dung. It is considered an organic fertilizer and is used to enrich the soil and plants with useful microelements.

Mullein is more than a third water, which helps maintain soil moisture levels. Another 20% are microelements and compounds that plants need to grow. They also saturate the soil, improving its structure.

Firstly , manure contains 3 main elements necessary for plant growth, flowering and ovary formation. We are talking about nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus.

Secondly , the fertilizer contains other microelements. For example, boron, sulfur, calcium, zinc, molybdenum, magnesium, copper, etc.

Thirdly , due to its organic origin, each component is in such a form as to be absorbed by the plant as quickly as possible.

However, it is worth mentioning here that the proportion of these elements in mullein is small compared to mineral fertilizers. For example, 100 kg of manure contains only 500 grams of nitrogen. Because of this, fertilizing must be applied in large volumes to be effective.

Types of Cow Dung and Their Uses

There are several varieties of cow dung. Each of them has its own purpose.

Liquid

This variety is a mixture of bedding-free manure and water. It is a liquid fertilizer that is applied to the roots of plants during different periods of the growing season. Also, superphosphate is sometimes added for greater efficiency.

Fresh

This is the same manure, cow excrement. It is used as a basis for preparing liquid fertilizer or, after rotting, it is scattered over the soil surface before digging (ploughing) the soil in autumn or spring.

Litter

This is manure mixed with bedding (hay, straw, sawdust). It is usually used in the fall when applied for plowing or digging up an area. Litter manure can also be used to prepare peat and compost. The disadvantage of this variety is the lack of magnesium, which is needed for fruiting.

Without bedding

And in this variety there are no litter impurities. It is an effective nitrogen fertilizer, since more than half the volume of such fertilizing is ammonia nitrogen. There are three varieties of this mullein: not decomposed, half-rotted and rotted.

Factory

Produced on an industrial scale. Essentially it is a mullein concentrate that is ready for breeding. The advantage of this variety is that the fertilizer is cleared of pathogenic microflora and enriched with beneficial microelements. For example, superphosphates.

Reviews about the use of mullein

If you have doubts about the advisability of using mullein as a fertilizer, do not miss the opportunity and read the reviews of people who have already had a similar practice:

Lyubov, 56 years old: “We live in a village, we have a huge garden and an impressive vegetable garden. Every year, before plowing, we treat our property with a mullein solution. The result is very impressive - this fertilizer works better than any synthetic store-bought products! The harvest becomes so large, as if the land had been resting for many years and no one had planted anything on it.”

Valery, 68 years old: “Mullein is a fertilizer proven by time and experience. Every year I treat my garden and garden with it, and have never regretted it. The soil accepts the solution very well, this is noticeable in the quantity and quality of the crop. The only caveat: it is necessary to strictly observe the proportions and dosage of fertilizer, otherwise you can seriously harm the crops.

Irina, 34 years old: “I am a summer resident with ten years of experience, but I started using mullein as fertilizer only a few years ago. At first I was disappointed, because after applying the product I lost 300 tomato bushes. Then I accidentally found out that I poured the solution on them too generously, and this leads to their death. Now I strictly follow the dosage - and I couldn’t be happier with the results!”

Mullein is a fertilizer that has been used in agriculture not for decades, but for hundreds of years, like the excrement of other livestock. If you follow all the instructions and do not try to saturate the soil with useful substances for future use, you will be able to enjoy a large and high-quality harvest.

How to properly prepare fertilizer from mullein

For fertilizing to be effective, mullein must be properly prepared.

Step 1. Prepare the concentrate. Pour 1 part of manure into a container and add 3 parts of water. Cover with a lid and leave to ferment.

Step 2. Stir the mixture daily for 5 – 15 days until bubbles appear and the solution becomes clear.

Step 3. Prepare fertilizer for irrigation. For each liter of concentrate add 10 liters of water and 100 grams of superphosphate. You can also add 0.5 kg of wood ash.

Step 4. Infuse the liquid fertilizer for an hour.

Step 5. Mix the fertilizer and water the plants with it.

Storage Features

To ensure storage throughout the winter, manure piles are usually laid on a flat, dry earthen surface. The bottom layer is made of peat, leaves and soil. Next, alternate layers of peat and manure, compacting them.

The total height of the structure should be no higher than 2 meters. It is necessary to cover the manure for the winter with plastic film or turf, providing protection from water and maximum stability of shape.

In the spring, after the snow melts, the heaps need digging to saturate the reactions taking place there with oxygen and prevent the appearance of fungi.

Manure should not be stored in ordinary bags - this will lead to the loss of its valuable properties and reduced results after use as fertilizer. The formation of a manure heap is prohibited near a residential building.

How to use mullein depending on the time of year

Depending on the time of year, the method of using mullein differs.

How to use in spring

In the spring, manure is applied to prepare the beds for future plantings. Moreover, this can be done in March-April when the snow melts. Manure is simply scattered over the surface so that it gets into the ground along with melt water.

The second way to use fertilizer in the spring is to add organic matter to the soil when plowing it. Thus, the deficiency of microelements formed since the last summer season is replenished.

In the last weeks of spring, mullein is applied to the plants in the form of liquid root fertilizer.

Use in summer

In summer, cow dung is used as fertilizer to feed plants. A liquid working solution is prepared, which is used to replenish the plantings.

How to use in autumn

In the fall, mullein is scattered around the garden and then embedded in the soil. This is one of the points when preparing the site for the new season.

Application of liquid fertilizers: timing and methods

Before direct use, both types of liquid fertilizer are diluted once again with water: fast - 5 times, concentrated - 10 times. After this, the crops are irrigated:

• tomatoes, peppers, eggplants - 0.5 liters each. at the root;
• cucumbers, zucchini, squash - 1 liter each. at the root;
• cabbage - 0.5 l. at the root;
• fruit bushes - 3 liters each. at the root;
• fruit trees - 5 liters each. under the root.

The period of use of such fertilizers is limited to mid-summer. Since the end of July, no plants have been fertilized with manure.

How to use in an open ground garden

In open ground, fertilizer can be used in early spring or late autumn. In this case, the product is used to saturate the soil.

In liquid form, fertilizer is used during the growing season.

It is better to apply liquid fertilizer into special grooves that are dug along the plantings. This way you will protect the plants from drops of fertilizer getting on them. As soon as the product is completely absorbed into the soil, the grooves are filled with earth.

At the same time, do not forget to pre-moisten the soil under the plants. This is necessary so that the manure solution does not burn the roots.

It is very important not to allow the fertilizer to come into contact with the above-ground parts of the plant (stems, leaves).

REFERENCE. Mullein is not used for foliar feeding. Only as a last resort in case of severe nitrogen deficiency. But even in this case, it is better to use other nitrogen fertilizers (urea, ammonia solution).

Medicinal properties of mullein

Mullein, the medicinal properties of which are determined by a wide range of active ingredients, is used against many diseases, but one area remains uncovered: it does not contain plant estrogens, therefore it does not interfere with the sexual sphere. This is what has allowed mullein to be considered safe for internal use, including for children, for centuries.

Nowadays, their use is approached more carefully, although traditional healers continue to prescribe mullein internally, taking into account only dosages and using the main types - common mullein, medicinal mullein, scepter-shaped, paniculate and Royal scepter. But for external local use there are practically no contraindications.

For women

The use of mullein has its own characteristics related to gender.

Women have more restrictions on taking mullein preparations:

• its irritating and tonic effect determines the prohibition of use for pregnant and lactating women;
• due to its anticoagulant properties, it is prohibited to use it during menstruation and after childbirth, even if the woman is not breastfeeding.

Use the flower powder locally as a powder for cracked nipples. They are pre-treated with an oil solution of vitamin A, fish oil, or carrot juice. You can use mullein oil. If feeding or pumping continues, wash your nipples with warm water before breastfeeding.

In gynecology, an infusion of mullein herb (scepter-shaped) is prescribed for oral administration in case of inflammatory diseases (1 tablespoon per glass of boiling water, leave covered until cool, drink 3 times a day, one tablespoon after meals).

For menopause from concomitant atherosclerosis and hypertension - the same infusion, but twice as thick - 2 tbsp. l. herbs per glass. Although there are many recipes for mullein preparations for rinsing, it is not prescribed for douching; much stronger tanning herbs are used there.

For men

In andrology there are no references to treatment with mullein for male diseases. However, the frequent combination of prostate problems and hemorrhoids shows an indirect effect on the gland in the treatment of hemorrhoids. The property of mullein to increase the secretion of glands will be useful here.

For children

Children are now not recommended to take mullein orally, but traditional medicine gives some recipes for use for severe cough, whooping cough, pneumonia, bronchitis with difficult sputum discharge.

1. Syrup: one and a half tablespoons of mullein flowers and 2/3 tbsp. l. Boil marshmallow root in 300 ml of water for 10 minutes, strain and add a glass of sugar. Boil the mixture until the syrup becomes thick. Give one tsp. up to 5 times a day when coughing.
2. Decoction: 1 tsp. herbs in 2 glasses of water, cook for 10 minutes, strain and take according to tbsp. l. after meals 3 times a day when coughing. You can use milk instead of water.

How to use mullein in a greenhouse

In greenhouses, mullein can be used for “warming up”. In short, this is what they do. They dig trenches into which they dump manure. It rots within a year and can later be used for feeding.

Fertilizer is also used in the “classical” way, that is, in the form of liquid root feeding. The cost rates are the same as for fertilizing in open ground. But the deadlines are moving a little earlier. In any case, the product is best used in the early stages of the growing season.

Contraindications for taking mullein

1. Pregnancy and feeding (except for cracked nipples and local external use).
2. Menstruation (total ban).
3. Blood clotting disorders, hemophilia (complete ban).
4. Allergy to mullein (complete ban).
5. Ages up to 1.5 years are a complete ban; later, generally accepted doses by age should be taken into account: 1/8 to 3 years; 1/6 to 4 years; 1/3 up to 7 years; ½ up to 14 years old; 2/3 up to 25 years of age and the full dose over 25 years of age, and children should be given only as indicated and as prescribed by a doctor. Dose coefficients for overweight adults: 80-100 kg - 1.25; more than 100 kg - 1.5 usual doses.

The appointment of a herbalist is also desirable when using herbs in the treatment of older people.

For which plants and how can fertilizer be used?

This type of fertilizer can be used for almost all garden crops. But with a small caveat: mullein is used differently for each plant.

For cucumbers

Cucumbers can be fed with mullein during the seedling period, as well as 2 weeks after planting the cucumbers in open ground.

The fertilizer is prepared in several stages:

• 100 ml of manure is mixed with 1 liter of hot water;
• The mixture is left to infuse for 4 hours;
• The resulting concentrate is diluted with clean water 1 to 5 and used for irrigation.

ON A NOTE. Before applying fertilizer, cucumber bushes must be watered with water.

For tomatoes

Tomatoes respond best to liquid fertilizer based on mullein. You can feed tomatoes three times throughout the entire season: 1.5 weeks after planting the seedlings, another 1.5-2 weeks and during fruit set.

Liquid fertilizer is prepared from 0.5 liters of mullein and 10 liters of water. Before fertilizing, tomato bushes need to be watered generously so that the manure does not burn the roots of the plants and so that the fertilizing is better absorbed.

For strawberries

Strawberries can be fed three times per season. For the first time in early spring when preparing the beds, the second time before flowering, the third time in the fall before wintering.

For raspberries

Experienced summer residents advise feeding raspberries in the fall. To do this, add humus or compost, which was prepared from mullein.

For cabbage

You can feed cabbage for the first time only half a month after planting the seedlings. For every liter of water you need 100 ml of manure. The consumption rate of the drug is 0.5 l per plant.

You can repeat feeding after a month.

For potatoes

Future potato beds can be fertilized with manure in the fall. By next spring it will rot and the soil will be saturated. The norm is 4 centners per hundred square meters. When planting, 150 grams of the drug for each potato is enough.

IMPORTANT! Only rotted manure is applied for planting.

For flowers

Garden flowers can also be fed with mullein. But they need to be fed before flowering. The working solution is prepared in a ratio of 1 to 20. Fertilizing can be done three times from the beginning of spring to the first half of June. Consumption per square meter – up to 3 liters of fertilizer.

For garlic and onions

Bulb crops are fed during the growing season. Ideally, fertilizer should be applied in May and June.

Top dressing is prepared from a bucket of water and 200 ml of cow manure. For every meter of onion and garlic beds, 2-3 liters of liquid fertilizer are consumed.

For melons and watermelons

Melons and watermelons are watered with liquid fertilizer in the same way as cucumbers. At the seedling stage and 2 weeks after planting. Fertilizer is prepared in the same proportions.

For trees

Fruit trees are fed in the spring.

Fertilizer for feeding begins to be prepared a month before the intended watering of the trees. Cow manure is poured or filled into the barrel up to half the volume, after which water is poured to the brim. The fertilizer ferments for a month.

Directly for irrigation, mix 1 liter of fermented concentrate and 8 liters of clean water. Fertilizer is applied to the tree trunk circle at a distance of 0.5-1 m from the trunk.

Use of fresh mullein

In order not to burn the roots of the seedlings, you need to use manure correctly, because during its decomposition a high temperature is generated. To do this, you need to spread the product in the fall at a ratio of 30–40 kg per 10 m2. After processing, the soil should be cultivated, this will allow it to be mixed with manure and stimulate the speedy processing of raw materials.

There is a way to preserve the maximum amount of useful components; to do this, you should scatter and seal the mullein in a short time after application. If it is stored for a long time, the substrate will lose some of its components. It is nitrogen that is most susceptible to weathering, and it is one of the most important components of growth. Repeated treatment is carried out after 2–3 years or more.

For cucumbers, the situation is somewhat different; temperatures that are harmful for other seedlings have a positive effect here.

The design of a cucumber bed is relatively simple, but it will require a lot of manure:

1. Boards are prepared from which the frame for fencing the bed is assembled (standard design).
2. Manure is brought down, the layer is 0.7–1 m.
3. Small holes about 35 cm deep and 0.5 m in diameter are dug at a distance of 1.5 m.
4. Ordinary soil is added inside the holes, possibly with fertilizer.
5. From 5 to 7 seeds are planted in each hole.
6. When the cucumbers sprout, select weak plants and remove them, leaving only 3 roots.

The mullein will warm the hole from all sides and create conditions for rapid growth. The disadvantage of this method is the high cost of fertilizer, but an alternative method can be used with greater efficiency.

Here mullein will act as biofuel:

1. The entire layer of the pile is covered with about 30 cm of earth.
2. Chopped weeds and fallen leaves are added on top. The top layer is compacted, you need to create a dense surface.
3. After several days of waiting, a layer of manure is laid down.

The last way to use fertilizer is to prepare a mullein solution. The product is a good top dressing, which is applied during the growing season and shortly before harvesting.

To prepare you should:

1. Take 1 bucket and fill it with manure.
2. Prepare 4 buckets of water and mix with mullein in a suitable container.
3. The mixture is left in a place with relative warmth for 2-3 days. This is done to ferment the manure, then harmful urea will be released from the composition, which is what can cause burns to the roots.
4. Mix 10 liters of solution with 3-4 buckets of plain water.
5. Watering is carried out at a ratio of 10 liters per 1 m2.

When not to use this fertilizer

Despite its effectiveness, mullein has some limitations in its use.

You cannot use the product for applying to root vegetables, as this will cause the vegetables to lose their juiciness and take on an ugly shape.

Legumes do not bear fruit well when fertilized with this fertilizer.

It is also not recommended to use cow manure to feed Chinese cabbage, kohlrabi, and radishes. The cabbage becomes tough and the radishes lose their flavor.

For bulbous crops, this fertilizer is applied only at the very beginning of the growing season. And it is very important that the solution is slightly concentrated.

What crops is mullein suitable for, and what can you water with it?

Fresh manure in an undiluted state poses a threat to any plants, because it contains many toxic substances.

However, highly diluted mullein can be used to water crops such as:

• roses and most garden bushes;
• potato;
• beans;
• peas;
• cucumbers;
• zucchini;
• eggplant;
• cabbage;
• fruit trees.

These plants benefit not only from highly diluted mash, but also from the addition of a small amount of partially rotted or fresh cow manure in the fall.

Moreover, you need to add 2-3 times less fresh than partially rotten, otherwise you can harm the plants. In addition, even these plants on fertile soil should not be fertilized with fresh or partially rotted manure, otherwise the fruits will contain too many nitrogen compounds.

What fertilizers is mullein compatible with and what is it not?

Mullein can act as a basis for complex fertilizer. It is well compatible with mineral preparations, but not with all of them. The table below provides information about the compatibility of mullein.

Compatibility table of cow manure and mineral fertilizers

Advantages and disadvantages

Now let's talk about the pros and cons of this fertilizer.

Cow manure improves the structure and fertility of the soil and helps increase the number of beneficial microorganisms.

Also among the advantages of this type of fertilizer can be mentioned:

1. Natural organic origin of fertilizer;
2. Relatively high efficiency;
3. Low cost;
4. Converts insoluble chemical compounds into soluble ones;
5. Maintains the required level of soil moisture;
6. High digestibility by plants.

However, the product is not without its drawbacks:

1. Cannot be used fresh;
2. May contain pathogenic microflora, pest larvae, etc.;
3. Be sure to dissolve in water to apply at the root;
4. Low content of essential microelements compared to mineral fertilizers;
5. The need to apply large volumes of fertilizer to obtain a positive effect;
6. If manure is not incorporated into the soil, then harmful organisms begin to multiply in it.

Factory (concentrated) mullein

The fertilizer is of the organic type, but is produced industrially. The high popularity of this type of fertilizer is due to the absence of the need to spend a lot of effort, look for a supplier of raw materials (if there is no one) and worry about the safety of the substance.

Additives are often added to the composition of drugs to increase the concentration of beneficial components. Some manufacturers' products are in the proportion of 5 liters of ready-made solution to 500 kg of fresh raw materials. Low cost also played an important role; today you can buy fertilizer from 50 rubles per 1 liter.

Mullein is less commonly found on sale in dry form; it is packaged in bags of 50 g. The price for 1 serving starts from 60 rubles. The solution is especially convenient when fertilizing a small area of ​​land.

Precautions for use

Cow dung should be used with caution. We have already spoken about this many times, but we will say it again. Fresh fertilizer cannot be used for feeding.

When you add mullein to prepare the soil, be sure to incorporate it into the soil so as not to provoke the development of harmful microorganisms.

Also, do not forget that you need to water the liquid mullein very carefully so as not to get it on the plant. Fertilizer drops may cause burns.

To prevent the fertilizer from losing its effectiveness, it must be stored in a tightly closed barrel or bucket with a lid. It is also best to use the product as soon as possible after preparing the working solution.

Rotted manure is stored for about 4 months, and ready-made manure is stored for 6-12 months.

IMPORTANT! The more manure, the better it is stored.

Common mistakes

Now let's talk about the mistakes that summer residents make when using mullein.

1. Use of low-quality raw materials. Cow manure can be infested with pathogenic fungi and pest larvae. If you are not sure of the quality of the drug, then it is better to abandon it in favor of mineral fertilizers.
2. Too much fertilizer. Excess mullein harms plants, so do not violate the dosage.
3. Use of fresh manure. This is a serious mistake that can lead to the death of cultivated plants.