Homemade Plant Food for Lawns

Recipe

• The most common recipe for homemade plant food involves one can each of beer and soda (not light or diet, and with no artificial sweeteners) and ½ cup each of ammonia, mouthwash and dish soap (not rated for anti-bacterial properties). Stir everything together, and pour it into a garden sprayer with a 10- to 20-gallon holding capacity. A variation of the recipe actually includes fertilizer: a can of beer plus 1 cup each of ammonia, dish soap, molasses or corn syrup, and liquid lawn fertilizer, again mixed in a 10- or 20-gallon garden sprayer.

Purpose of Ingredients

• There are a lot of ingredients in the homemade recipe not commonly associated with lawn care, but each has its own purpose. Beer is fermented and so has microbes in it that help decay and convert debris and other material into elements for the grass. The sugar in soda contains the same type of microbes, which is why you cannot use diet soda. Ammonia provides nitrogen, which is a key ingredient to help lawns grow quickly and green. Most mouthwashes contain alcohol, which serves as like a fungicide. The dish soap helps the mixture stick to the soil and blades of grass for better absorption. Molasses and corn syrup both provide sugars similar to soda, and molasses also contains a lot of the key element iron.

Application

• Whichever recipe you decide on, apply the homemade fertilizer in the early morning, before the sun and temperature really get on the rise. This will allow the material a number of hours to set in and absorb before evaporation begins. You can also apply at night, after the sun has begun to set, but applying at night leaves the risk of fungal growth, because the excess fertilizer does not evaporate. If you go with the second recipe, water your lawn very well after application to help it set in. Apply the homemade food every three weeks during the growing season, from early spring to early fall.

Warnings

• While these ingredients make sense, the recipe has not been tested and confirmed as having the same effects as professional plant food. These ingredients do not allow for any differences among species of grass in regards to the amount and type of nutrition it provides. Use a homemade plant food at your own risk.