Homeopathic Remedies for Plants
- One of the most natural and space-conservative ways to turn your kitchen scraps into a homeopathic fertilizer for your plants is to set up a worm bin. Commercial worm bins are available online from businesses that sell green products that will house red worms which, once established, eat their weight in scraps every day and turn them into fertilizer gold. They also produce a liquid byproduct, sometimes called worm tea, which is a rich tonic for plants. Drill holes in the bottom of a plastic storage bin to make your own worm farm. Worms can be taken from an already established bin, dug from your garden or purchased by mail order where bins are available. Worms do best indoors. As long as you don't overfeed them, you can keep your bin in your kitchen with no bad odors.
- If you have fruit trees which are newly pruned and you're worried the insects will be attracted to the cut ends, or trees already infested, a homemade dormant spray is a homeopathic remedy. Mix 5 tbsp. peroxide, 2 tbsp. baking soda and 2 tbsp. liquid Castile soap in a gallon of water. Mix well and spray this concoction on the insects, where it will eat away their waxy outer coatings. It will also sterilize fungus and protect wounds left by pruning.
- Household vinegar is an acidic, powerful natural ingredient that will act as a homeopathic herbicide in your garden. Fill a spray bottle with vinegar and coat weeds daily until they are gone. A spray bottle works well, because you can narrowly target the weeds and save the rest of your garden from being damaged by the vinegar. Spray the weeds as soon as they appear since keeping them from going to flower will help reduce the number of weeds you find in your garden next season.
- Compost tea is an all-purpose tonic for plants of all types. Made from rich composted kitchen and yard scraps, it is applied in a way that allows plants to use it easily and reward you with bountiful growth. Fill a cloth bag with one or 2 cups of well-composted matter. Immerse it in a gallon of water and let sit overnight. Remove the bag once the water is dark; set the bucket outside for two weeks, covered with cheesecloth, to mature the tea. Skim any scum from the top, then strain and fill a spray bottle with the tea for indoor plants or simply pour cupfuls around outdoor plants.
