Gardening can be an expensive hobby, but it doesn't have to be. Weeds found in your yard can help other plants grow.
One gardener has taken to social media to share how to save money on fertilizer by using pesky weeds found directly in your garden.
The scoop
Sara (@saraonthefarm) regularly posts gardening tips for her followers on Instagram, giving top-tier advice on how to keep your plants strong and healthy.
In June, she revealed that fellow gardeners can reuse weeds and benefit other plants by making an at-home fertilizer.
"There's no need to buy fertilizer with this easy option available," she captioned the post.
Making the fertilizer is simple. All you need to start is any plant material, including weeds, clippings, or grass. Then place these materials in a bucket with a sealable lid. Next, gardeners should scoop a handful of "rich, native soil" into the bucket.
Sara explained that this fertilizer will work best if the soil has traces of mycelium, a root-looking fungus that branches wide in and on soil.
The only thing left to do is fill the bucket with water, close the lid, and leave it for at least two weeks.
"The longer this fertilizer sits, the stronger it gets," Sara said.
How it's helping
Making fertilizer at home has a number of benefits for your wallet and the ecosystems in your backyard.
Costs of fertilizer can vary depending on how big your garden or lawn may be. Some large bags can be $30 or more, while others are as cheap as $10 at big box retailers. If you purchase bags of fertilizer on a weekly or monthly basis, making your own at home could save you hundreds of dollars over time.
Reusing weeds or plant clippings is also a great way to reduce the amount of waste you might have when gardening. This method of making fertilizer repurposes the plant materials to feed fruits, vegetables, and native plants in your yard that are key to supporting pollinators and other wildlife. Additionally, it helps decrease the demand for mass-produced fertilizer found in stores, which create toxic air pollutants in production and when shipped worldwide.
Overall, gardening has been found to support people's mental and physical health by decreasing stress and increasing physical activity. Making your own fertilizer at home is another way to ensure you are getting out in your garden on a daily or weekly basis, keeping yourself and your plants strong.
What everyone's saying
Hundreds of other gardeners raved over the fertilizer trick, with one person commenting, "Thanks for the tips!"
"Something useful to do with all of these weeds in my backyard," another wrote. "Thx!!!"
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