About The Long Island Gardener Expertise Do you know the wrong fertilizer will keep your plants from blooming?
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Experience Homeowner with gardens indoors and outdoors, lawns back and forth. I wrote my first gardening column for our college newspaper, teaching roomates about the right way to feed those windowsills gardens. Today I look for challenges. Organic Fertilizers are the key to proper feeding of all our plants. Can you make your own fertilizer? Some people think so -- but there are side effects. I have been there, done that for 54 years and there is nothing like the voice of experience when it comes to Horticulture and Fertilizers.
Publications Numerous and sundry but only in college did I write about plants.
Education/Credentials B.A., Botany and Mass Communications.
is there any benefit to plants by watering them with:
1. Garlic water
2. Rice water
3. Vegetables water
4. Aquarium water
Thank's and rgds,
Ari
Answer When it's injured, Garlic produces Allicin, an unstable compound made during an emergency to defend Garlic from attack by microbes. Its usefulness -- which to me is questionable -- may be covered by the U.S. Patent No. 7052708, listed under 'Compositions and methods of crop protection' to repel Insect and Animal pests in some convoluted formula that also includes material taken from Daffodils and various other sundry chemicals.
But I do not believe that a simple mixture of Garlic, Rice or Vegetables and Water would be taken up by a plant and as a result improve any facet of the plant's life. As a spray, Garlic will repel insects. You ask however about watering with Garlic. I cannot see any reason watering with Garlic or Rice or Vegetable would make say a Begonia smell like Garlic and repel pests from attacking, and they would not convey any nutrients to the plant they were watered into.
Aquarium Water -- from a freshwater Aquarium tank -- would be quite excellent. Reason: It is chemical free and it holds a very healthy population of beneficial microbes by the time you're using it for watering your plants. The microbes are essential parts of your Soil; boosting them can only bring good things to the lucky plant they water.
Good question. As I am a bit weary tonight, I am not being very clear, so please re-phrase your question if I have missed something. I must monitor this use of Garlic.
