Recipe: Organic liquid tea fertiliser for Australian natives plants - With Lawn Clippings
When it comes to nurturing Australian native plants, using the right fertiliser is key. Many of our beautiful natives have adapted to thrive in soils that are low in phosphorus, making them sensitive to standard fertilisers. Fortunately, creating your own organic liquid tea fertiliser at home is an excellent, eco-friendly and above all FREE way to provide your garden with nutrients tailored to these unique native species.
You can make your tea out of any organic matter but one of the best ingredients for making liquid tea fertiliser, especially for Australian natives, is fresh lawn clippings. Lawn clippings are naturally high in nitrogen and potassium, both of which are essential nutrients for plant growth. Nitrogen supports healthy foliage growth, while potassium promotes flowering, fruiting and overall plant health. Lawn clippings are lower in phosphorus, making them a safe choice for sensitive native plants like waratahs, grevilleas, and banksias.
Another great option is Australian native plant clippings or prunings, if you think about it, in nature they decompose into the soil eventually feeding the plants around them, so using your clipping in a liquid feed is perfect for feeding your natives.
Personally i feed my natives twice a year for optimum growth, once in spring and again in autumn. Read more on when to feed Your native gardens
How to Make Liquid Tea Fertiliser
Creating your own liquid feed tea is a simple process that requires minimal equipment, and it can be made using materials you likely already have at home. Here’s how to do it:
Materials
Fresh lawn clippings (Not treated with chemicals)
A medium - large bucket or container
Water (preferably rainwater)
Cloth or old tote bag
Optional: a fish tank bubbler to speed up the fermentation process
Process:
Fill your cloth/bag: Start by filling your Cloth or old tote bag with your fresh lawn clippings and tie it off and place into the bucket.
Add Water: Once your organic matter is in the bucket, fill it with water until the clippings are fully submerged. It’s important to leave a bit of space at the top, as the mixture will ferment over the coming days.
Fermentation Time: Allow the mixture to sit for at least one to two weeks. During this time, the lawn clippings will break down, releasing their nutrients into the water. If you’d like to speed up the process, consider adding a fish tank bubbler to oxygenate the water. This helps promote aerobic fermentation, which can accelerate the release of nutrients and reduce unpleasant odours.
Strain the Liquid: After a week or two, your liquid tea will be ready. Remove your grass clippings from the bucket and add to a compost pile.
Dilute and Apply: The resulting liquid is a concentrated fertiliser, so it’s important to dilute it with water before applying it to your plants. A good rule of thumb is to mix one part liquid tea to ten parts water. Once diluted, pour the solution directly onto the soil around your plants, taking care to avoid the foliage.
You can use this exact same process with other organic inputs such as plant prunings, weeds, compost, manures, the list is endless, but if your looking to apply them to Australian native plants, be sure the input is low in phosphorus.
Free Fertiliser! What more could you want, and what more could you native garden want!
