A DIY Garden Fertilizer That'll Make Use Of Common Leftover Kitchen Scraps

Whether you grow your own cucumbers or buy them from the store, consider holding onto any scraps left over after eating them if you have a garden. Some people peel their cucumbers, while others eat the peel and all. Even if you only have the ends of a batch of cucumbers, you can use them to help fertilize your garden. Once you discover how easy this is and the benefits cucumber fertilizer has, you might start peeling them just to keep those scraps, even if you usually don't do so. You may also want to make a DIY cucumber plant trellis for your garden so you can grow even more of them.

You're also getting a two-for-one with your cucumber scraps. The first thing we suggest is making cucumber water with the peels, and there are a couple of reasons for this. Your plants are going to find cucumber water just as refreshing as you do, in the form of a fertilizer tea. Once you're done making your water, you'll still have those scraps left. You can toss them into your compost bin so they can keep doing good things for your garden in the future.

There are two main benefits of making cucumber water for your garden: It not only works as a fertilizer tea but it may also help deter mites from plants thanks to the bitter cucurbitacin compound present in cucumbers. The best part? It's easy to make. You put a handful of cucumber peels and ends (it doesn't matter what variety) in a glass jar with some water, put the lid on it, and let it sit for a few days. Five days is a good amount of time for the cucumber to sit. Keep it in an area with minimal natural light (to prevent algae growth in the container), like a dark cupboard. After five days, strain the cucumber parts from the water. Toss the solids into your compost and pour the greenish water in a spray bottle or into a container you can pour from (which you choose depends on whether you're battling mites or fertilizing your plants).

If you're battling mites, spray the cucumber water directly on affected plants. If you're fertilizing your garden, pour the concoction around the plants you want to fertilize and repeat every three weeks. Why is this beneficial? Well, cucumbers contain small amounts of phosphorus and potassium, which play a role in supporting plant growth. In fact this tea is a wonderful way to add a little potassium without using wood ash. You won't have to worry about diluting the tea, as there's not enough concentrated nitrogen to cause burn. If you have a hearty crop of cucumbers, try placing a few crunchy slices on your patio to deter wasps, too.