Even us die hard foragers enjoy the pleasures that gardening provides us. Believe it or not, there are actually some weeds that grow that we’d rather not see. For example, there’s only so much knotgrass we can use yet it can take over areas in ways that can even leave us frustrated. There are even weeds that make an appearance in our gardens that serve no use to a forager such as the buttercup. These plants, and others, made into a weed tea is an incredible way to put them to good use. Some people like to compost the weeds they pull but if those weeds have seeds then ultimately this is not a good solution.Weed tea fertilizer is one way to kill them and effectively recycle nutrients into the garden. When you use a variety of weeds to make your weed tea fertilizer, you will create a nutrient-dense tea that your garden and indoor plants will totally thrive on.
Making Weed Tea
The process of making weed tea is simple, but remember, this tea is strictly for your garden or house plants and is never to be consumed by people or animals.
- First, get a large non-metallic bucket or other container with a lid. Place the gathered weeds (leaves, roots and flowers) in the bucket.
- Add water until all plant matter is covered and there is at least 2 cm (1″) of water over the weeds; then cover the bucket with a tight fitting lid.
- Let the bucket sit for about four weeks (preferably not in direct sunshine).
- Stir it (or shake it) every four or five days, but beware; it will not smell pleasant.
The fermentation process is wicked on the nasal passages, but do remember that this will become the ultimate fertilizer. Do not get any of this mixture on your clothing because it will stain. Use gloves to protect your hands from staining as well.
After four weeks, strain the plant matter out of the liquid using cheesecloth or a strainer. The liquid is what you need to save.
What you have now is a concentrated fertilizer. Before using this on your garden, it must be diluted. Dilute as follows: 2 parts weed tea to 10 parts water. Never use this directly onto vegetables that are ready to be harvested.
How Often Should You Fertilize?
Garden Plants: There are a large variety of plants and there is no “one answer” for this. It is best to research this or call your local garden centre.
Houseplants: According to the University of Illinois, plants should be fertilized only when they are actively growing. Most houseplants will not need to be fertilized more than once every 1 to 3 months, between March and September. During the short days of winter, plants experience a rest period and usually need very little or no additional fertilizer.
Shelf Life
Be sure to use your weed tea within the same growing season you made it, and the faster you use it, the better for your garden.
What’s great about making a weed tea is that it’s a win-win situation. You’re taking unwanted weeds and transforming them into a rich, liquid fertilizer that will nourish your garden.
Free fertilizer….seriously? WOW!! Thank you so much!
Yes – and it is that easy!!
Oh dear! I used the idea of killing the weed seeds in water but hadn’t read your blog!
Two problems – the set that was 4 weeks old has gone straight on the garden & I didn’t stir it while it was fermenting, and the second – I’ve just emptied the 2 week one onto the garden too. Have I just seeded it with weeds??
Possibly….??
This is so amazing! Thank you thank you!
Can tea be made from partially decomposed weeds? I pulled buttercups and put in a big pile a month ago?
For weed tea…. does not matter.
Hi Karen,
I am about to make weed tea.
Are there other weeds besides buttercup and knotgrass that can be use for weed tea?
Ela
Toss in dandelions and plantain – – they are very high in nutrients!
Are you saying that all weeds can be used as fertilizer in the weed tea??
Wow
Ela
According to the research I have done, it indicates that!
My husband and I used weed tea multiple times this past season. We actually used it as the base for our compost tea (we do biological gardening). I wanted to share a tip, for times when we don’t want to wait four weeks (or don’t think we’ll be able to keep stirring it for whatever reason). You can speed the process up simply by boiling it instead of fermenting it in the sun.
Bring the weeds and water just to a boil, then take off the stove and let steep for a few hours—just like making regular tea to drink! 
It’s a lot easier on the nose, too. Not that it smells nice, but it won’t knock you over.
We have a small stand of trees by our house and the edge of the woods is nothing but big, tall weeds, especially goldenrod. Since we’re not really foragers (it would be good to learn, but we have more important things on our plate at this time), these all go straight into the weed tea, along with the dandelions, plantains and pineapple weeds that are all over our yard and driveway. Oh, and quack grass. A very nutritious fertilizer indeed!
Thanks for the tip about not putting it on plants we’re about to harvest. We never worried about that with compost tea, but I expect to do straight weed tea for our indoor plants soon, so that’s good to know.
This is such a great idea, i tried this out at our new place as a faster alternative to the worm farm we had. I am so happy with how healthy everything in the gaarden is. I have been putting it through the garden hose attachment so that it sprays and dilutes and I do the garen veggies and lawn all at the same time! the veggies are going excellent and it is keeping the Lawn Mowing man very busy!
thanks for the idea, happy gardening!!
I made some before reading your post so did not cover it. Is that a problem or is the cover because of the smell?
Smell!!!
Funny – I just dumped a bucket of weed tea because the smell was so bad, I thought I had done something wrong! Couldn’t get the smell out of my nose for hours. Will try it again now that I know it’s part of the process.
Have seen a drier method where the green material is weighted down in a sealed container, without added water. Some sugar speeds the process up. They release a very concentrated, but not smelly, plant fertiliser. I have a plastic dustbin just going underway, with a tap at the bottom.
In your instructions, you say to use the weed tea in the season in which it is made. Due to ill health, I was not able to do that so the tea is now about 18 months old. Is it possible to still use it and, if not, why no? Does it go poisonous with age?
I would start from fresh. After that length of time it could cause more harm than good!!