This ultimate guide on onion peel fertilizer will help you to prepare and use onion peel fertilizer in your garden or farm. People of our beautiful world is rapidly shifting towards organic farming as well as gardening. We are looking for various type of useful organic fertilizers for our plants. However, waste management is also an important topic. So after reading this article, you are definitely going to stop throwing onion peels in the waste dump.
Table of Contents
What Is Onion Peel Fertilizer?
Onion peel fertilizer is an organic fertilizer derived from onion peels that is effective in promoting flowering in plants. It is an easy-to-prepare and use fertilizer that can be prepared within 24 to 48 hours in the home from onion peels. You can prepare onion peel fertilizer in powder as well as liquid form. Most people prefer to prepare liquid fertilizer from onion peels as it is the simplest form to prepare.
Onion Peel Benefits For Plants
According to balconygardenweb.com onion peel is a rich source of potassium. They are also rich in calcium, iron, magnesium, and copper. You can use onion peels for mulching as well as for preparing fertilizer.
Using onion peel as a fertilizer can also help you in zero-budget organic gardening as well as farming. Instead of wasting them, you can utilize them wisely to make your plants healthy.
How To Prepare Onion Peel Fertilizer At Home?
To prepare this organic fertilizer, you will need to save onion peels that we commonly use in the kitchen. Either in an eco-friendly bin or any bag, keep collecting peels daily. You can select a bowl or a plastic bottle witha lid for preparing fertilizer.
You will need to add 3 to 4 handfuls of onion peels in one liter of water. Cover the opening of the container properly and leave it under shade or completely dark room for 24 hours during summer. But during winters, extend this duration to 48 hours.
However, if you keep it for 48 hours then it will be highly beneficial. Strain the water-onion mixture and keep the liquid portion. You can use the solid leftovers in making vermicompost. You can keep the liquid solution for 10 to 15 days.
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How To Use Onion Peels For Plants?
You can either use this organic liquid fertilizer along with irrigation water or in the form of spray. But, before applying dilute 100 to 200 ml of this liquid fertilizer in one litre of water. Apply according to the needs of the plant.
As this fertilizer is rich in potassium, it will mainly enhance the branching, blooming, flower size, and quality of the fruit. You can apply once after every 7 to 10 days. Application of this liquid fertilizer also enhances disease and pest resistance of the plant, if the soil is well-draining. In the case of waterlogged soils, it can result in root rot.
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Some people have started claiming that onion peels can be used to fertilize seedlings, but that’s wrong! Fertilizing small seedlings with onion peels is not beneficial and sometimes it can also lead to root rot. Therefore, mostly use them to fertilize flowering plants and to some extent your houseplants. However, some other fertilizers such as neem cake powder, tea leaves compost, seaweed extract, Epsom salts, etc. are capable of giving more effective results for houseplants. Therefore, you can use them to fertilize your houseplants instead of onion peels.
Moreover, you can also add other well-balanced organic manure such as cow dung manure with onion peel to fertilize your flowering plants to get the best results.
Precautions
Before using the fertilizer you need to to take these precautions to avoid any misuse or bad results.
- Dry Peels: Do not use wet pulp or damaged peels to make the fertilizer as they can attract fungus, dry peels that are slightly wet as normal are good to prepare the liquid fertilizer.
- Strain The Solution: Once the liquid is ready to use, strain the solution and remove the solid peels away from the liquid solution.
- Soil Condition: Do not fertilize plants that are planted in waterlogged soil. Therefore, make sure to ensure good drainage before applying this fertilizer.
- Timing: Early mornings and late evenings are the perfect time to fertilize your flowering plants with onion peels. Do not fertilize your plants with this liquid fertilizer during the afternoon when it is too hot outside.
When To Use Onion Peel Fertilizer?
You should use onion peel fertilizer during the active flowering season of the plant. For example, to fertilize hibiscus, you can apply from May to the end of the summer season, for rose plants, apply from November to the onset of spring. Similarly, you can fertilize other flowering plants in their active local flowering season. But make sure to avoid fertilizing during the plant’s dormant season.
Here is the list of flowering plants and their active flowering months in which you can fertilize them with onion peels.
| Flower Name | Time To Fertilize With Onion Peels |
|---|---|
| Rose | Winter and Spring |
| Hibiscus | May to August |
| Marigold | September To February |
| Jasmine | March To June |
| Bougainvillea | March to October |
| Chrysanthemum | September To December |
| Sunflower | Summer and Autumn |
| Tulip | Winter in regions with a cooler climate |
| Ixora | Spring and Early Summer |
| Plumeria | Spring and Summer |
| Pansy | October to February |
| Aster | October to February |