How to use potato peelings as fertilizer in the garden and more

Composition and properties of potato peelings

The composition of potato peelings contains a significant amount of vitamin C, therefore, with regular use of such a fertilizer for berry crops, you can get a berry with a high content of ascorbic acid.

In addition to vitamin C, potato waste contains:

starch - stimulates the growth of plant energy, especially currants and roses love it;
organic acids - help the normal course of oxidative processes in the body, improve the digestion and absorption of carbohydrates;
glucose - needed for the production of protein and maintaining the level of vital energy in winter;
mineral salts - are part of plants, with a lack of them, the plant loses its immunity.

Plant benefits and benefits

Potato peelings perform several useful functions for plants at once:

it is a good organic feeding - the starch contained in potatoes is necessary for crops during the growing season;
it is an effective tool for pest control - cleaning does not destroy pests, but they are lured in one place, where they are easier to collect;
potato waste, decomposing in the ground, emit heat - there is not much of it, but there is enough for the development of plants.

The main advantage of this fertilizer is cost effectiveness. Potatoes are usually consumed in large quantities and about a quarter of the crop is wasted. Using them as fertilizers allows you not to spend money on the purchase of nutrients for the garden.

Their cleaning is absolutely environmentally friendly, they do not contain nitrates and pesticides. It is not necessary to accurately measure the dosage, since an excess of such fertilizer does not cause adverse consequences.

What plants are suitable for feeding

Potato waste can be used as a top dressing for almost any crops in the garden and vegetable garden. They are of great importance for plants, because during the growth of plants, they are in great need of starch and glucose.

Such fertilization is necessary for currants, raspberries, strawberries, melons and gourds. It is also useful for other crops, even indoor and garden flowers.

Benefits of starch

The main ingredient in the cleaners is starch. In smaller quantities, they contain iron, potassium, glucose, magnesium, fluorine and a number of useful trace elements and metals. According to the percentage of nutrients, the skins of tubers are preferable to some ready-made industrial solutions. Read about Valentine's tomato variety here.

With the help of infusions, all types of shrubs, garden and garden plants are processed.

Here are some of the positive properties of starch:

decomposed skins after infusion with other ingredients ensure rapid growth and development of shrubs;
studies have shown that after starch treatment, the level of fertility and soil structure are significantly improved;
the material is absolutely harmless to humans and pets;
nutrients processed by bacteria are quickly absorbed by the currant root system;
starch, which has a beneficial effect on cultivated plants, does not contribute to the rapid growth of weeds in the near-stem circle of shrubs;
the nutrient is recommended to be applied at all stages of the growing season.

How to prepare cleanings for fertilizing

In no case should you use fresh potato peels. It will begin to rot, which will attract rodents and cause infection of the plantings with late blight.

There are two procurement methods:

Drying. The cleanings are either laid out in a thin layer in a well-ventilated area for about 7-10 days, or dried in an oven at a temperature of 100 ° C for about 3-4 hours.
Freezing. Absolutely clean and dry peel is placed in the freezer.

The advantage of freezing is that the maximum concentration of nutrients is retained in the peel. But dried cleanings are more practical, since they can be stored for a long time, while frozen ones must be used immediately after defrosting, they cannot be re-frozen.

Pest control

The Colorado potato beetle, slugs, and wireworms love potatoes, which makes them very easy to harvest with peels. This can be done in two ways:

Fertilizer Recipes From Potato Peelings

There are three options for the preparation of dressings from potato waste: infusion, gruel, flour.

These techniques have been proven over the years and are considered the most effective when applied to potato peels.

Infusion

Suitable for indoor, berry crops, currants. For its preparation, the prepared raw materials are poured with boiling water and infused for a day. Dried raw materials are taken half as much as frozen.

Gruel

Can only be prepared from dried raw materials. The cleanings are put into a deep tank and filled completely with boiling water. The resulting mixture is left covered for about a week. During this time, the cleaning is softened and saturated with water. After a week, they must be carefully mixed. The result is a kind of gruel.

Flour

It is obtained by grinding the cleanings - the less the better. Usually a meat grinder is used for this, but a coffee grinder can also be used. Before use, the resulting flour is brewed with boiling water.

Compost

The most harmless fertilizer, but with a long preparation period - the procedure lasts about one and a half years. Time can be shortened by regularly stirring the compost heap or adding various substances to it.

It is important to monitor the ratio of nitrogen and carbon components, otherwise the decay process may begin. The optimum is considered to be 25% nitrogen and 75% carbon.

Reference. If potato wastes are piled fresh, they will be considered nitrogen components, if dried, they will be carbon.

It is recommended to stir the contents of the pile every three days so that oxygen is supplied evenly.

Scheme and technology of feeding

The optimal time for organic fertilization is autumn, immediately after harvest. During the winter, it will partially rot and nutrients will be released into the soil.

For seedlings

Flour or gruel is good for seedlings.... A small handful of fertilizer is applied to the recess, after which it is sprinkled with a thin layer of earth. Then again fertilizer, then - the earth. After that, sprouts are planted.These actions provide the seedlings with the necessary nutrients.

For melons and gourds

When planting melons and gourds, for example, pumpkins, zucchini or cucumbers, fertilizing them with top dressing from potato waste will be completely useful.

Potato flour gruel is added to the bottom of the hole and sprinkled with earth. Then again fertilizer and another layer of soil on top. And even then the seedlings are planted. Such a planting will provide the plant with nutrients for a long time.

Experienced vegetable growers advise and regularly water with potato peel infusion. This will help the plant gain green mass and yield a good harvest.

For root vegetables, onions and garlic

For these cultures, infusion is more suitable. You can water the beds with it from the end of May every two weeks. Each bush is poured under the root separately.

Attention! Fragments of potato waste should not remain on the surface of the bed - they will lure insects and pests.

For raspberries, strawberries and currants

For berry crops, flour or infusion is more suitable.

Feeding currants or raspberries can be carried out annually in spring and autumn. At the same time, thanks to the starch, the berries only become tastier and larger.

To make the dressing work faster, it is added dropwise around the roots to a depth of 20 cm.

Strawberries are fed according to a different scheme: once every two weeks, the beds are generously sprinkled with potato flour or watered with infusion at the root.

As compost

The addition of potato waste to the compost speeds up the fermentation process. For compost, cleaning must be selected exclusively from healthy potatoes, otherwise pathogenic fungi will multiply there and, instead of benefit, such fertilizer will only harm.

As a pest control

Nutrient mixture based on potato peel reliably protects plants from pests. For insects, fresh scavenging traps are laid out in several places to lure insects such as slugs or Colorado beetles. Pests need to be regularly collected and destroyed, and traps should be replaced with fresh ones.

For indoor plants

For indoor plants, a decoction is prepared from potato peelings and boiling water, taken in a ratio of 1:10. The solution is cooled and filtered, after which it can be used to process ornamental plants. Indoor plants are watered every 3-4 weeks.

For flowers

For decorative street flowers, the solution is prepared in the same way as for indoor flowers. Street plants are treated every two weeks.

Most effectively, such feeding helps plants that reproduce tubers. These are tulips, gloxinia, begonias, etc.

Reference. Gloxinia should be watered carefully, without touching the leaves, otherwise it will rot.

For fruit plants

For fruit trees, a gruel is prepared, which is diluted with hot water and insisted for several days. The soil around the trees must be loosened before fertilizing. The gruel is buried around the trunks by about 20 cm.

Unprocessed peel is harmful

When used correctly, top dressing is only beneficial, otherwise it can harm crops.

Pros:
1. Availability

Everyone always eats potatoes. You can accumulate a lot of potato skins over the fall and winter.

2. Environmental friendliness

Potato peel is pure organic matter without any chemical impurities.

Will not harm plant and human health.

3. Nutritional value

When it contains a large amount of nutrients, it makes the soil nutritious for plants.

For example, it increases the level of fruiting currants - the branches of the bushes become stronger.

As well as:

soil bacteria and earthworms perfectly process fertilizer;
this leads to an improvement in the soil structure

Minuses:
The use of fresh peelings of potatoes also entails unpleasant consequences.

1. Diseases

Fungal spores may remain on the skin if the potato has been infected.

Digging up the soil with fresh raw materials significantly increases the risk of developing fungal pathogenic mycelium in decaying cleanings.

2. Animals

Rodents - mice, rats - attracted by the smell of rotting waste, will not directly harm the currant bushes.

But they dig holes in the ground, damaging the root system of plants.

In early spring, hungry animals will spoil young shoots

Here's how gardeners from the forum say about potato skins:

“Currants should be regularly (preferably annually) fed with rotted organic matter. And potato peeling under a bush is the same thing. From such nutrition, the berries become large and sweet, but the bushes also begin to grow stronger. Pruning is required, or rather cutting of old branches and partially young ones (so as not to leave too many of them) "

Source dacha.

How to store fertilizer cleaning

There is no shortage of such raw materials, but it is also impossible to simply put waste in a bag.

Dry blanks are stored in paper or cloth bags in a dry and well-ventilated area. Regularly you should sort them out in case of bugs or parasites.

Frozen pieces are stored in a freezer or in a cold cellar. They should not be allowed to defrost until the moment of application, they quickly begin to rot.