Mullein fertilizer: how to prepare and use?

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Mullein is a fertilizer that has been used by gardeners, summer residents and industrial agriculture since time immemorial. It is known as "cow dung". In terms of popularity, this fertilizer surpasses all other organic analogues. Mullein finds its application not only in agriculture, but also in some other sectors of other countries.

Bedding manure

In this case, mullein fertilizer is mixed with straw or peat. When manufactured with the latter, compost is obtained, which is rich in ammonium nitrogen, which is well available to plants. Hay and straw enrich it with phosphorus and potassium, which helps plants to endure stressful conditions, increasing their growth rate. Such a mullein can serve as a basis for making compost.

Litterless manure

Mullein fertilizer is a fluid mixture that is averaged in density. There are no impurities of peat, hay, straw. It contains much more ammoniacal nitrogen compared tobedding variety. At the same time, it is practically devoid of potassium and phosphorus. A solution is prepared from it, which is used to water the garden.

Slurry

It is a liquid fertilizer. Its introduction is carried out when diluted with water. To prepare it, it is placed in a certain container for fermentation for two weeks, after which water is added to it in a ratio of 1:2. Superphosphate is also added here at a dose of 50 g per 10 liters. It contains a large amount of nitrogen and potassium.

This fertilizer is a liquid form of mullein. It can be used in the cultivation of fruit and vegetable crops. Like any other type of mullein, it has a reduced phosphorus content, so it is better to add superphosphate when using slurry.

Types of mullein by degree of decomposition

In this case, the fertilizer is divided into the following types:

• fresh and slightly decomposed - the color of the straw is natural, its strength is maintained;
• semi-rotted - straw becomes dark brown, tear strength is weak;
• rotted - in the form of litter, the straw turns black and crumbles when rubbed;
• humus is a homogeneous mass, similar to black soil.

Useful properties

The use of mullein contributes to the following:

• improve the fertility of heavy soils;
• creating small agronomically valuable aggregates in the soil, which are considered the most optimal for growing crops, as they help resist watererosion;
• translates insoluble soil compounds into readily available forms for plants;
• promotes the reproduction of beneficial microflora in the soil, and also forms additional organic matter that is part of the humus.

The use of organics, in particular mullein, improves soil structure, including light soils that become more cohesive. In heavy soils, aeration of the roots and access to air improves. In the latter, manure can decompose within 7 years, while in sandy and sandy loam this process is completed in 3-4 years.

How to make mullein fertilizer?

A large container is used for cooking. 5 buckets of water are added to a bucket of rotted cow manure, after which it is thoroughly mixed, insisted for 2 weeks, stirring the contents daily. Before top dressing, the solution is diluted again in a ratio of 1: 8. The more dry the soil, the more water must be added to the fertilizer. It is better not to store the prepared solution for a long time. Therefore, it is recommended to do as much as you need to deposit during one time.

Unpleasant odor generated during kneading mullein fertilizer can be eliminated by adding silica powder. The resulting fertilizer is applied to the soil at a rate of 10 liters per 1 m22.

Composition

In India, manure is used not only as a fertilizer, but also as a raw material in the pharmaceutical industry. It is used as a base when creating tablets. The composition of the fertilizer (mullein) is as follows: a large amount of nitrogen, potassium, a significant amount of phosphorus. In addition, it contains trace elements that depend on the feed that the cows consumed. Each ton contains on average 4-5 kg of nitrogen, 2 kg of phosphorus and about 5-6 kg of potassium.

Use

A year after storage, a rotted mullein is obtained. Fertilizer is applied for digging, both autumn and spring. It can be added when mulching. The need to use mullein as a fertilizer is established by the appearance of the plants. It must be used in the following cases:

• pale underdeveloped leaves;
• thin stem.

The following plants respond best to fertilizer application:

• cabbage;
• pumpkin;
• salads;
• pepper;
• tomatoes;
• beets;
• cucumbers.

Respond poorly to mullein:

• radish;
• radish;
• peas;
• carrot.

In the latter, it gives a lot of additional branches. Peas and other leguminous plants grow well with mullein, but inflorescence formation is poor, as is fruiting. It is not necessary to use kohlrabi under cabbage. This is due to the fact that the pulp becomes hard and hollow. Fresh manure is not applied under onion vegetables.

In the case of mullein fertilizing watermelons and other pumpkin vegetables, it is applied tothe period of seedling growth, before planting them in the soil for 2 days. This rule must be observed. Fertilizer with liquid mullein is carried out in holes or furrows without watering from above, which can burn the plants and lead to their death. Top dressing is stopped about a month before harvest. In the case of applying fresh fertilizer, it is used in the fall by scattering over the area at the rate of 400 kg per one hundred square meters, after which cultivation is carried out. An exception is the introduction of fresh manure for cucumbers. In this case, it is brought in in the spring when the beds are formed. This is due to the fact that when mullein decomposes, it releases a lot of heat, which these vegetables need.

Fresh manure is not brought into the planted beds, as it is possible to get a burn of the root system. In addition, it contains weed seeds, as well as pathogenic microorganisms. Mature manure is used in doses that are an order of magnitude lower than those of fresh fertilizer. Humus can be used for all plants. It is believed that it is enough to make manure 1 time in 3 years. However, when growing row crops that take a lot of nutrients out of the soil, it can be applied more often. When fertilizing fruit trees, it is applied under tree trunks with irrigation. In addition, it can be used to mulch between rows of strawberries or other undersized berries.

Mullein storage

This process should prevent the formation of pathogens in the manure. To do this, you need to perform the following activities:

• make large piles that will help to better preserve the fertilizer;
• better storage is provided by the cold method, which consists in laying mullein on a site with compacted soil, while the fertilizer is covered with earth, peat or leaves, the layer of which should be at least 30 cm;
• phosphate rock wakes up between separate layers of fertilizer;
• slurry is stored in closed containers.

The method is considered more effective when manure is placed in pits in layers with mandatory tamping of each of them. From above, everything is covered with straw or leaves. In this case, already after 5 months, rotted manure containing a large amount of nitrogen will be obtained, while during loose storage, most of it evaporates.

In closing

What is mullein as fertilizer? It is used to feed various cultivated plants as a source of organic matter. Under some of them, its fresh form cannot be used, since this leads to various deformities of the fruit, and also contributes to the accumulation of excessive amounts of nitrates. It is better to use rotted manure or humus. In this case, the application rates are reduced, the effectiveness of the action is increased. Mullein contributes to the structuring of the soil, increases its fertility. For effective application, you need to properly store this fertilizer.