Make Your Own Weed Fertilizer In 2023!

Weeds Are Awesome! That's right, you heard it here first. Weeds can easily go from nuisance chore to star of the show with just a small amount of effort. We all have to weed our gardens anyways, we might as well benefit from it!
And benefit we will! No other plant types are able to extract and store the levels of elements and compounds that some weeds can. By making a fertilizer out of these specialized plants, we can unlock a nutrient potential that you simply can't buy at the store, for free!
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2023 is the Year of the Garden! We deserve it after the last little while, and growing our own food and self sufficiency is just the reward we need to get back on track!
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#fertilizer #gardening #gardeningtips

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

If you're just starting out gardening in 2023, please check out my Amazon Affiliate links below to get the right tools for the job! It doesn't cost you a cent, but this channel receives a small incentive for any items purchase through Amazon. Happy Gardening! Seedling Trays! Amazon Canada: amzn.to/3xiKAgi Amazon USA: amzn.to/3DWD2DR Amazon UK: amzn.to/3RRlrCQ pH/Water/Light Meter Amazon Canada: amzn.to/3yafmrV Amazon USA: amzn.to/3OKRW30 Amazon UK: amzn.to/3nvEIM4 Composting Tumbler! Amazon Canada: amzn.to/39CgtYw Amazon USA: amzn.to/39Dha49 Amazon UK: amzn.to/3yLsKVf Handy 12-piece Garden Tool Set!: Amazon Canada: amzn.to/3jsNIyk Amazon USA: amzn.to/2YZhFwx Amazon UK: amzn.to/3qapNql Hand Pruners: Amazon Canada: amzn.to/2YSIFxP Amazon USA: amzn.to/3q3Oftq Amazon UK: amzn.to/2YR3Xf8 Watering Can: Amazon Canada: amzn.to/39U4nIc Amazon USA: amzn.to/2YR3p94 Amazon UK: amzn.to/3oX7hAa Spray Gun: Amazon Canada: amzn.to/3aBxijm Amazon USA: amzn.to/3aL7UHS Amazon UK: amzn.to/3ruol1Z Gardening Gloves: Amazon Canada: amzn.to/2Lt6ZDx Amazon USA: amzn.to/3tzJ32t Amazon UK: amzn.to/3jpf1cU

[@williammatthews7735]

I thought about this a lot when i was a kid, but was always told i was dumb for it. Wouldnt you know that it turns out to be one of the good "old ways" that our culture is starting to inch back towards.

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

@@williammatthews7735 right William? Trust your gut!

[@cut--]

I used to composte "casually". But fertilizers, especially organic ones, have gotten so insanely expensive I'm nickel-and-diming every bit of green stuff in my garden and yard. I can't wait to try this weed-fermentation type of tea! Tyvm Jeff. 😉

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

100% the same here. More quality control, more economical, and always available. It really is the way to go! :-)

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

:-)

[@jacobspranger1267]

Stuff works amazing. Been using it for a couple of seasons now.

[@austin2842]

Nice. I leave my weeds in the bucket to rot down all the way into goo. To avoid collecting solids (and getting splashed), I just push a strainer down into the bucket and then scoop up the liquid that filters through it. It's a couple years old at this point, almost black, and smells exactly like cow manure. Flies love it too. 😀

[@thefarmingnurse]

Keep your birds nearby

[@donnakacz6460]

Hi Jeff. I'll definitely be starting a bucket for myself. Although my space is limited, my neighbor won't mind sharing. I guess she will think I'm a little strange asking for her weeds! Love and God bless ❤

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

Ha ha just make sure to keep the lid ON donna! 🙂

[@kimfalcon1263]

Lol just asked my neighbor for her weeds

[@anthonysinclair5721]

I thought gardeners were supposed to be strange! 😎

[@GALE_HOBBIES]

I love using Weeds for filling up my compost tumbler bin! It's a great way to gather free nitrogen and nutrients for compost and plants. Great vid as always Jeff!

[@avermontlife]

I appreciate how you've simplified the JADAM method for us. In JADAM, you add a handful of forest leaf litter to inoculate the fertilizer, and you can also use straight grass clippings for a nitrogen hit. You don't need to discard the material, you can essentially make this a perpetual fertilizer by continuing to add water and grass/weeds to the bucket all summer, and take out what you need once a week or so. Thanks Jeff!

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

Yeah, I've tried both... Honestly, the simpler the better! Cheers!

[@debichats8634]

Wild, lettuce, dandelions, borage, stinging nettle….lots of the plants you talked about are good herbs and make medicine for us. I understand using them if you’re not into herbal medicine but I was sitting here in Virginia wishing I had some of those weeds here so I could forage for them! They may be around here but not in my yard! 😢

[@volqueen]

I bought the seeds for almost all of them to make some medicinal tinctures. I live in Tennessee, somewhat close to your climate. I grew comfrey from both seeds and roots that I purchased. I planted them under fruit trees recently. The wild lettuce grows as well as plantain and dandelion here and everywhere.

[@tracysullivan174]

Fabulous! Thank You And As Always I Am Heading Out To Do This Now! You Have Really Helped Me So Much. Great Information And I Have Been Sharing Your Videos With My Family And Friends! I So Hope You Know Your Spreading A Lot Happiness. Learning Your Tips Has Really Made My Garden Produce Some Wonderful Food. Turning Weeds Into Something Great....Priceless

[@volqueen]

Love the turning of a chore into such a great benefit for the garden! I make tinctures with most of those good weeds so I am use to letting those kind grow a bit. Now, I am all stocked up for medicine and now I will grow to make fertilizer and pump up the compost.

[@CmdrSoCal]

3:57. Dandelion, chicory and amaranth are food. Most weeds are food for chickens.

[@tesswagner895]

Yay Jeff!!❤ I've been doing this for a couple of years now. Plants act like you just had a fresh rain. They love it. I usually just let mine soak until it skims over an the smell is intense, roughly a couple of weeks. I figure its long enough to kill the seeds off. Just make sure you designate certain buckets for this as it really imparts the smell into the plastic.

[@neelsscheepers8841]

i Always use a handfull of the old fermented weeds to kickstart the new batch. If you have weeds that pests don't like use them to as they help with pest controll.

[@deborahroberts1300]

Thanks very much . Youll find me the garden today doing the weeding!😥🤗🍁🌾

[@michaelmarchione3408]

This is such a great show and content you shared! Thanks Jeff! Take care!

[@tori8474]

Always learn something watching your videos! Thanks so much :)

[@southerncomfort971]

That certainly takes the "ugh" out of weeding the garden. normally I just toss the weeds into a pile for later application to my compost hoping the seeds die off or don't grow in the compost.

[@OakKnobFarm]

I've always wanted to try this. My fear has been the odor.... how funky is it? Things like fish emulsion are pretty hard for me to use, and I worried this might be the same! Another great weed to add would be mullein has a nice deep tap root and is a good dynamic accumulator

[@tracycouture3955]

Looking forward to learning ❤🌱

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

Thanks tracy! 🙂

[@EnglishLearnersHere]

Thank you so much for this wonderful video, Jeff! ❤

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

Thanks for watching!! :-)

[@d4rk4ngel132]

I have 3 buckets going so far. My wife and I have found many free fertilizers to use which is really great now.

[@carolbeers4208]

I pull weeds that grow so abundant after rains of winter put in my compost which is t he best. Put will try your receipe

[@nathanfrere2550]

Thank you for the video. How often should I use this?

[@simangelemariemkhize5831]

Love it! Thanks for sharing.

[@willsolarski8550]

After making sure it was on the up and up with the laws here I went to the coast yesterday so I could do this same thing with seaweed, but because of your video may break out another bucket :p Awesome content as always!

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

LOVE the seaweed fertilizer! Even better actually!

[@jamestyrer6067]

THANKS FOR THIS VIDEO. 👍 I DO ENJOY ALL YOUR VIDEOS

[@gretchenrodriquez7633]

Thank you.

[@PauletteHunter123]

Thank you so much for your great videos. I will be buying a bucket with a lid. Is there a video on how to make compose tea and its application.

[@saltyshieldmaiden]

Why have I never thought of this?! 🤯

[@LargoJacobs-gw1vq]

Great.Will see how good dis will do for cannibis..

[@margaret2222]

Oh my gosh, I just threw my weeds in the trash. I might have to go dig them out. I love this idea. Thank you so much for all your great videos.

[@MamaCARINGSGarden]

Thanks for sharing😊

[@Acts-1322]

Isn't there danger in using anaerobic noxious mixtures like this? I heard a lecture by a soil microbiologist that cautioned to never use anaerobic versions.

[@SarahMainit-el2lo]

I had seen people for and agains this method so I finally did a side by side comparison of a plant with plain water and a plant with weed tea…. The difference was significant! The one with just water started to die then I gave it weed tea and it revived it!

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

Exactly Sarah.... It's not just nutrients... Weed and compost teas are amazing!

[@sandraniemeyer4176]

Thank you for all you do. Very, very helpful resource. Question: how long does the weed fertilizer keep (sealed of course)? I was thinking of doing it on a yearly cyclical cycle-creating one year and using the next and so on. Having some stored could be beneficial in many respects. Again, thanks.

[@Steve197201]

This is a great idea! If I make this now, it won't be ready until the end of my growing season. Will I be able to let it ferment over the entire winter so I can use it next year, or will it go bad by then? Thanks for your informatve videos!

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

For sure Steve. I have mine sitting all year from September onwards for spring use. Once its broken down to a solution of elements and compounds, it changes very little if at all! 🙂

[@Steve197201]

@@TheRipeTomatoFarms Awesome! Thank you, Jeff!

[@leeannelachance2954]

This was going to be my question too. Glad I can save it for later use. My garden is just wild with all kind of weeds, and I’ve been procrastinating pulling them, but this may be the motivation I need to get it done!

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

@@leeannelachance2954 it definitely helps the motivation to get a free organic fertilizer in the end! Lol

[@staffylover1950]

Thanks 👍🏼

[@zan4110]

Will be making some...!

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

Supercharge your garden with it!

[@paulbraga4460]

see Learn Permaculture doing this differently and no bad smell - take a large drum and make holes at the bottom, put a basin or whatever to catch leacheate, put in the weeds and wet them up a bit and wait for the nutrient-rich drip at the bottom...blessings

[@robbieburns216]

This might have already been asked but how often would this brew be applied? Many thanks! GOD Bless!

[@lotushippy1091]

What is your opinion on this method as a fertilizer for I've been trying out different types of fertilizers and this is the first of its kind and a lot of what you have explained in the video makes so much sense . I am curious because cannabis is known as a weed is some country where it is evasive .

[@Joseph_Dredd]

Superb tip - hadnt thought of using weeds for a fertiliser. :)

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

Thanks Joseph, give it a try and let me know how your plants do!

[@billhoy2394]

This is 110 percent true it's what I use

[@miriamortiz9247]

I did this last year and used it mostly on pepper plants that were struggling. They took off after a couple of applications and gave me a very good harvest even past my first frost. My question to you is: when weeds that have gone to seed are submerged in water that long, do the seeds just deteriorate or can they still be viable? This year i bought mesh painters bags that fit over 5 gallon buckets and sift out just about everything from the brew. Just can't trust a strainer because the holes are too large.

[@itowmyhome797]

Thank you

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

Cheers! 🙂

[@lafuriashorts]

GREAT!!

[@Theokondak]

The plant you unroot at 1:40 is much more than a weed. It can be boiled and then eaten with some salt, lemon and olive oil. It is just one of my favorite salads. The water that is left after the boiling can be drunk or used to infuse a tea. It has many therapeutic properties as far as I know.

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

Definitely....in fact, MANY weeds are edible and have medicinal properties!

[@asheelterestini5454]

i just started a bucket of comfrey tea last week. Thanks for the info about using weeds, which are in abundance here. Looks like i need to make a new bucket of just the weeds.

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

Right on... How long do you leave the comfrey in the bucket for before it's ready?

[@asheelterestini5454]

@TheRipeTomatoFarms It's been a week. I was going to allow it to steep for a month, but we have 95°f temps for the next month, which may speed it along.

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

@@asheelterestini5454 yeah, same here. In my greenhouse, this stuff is cooking twice as fast these days!

[@sircorkysriley4904]

what about keeping some over the winter for the start of next season?? Can it freeze over the winter and still be good for next spring??

[@BostonDeadHead]

I have been doing this since the 90s. I find dandelions to pack the most punch. I also add banana peels. For the water part I recommend collecting rain water. Tap water has Chems that will kill the micro biom in your soil.

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

Dandelions rock.... Them and comfrey and nettles..... The best!

[@TheSturdy1]

I have a bunch of dándilions bumping up now I guess I have a use for em

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

One of the best for this!

[@fishlovme]

Can you put the fermented, gross looking weeds spread onto the harden somehow or do you have to toss that when you strain the water? Just wondering what to do with it when the process is done

[@305loucilou]

Is this also good for vegetables and fruits?

[@jonathan_r_lee92]

Merch Idea: a bucket with your logo on it. That way we can make our own Ripe Tomato Farm Weed Fertilizer.

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

Brilliant!!!!

[@royster3345]

When it gets low do you just add more water and plant material? Or start a mew bucket?

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

I start fresh..... I do them on rotation with 2-3 buckets going at any one time

[@JoseSilveira-newhandleforYT]

Great idea! Weeds grow all around my neighborhood in large quantities and varieties - when summer is over, they regrow and I can easily get more than I will ever need. Is there a time limit to store this anaerobic fertilizer? It will be easier to make a bigger batch, than a few smaller ones.

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

Same here! No time limit...once it breaks down, its just elements and compounds. I store in in bottle and it doesn't seem to ever go bad.

[@JoseSilveira-newhandleforYT]

@@TheRipeTomatoFarms Thanks! That helps 🙂

[@junelowther9611]

How would you contrast weed fertilizer and compost tea? Would you use them differently?

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

Hi june. For me, they are completely different beasts. Weed fertilizers are about nutrients and compost teas are about upping the microbe and soil fauna levels.

[@junelowther9611]

Hi, Jeff- thanks for your reply- Great video. After many years of gardening in fertile clay soil, I’m now growing in almost pure sand- I’m finding that the trees and plants seem to mine nutrients from down deep and their leaves are the best remedy for the low fertility of the native soil.

[@karenkouassi7378]

Are there any weeds to avoid in this process? Are Dallisgrass and crabgrass OK to use?

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

I haven't found a bad one yet!

[@user-te9cz6ls7b]

Can I use this for weed?

[@ronevergrow8319]

Im trying to grow 100 square feet of Cannabis with a 0% ROI outdoors next year in northern California. This will work great for Veg but for flowering i will need a higher phosphorus input, any suggestions for a almost free phosphorus organic input ? Somebody suggested making a leaf-mold concoction something like this but use leaf mold, whole fruit, wild flowers and banana peels ( and if i have a few extra bucks dump a small bag of bat guano in it to cook ) ?

[@ronevergrow8319]

P,S, I Subscribed

[@alfonsomedina7013]

Good question

[@coldslugger8219]

Comment number 100!

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

Yesssssss!

[@charmainemrtnz]

Does it smell bad? How about Comfrey ? ?

[@Rosemary-lg8sf]

Oh no😮😮😮😮 wild lettuce is a medicine 😢

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

Yeah, medicine for my plants!

[@saltyshieldmaiden]

@@TheRipeTomatoFarmslol

[@TheOneLifeRider]

That looked like groundsel, not dandelion btw :)

[@SpringNotes]

Isn't this pretty much the same concept popularized by JADAM liquid fertilizer ?

[@nchestercountynews4955]

I've asked in the past "Why the lid?" is it necessary. no leaf mold?

[@fillmorehillmore8239]

Anaerobic. No air allowed.

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

Exactly what fillmore just said. Its an anaerobic process....we don't want air exchange.

[@nchestercountynews4955]

@@TheRipeTomatoFarms i have huge trashcans that i use with no lids

[@LeftEarth2]

I clearly misread the video title. 420 😅

[@stephenhope7319]

Nice video, I use this method constantly. Maybe I missed something in the video? But I always pour the left-over slurry into a compost pile for further reduction. Thanks.

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

Yup, no sense in wasting it!

[@gnawbabygnaw]

Ohhh. THAT kinda weed.

[@vansgardens2304]

I do the same thing. I call it revenge juice

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

Ha ha yessssss!

[@CollinCook-em4qg]

So what you’re saying is I don’t need kelp, shit, lemons, ash or any of that extra shit in there?

[@heidi22209]

Do you need a lid?

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

100% yes, you need a lid.

[@heidi22209]

@@TheRipeTomatoFarms thanks boss!

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

@@heidi22209 :-)

[@gelatinous6915]

I could smell that thumbnail through my computer. Something about liquid weed fertilizer sounds so uniquely awful that I can't even describe it.

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

Ha ha ha, yep! Once you smell it... you know. Lol

[@johnroehsler6440]

You need to the solution with NPK test kit as I did and there was no N or P just a tad of K by the darkness of the test kit. The mixture is chlorophyll.

[@steve5013]

My weeds are growing good, they don't need any fertilizer

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

Ha ha I'm in that club too!

[@photon434]

Great Quickie Jeff! I learned all kinds of stuff. I was wondering if you could compare and contrast weed fertilizer vs. compost tea. A big pro for compost tea is that it only takes a few days. Thanks! 🥬

[@TheRipeTomatoFarms]

Thanks so much. I'm my mind, they are two different beasts. Weed Fertilizer is for nutrients, whereas compost teas are for microbes. Two very different goals when using each.