Is your soil lacking minerals?
Nitrogen, Phosphorous, Potassium.
These are the supposed building blocks of plant nutrition. You can find them on the front of any store-bought fertilizer; three numbers: N-P-K. While NPK ratios aren’t unimportant to guiding your plants into their potential for strength and fertility, they aren’t the full picture. There are dozens of trace minerals—not all of which your plants need, but many of which they can’t live without—that help make a well-balanced soil.
That’s why a mineral amendment can be crucial to growing strong plants.
Calcium, magnesium, manganese, iron, zinc, copper, iodine, selenium, to name a few vital minerals, are all found in animal bones, egg and mollusk shells. In their “raw” form, these can be crushed and scattered across the soil for a slow-release mineral amendment as they decompose over 5-10 years. But what if your soil needs a mineral boost now?
Here’s how to make a plant available mineral extract in 2 weeks.
Tools and Materials
- Non-metal Container – a glass jar, plastic container, or a ceramic will work
- Strainer – a fine mesh colander or cheese cloth
Ingredients
- One or more of the following:
- Egg Shells
- Animal Bones
- Mollusk Shells (Oyster, Clam, Mussel, Scallop)
- Brown Rice or Apple Cider Vinegar
Instructions
- Cook your shells and/or bones so that all of the cartilage, fats, and films are removed. Allow them to cool. You may have to scrape these off by hand after cooking them.
- Place your cooled materials in your container and fill to cover with vinegar. Allow an inch or two headspace above the vinegar and the top of the vessel.
- Cover and allow to sit for 2 weeks.
- Now, decant your vinegar, straining out any pieces of bone or shells. The resulting liquid is your mineral amendment.
- Repeat steps 1-4 with your materials (adding new vinegar) for a second mineral extraction.
How to Use it
This stuff goes a long way.
You need only to add a tablespoon of the mineral extract to a 2 gallon watering can filled with water. Or, for a more specific dilution ratio, shoot for 1:1000 in water. You can up this amount if your plants are in dire need of some cell structure repair. Apply this as plant growth is getting started, and then every few weeks as needed.
The mineral extract pairs with the other liquid amendments we recommend so save yourself some time by mixing all of them up and adding them to a single watering can to be added to your soil.