Bonnefide Garden Store

Soil Soup

Don't spend money on liquid fertilizers when you can make your own.

Soil Soup is a liquid fertilizer and is easy to make. The process dates back to ancient times.

It's made out of mature compost, turned into a soup.   It's a mild, organic liquid fertilizer that provides live organisms that improve the soil and doesn't burn your plants like store bought fertilizers.

Soil soup is rich in microorganisms that are highly beneficial to your plants. Since it's a liquid fertilizer,  nutrients and minerals are readily absorbed by your plants, flowers or garden vegetable plants.

All you have to do is soak compost in water for a few days and the compost will give off nutrients and minerals to the water, which is then drained off for use in feeding all of your garden plants.

What You'll Need:

Mature compost ready for use. You do have a compost bin or pile, don't you?

Cheese cloth, panty hose, old socks, clean shop rags or any other tightly woven fabric works fine.

2 metal buckets or containers with lids.  We use Kitty Litter buckets.

Here's how we make Soil Soup:

Fill a bucket one-third full of mature compost.

Add purified water to near top of the bucket. Rain water, well water, or dechlorinated water (see below) can be used. Do not use chlorinated tap water. Chlorine is bad for plants.

Let this "soup" mixture sit for three or four days to a week or 10 days, stirring each day.

Strain the soup through old pantyhose, socks, cheesecloth or other tightly porous fabric into another bucket.

Take the remaining compost solids and return them to your compost bin or pile.

Dilute the soupy liquid with water so it's the color of a watered down soup or weak tea.

That's it!

Feed your indoor plants soil soup according to each plant's requirements (check seed packets and gardening books for details).

If you have chlorinated water (or don't know for sure)

Here are some ways to de-chlorinate water

1. Fill a kettle or large pot with tap water. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Keep the water boiling for 20 minutes. Cool to room temperature before using it to water your plants.

2. Pour tap water into a bucket or several buckets Sit them outside somewhere. The chlorine gas will evaporate from the water in 24 to 48 hours. You just need to wait.

3. If you're in a hurry fill 1-gallon or 5-gallon containers with tap water. Add commercial dechlorinator according to the packaging instructions. This will neutralize the chlorine on contact, and the water can be used immediately for your plants.