 Hi there and welcome to Little Garden on the Prairies. So that you know that you can make your very own fertilizer with your own garden compost, garden plants and even your weeds from your garden. This is something that is 100% organic and completely free. So these fertilizers are a great pick-me-up for your plants come mid-summer when the soil fertility is getting low. And just like me, I think they enjoy a spot of tea every once in a while. So let me show you a couple different ways that I have made fertilizers for my garden. So a quick and easy method that you can use to make a DIY fertilizer is using some of your finished compost. So what I'm doing here is I'm just sifting through my compost pile here trying to just kind of break it down just a little bit finer. And from there I am going to collect probably half a pail full of this beautiful finished compost. And I'm using a, I'm not sure what size this pail is, probably about a four gallon pail. So I'm going to fill it up about halfway and then we're going to just top it up with some rainwater. So if you've never made compost tea before, there are a couple things that they are beneficial for. And that is to improve the nutrients in your soil and to help increase the population of fungi and nematodes in your plants, which helps defend them against a variety of different microorganisms. So by using the tea on your plants, you can help them grow faster, increase yields, improve their overall health, and decrease the number of pest diseases that they may experience. So I keep this covered up with a lid and keep it under my potting table on every day when I come out to the garden and give it a stir. It should be ready to use within 24 to 36 hours. So the next DIY fertilizer I'm going to show you here is one that I make with a comfrey plant. So the comfrey is a hardy perennial that grows quickly and easily. It has beautiful flowers that the bees love. And best of all, it can provide a completely free nutrient-rich source of fertilizer, which you can use all season long. So I have a plant here that I am just literally just ripping all the leaves off right now. You pretty much cannot kill these. They are so hardy. So I am going to be filling up my pail here about halfway up with a bunch of these comfrey leaves. And then we are going to top that up again with some rainwater. So once you got your container all filled up with water, you just want to try and press down those leaves so that they are fully submerged in the water. You can also use some kind of weight like rocks. I have a couple bricks here that I placed on top of the plants and it just kind of keeps them below the water and helps with faster breaking down of the leaves. So this I am going to also cover with a lid and it is going to sit for a lot longer. This is going to be like a 30-day method. So this will sit under my potting table for a few weeks before we will check on it again. So as I mentioned earlier, the compost tea that I made is ready to use within a few days. So I am just going to now use a sieve to kind of filter through this compost into my another jug and then we will get it ready to feed to the plants. So this strainer that I picked up from the dollar store works really well for this method. So I have it just sitting over another empty pail and just slowly pouring my tea mixture into this pail. So it will sift out all the dirt and then we will leave us with a nice pot full of steeped compost tea. So this batch of compost tea isn't very strong so I don't need to dilute it. I am going to fill my watering can here right to the top with this mixture and just start applying it right to the plants. So the first thing I am going to address is my cherry trees. I feel like they need a bit of fertilizer, a little boost and so I am giving them each a nice little drink of the tea here. I also have a five different kinds of squashes growing out here in my garden. So I am going to give them each a little boost with this compost tea as well. Then after I have done giving them a drink with the tea, I like to follow up with a good watering with some more rainwater just to further dilute that fertilizer and help it quickly absorb into the soil and into the plants roots. And with all that extra compost that is left over, I walk around to some of my plants and just add it around the edges. Here I am just adding it to my goji berry plant. Then I just take my container and my sieve and just give everything a good rinse and just pour it right back into my compost pile that is still breaking down. Just adding it back in with along with that rainwater just adds to the composting process. Okay, so it has been about a month since we started this comfrey tea here. And it is time to strain it and we can use it now to fertilize our garden. And it smells horrendous. So you really want to try not to spill any on yourself. I've got some bricks in here that was holding the comfrey down, but I'm just going to try and pour it off now. Most of the comfrey has broken down. It's just small particles. It's just kind of slimy. So we'll see how much we got here. Try not to splatter it on your feet because you'll have to wash them. So you can see there's not a lot of particles left here. It's pretty much broken completely down. A little bit of slime left at the bottom. We've got a pretty good supply here of comfrey tea now. This can go right into the compost that will help break down the compost. So this stuff is pretty concentrated so you don't need a whole lot in your watering can. Just going to put about like a 1 to 10 ratio here for now. Not really too concerned about exact measurements, but got a couple inches here in the bottom. And then the rest will fill up with rainwater. This here is my comfrey plant that is after I hacked it right down to nothing has come back even bigger and better. The bees love the flowers on the comfrey. I've seen a lot of them here. So if brewing up a stinky tea isn't really your thing or you don't actually have comfrey growing in your garden, you can also use other things such as grass clippings and different kinds of weeds such as dandelions, different foliage taken from your garden. Any kind of green plants can be used in making a tea as well. Another few things that I like to do with my comfrey if you have it is to use it as a mulch. You can chop it up and dress it around the edges of your plants. It'll help add nutrients to the soil. It'll keep the moisture in. And it just makes a great slow release fertilizer around your plants. You can also take your tea, the comfrey tea, your compost tea and use it as a foliar spray on your plants. I'll be showing you how I've done that in upcoming videos so please stay tuned. So I hope you enjoyed watching how I make a couple different free DIY fertilizers for my garden and that you will give it a try for your garden as well. This is a great way to feed your vegetables, your flowers and even plants growing in your house. Please hit that like button and I'd love to hear your comments below. If you haven't already done so please hit subscribe so you don't miss out on future videos coming to my channel. Thanks for watching and happy gardening.