The flowers offer a singular charm, colorful freshness and a truly lush touch to your garden. But to optimize their growth and maintain their longevity, they need a panoply of adapted care and adequate nutrients. You don’t have to constantly apply chemical ingredients that unfortunately pollute the environment. Why not bet on a healthier and more ecological alternative? Here is a selection of natural fertilizers that will help your flowers bloom safely!

What are the best fertilizers for your garden?

Industrial and chemical fertilizers are not necessarily the best solution for obtaining beautiful, healthy and resistant plants. In reverse. Despite their proven effectiveness in promoting their growth, these artificial products are also known for their harmful and aggressive effects. However, with natural ingredients, you can have equally satisfying results, or even more. To grow up to twice as many flowers outdoors, there’s nothing like a natural organic fertilizer that respects Mother Nature’s treasures. As a bonus, you probably already have everything you need at home!

• Rice, an inexhaustible source of benefits for plants

Starting with white rice. Many people don’t know about it, but it is a great natural fertilizer for your plants. In fact, this food, consumed all over the world, is rich in starch, carbohydrates and vitamin B, which makes it an excellent source of nutrients for plants. But not only that: it also contains minerals such as nitrogen, phosphorus, magnesium and potassium, ideal substances to promote the growth and flowering of plants.

How to prepare this  natural fertilizer  based on raw white rice? Ideally, try to get untreated beans, that is, without the addition of additives or preservatives. Here are the steps to follow:

• Pour 100 g of rice into a container and add 1 liter of water.
• Mix well and leave to soak for about 24 hours. This will allow the rice to release all its nutrients into the water, which will then be used on the plants.
• After this time, the rice will have a tender consistency. Mix again and filter through a sieve. Even though it’s the liquid we’re interested in, you won’t waste anything: you can use the grains as a natural organic fertilizer, applying it to the soil to create a nutritious substrate that will make your plants grow faster and healthier. As a bonus, adding rice grains will enhance the beneficial effect of the liquid fertilizer.
• The rice water is now ready for use: however, before using it, it is advisable to dilute it in water (1 glass of fertilizer per 10 liters of water). Once the operation has been carried out, you can pour it on the soil around the plants or on the leaves, according to the needs of each plant.

Good to know  : we recommend using this natural fertilizer based on white rice every two weeks, to obtain vigorous plants and abundant flowering.

• Coffee grounds to beautify your garden

Did you throw away  coffee grounds after use? That’s too bad, because this often overlooked product can work wonders in your garden. Rich in nitrogen, sulfur and phosphorus, it serves as an ideal fertilizer to nourish your plants. Note that the roasting process completely breaks down plant proteins, but plant nutrients are largely retained in the breakdown products. How to use it as fertilizer? It’s not worth going into the garden with just one used filter and sprinkling it around the plants. The best thing is to put it in a bucket and store it in a dry but ventilated place. To help it dry faster, hang a fine-mesh sieve to prevent mold growth. Once dry, sprinkle a few handfuls around the roots of each plant.

When is the best time to fertilize the garden?

It is during their growth period that plants benefit most from the benefits of fertilizers. Therefore, the best time to fertilize them is in early spring, when they emerge from dormancy. But remember, everyone has unique individual fertilizer needs. Acid-loving plants such as azaleas, blueberries, camellias,  hydrangeas  and rhododendrons especially prefer a more acidic soil pH to absorb nutrients. Flowering or fruiting plants need more phosphorus to help stimulate the growth of buds, fruits and flowers.

Where to find natural nitrogen?

The richest organic sources of nitrogen are: manure, ground animal parts and flour (soybean meal or cottonseed meal). The concentration of nitrogen in manure varies depending on the type of animal, but also on the age of the manure and how it was stored. As for animal carcasses and seed meals, since they undergo special treatment, they generally have a very high concentration of nitrogen.