6 Effective Homemade Lawn Fertilizers That Are Safe From Hazardous Chemicals

Make your patchy and dull lawn, lush, green, and thick with our 6 effective and easy to make Homemade Lawn Fertilizers that are safe hazardous chemicals.

1. Epsom Salt Lawn Fertilizer

Epsom salts contain two elements that boost lawn grass and its lushness-Magnesium and Sulfur. Magnesium is crucial for activating chlorophyll production, and helping in the absorption of phosphorus and nitrogen, while sulfur helps plants to photosynthesize.
Learn more about amazing Epsom salt uses in the garden here.

How to Use

Sprinkle five cups of Epsom salts per 100 meter square of lawn, apply it with a spreader or spray it by diluting in water to get a lush green lawn. If you’re diluting, follow the product’s instructions.

Recipes with Epsom Salt

Epsom Salt & Ammonia

• Mix one cup each of Epsom salts and ammonia in a bottle. Add two-three tablespoons of this mixture in a watering can and spread it over 200 square feet of grass.
• Alternatively, you can mix it with equal parts water to make a liquid fertilizer for covering your entire lawn.

Supplemental Lawn Tonic

• Mix 3 pounds of Epsom salts with an entire batch of dry lawn food (20-5-10). Spread half of this mixture on the turf.

Also, check out these useful lawn fertilization tips on Michigan State University Extension.

2. Ammonia

All cleaning supplies contain ammonia in the hydroxide form. Ammonium hydroxide enriches the nitrogen and hydrogen content of the soil, thus helping the grass to utilize the soil nutrients effectively and growing greener and thicker as a result.

How to Use

Spray two ounces of homemade ammonia fertilizer for every 1000 square feet of your lawn. Ensure to take note of the dosage labeled on the sprayer and walk at the right speed to ensure effective application throughout the lawn.

Precaution: Avoid using bleach with ammonia.

Recipes with Ammonia

• Take a cup of ammonia in a one-gallon container. Dilute it with water, and apply. Or, fortify it with additional ingredients for a more effective combination. You can add anything from a can of beer to half-a-cup of liquid dishwashing soap. This will help the fertilizer to stick to the grass for a longer time.

3. Club Soda

Carbonated water is full of basic elements that make up the cellular framework of plants, such as carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen. It also contains sodium in the usable form that is the key activator of vital metabolic processes. Low-calorie diet soda cannot provide the same advantage and can be detrimental in high doses. As a result, it’s best to avoid this.

Recipe with Club Soda

• In a bottle, mix one can of club soda, one can of beer (12 oz), half-a-cup each of ammonia, mouthwash and liquid dishwashing soap. Spray it using a hose sprayer, once every three weeks. Read the recipe in detail here.

Tip: Coke and sprite contain excess amounts of sugar that tend to attract unwanted pests and upset the NPK ratio of the soil.

4. Baby Shampoo

Just like soap, baby shampoo helps your regular lawn fertilizer to stick to the grass blades, helping it penetrate into the soil. Make sure you don’t use anti-bacterial shampoo, else it will kill all the beneficial soil bacteria you have been counting on. Baby shampoo, in moderate quantities, also works as a weed killer.

Recipes with Baby Shampoo

Baby Shampoo & Beer

Mix together a can of beer, soda and one cup of baby shampoo with 10 gallons of water. Apply the mixture evenly throughout the lawn, once or twice a month.
This recipe is an effective antidote to seasonal pests; the baby shampoo cuts through the caustic power of soda, making it easy on your turf.

Baby Shampoo & Ammonia

Mix one cup each of baby shampoo and ammonia. Add in some beer for best results and apply thoroughly. Beer, together with shampoo helps the grass to absorb vital nutrients while ammonia delivers all that the lawn microbes crave for.

5. Mouthwash

Mouthwash is a must-have for any recipe that calls of pesticide power. Its fungicidal properties repel pests and insects and keep your lawn grass lush and healthy throughout the year.

6. Molasses

Molasses, just like beer and soda, contains high amounts of sugar, which feeds soil microbes and boosts plant health. It also contains iron in usable form, which takes care of photosynthesis and cellular metabolism.

Recipes with Molasses

Molasses & Epsom Salts

• Mix Epsom salts and molasses in a 1:2 ratio. Let the components dissolve and then dilute them in 2 gallons of water. Spray this solution on the soil.

How Important are Lawn Foods?

A lawn that is lush and healthy from the start won’t require high attention in the form of lawn food or liquid feed to cope up with the rigors of seasonal threats.

Lawn foods are essential supplemental soil therapies, often given as a quick fix to provide nutrients, for a recovery after the unfavorable weather conditions, or quick elimination of certain pests from your lawn.

How to Use Lawn Foods for Maximum Benefits

Applying homemade fertilizers during the beginning of spring provides a fertile ground for grass to grow.

A fall application acts as a potent stimulant to aid in growth and recovery following a particularly hot and stressful summer season. It also enriches the soil and prepares it for the upcoming harsh winters.

The monthly application helps the ground to absorb water and liquid feed better and nurtures a healthy interaction with soil microbes.

Also Read: Lawn care in winter

Tips to Remember

• Apply evenly and lightly throughout your lawn. If you’re not sure about the results, dilute it with water and test it on a smaller area.
• Water your lawn once before applying lawn food, and then again after application. This will enable faster and deeper penetration.
• Aerate your lawn before fertilizing to create a surface that will be maximally receptive to lawn food.

Read more Lawn Care Tips here!