Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will affect your garden this year. Whether you have a small victory garden or own a major farm, know that futures for urea fertilizer have jumped 32% since the invasion began Feb. 24, while diammonium phosphate, or DAP, futures are up 13%, according to Gro-intelligence.com. Gro analyzes more than 650 trillion data points from 40,000-plus sources to provide insights and forecasts into 15,000 unique agricultural products.
According to Yara.com, a Norwegian chemical company with its largest business in nitrogen fertilizer, nature struggles to replenish the nutrients in the soil. Without fertilizers, Yara adds, important nutrients are removed from the soil. Nutrients follow the crop and end up at the dinner table. If the soil is not replenished with nutrients through fertilizing, crop yields will deteriorate over time. The key word here is “over time.”
It's anyone’s guess what kind of time our current world situation will last.
The Farmer’s Almanac offers the eight following DIY fertilizers to consider:
- Grass clippings
- Weeds
- Compost of kitchen scraps
- Manure from cows, horses, chickens, and even bats
- Tree leaves
- Coffee grounds
- Eggshells
- Banana peels.
Of that list, coffee grounds rises to the top as easiest. To use coffee grounds as fertilizer, simply sprinkle them onto the soil surrounding your plants. Coffee grounds can also help attract worms and decrease the concentrations of heavy metals in the soil.
Experts agree that plants must get established before fertilizing. Seedlings and transplants need time to adjust to the outdoors. Plus, a burst of early nutrients can shock tender roots.
Call Donovan Arborists for expert advice on caring for the trees and shrubs you plant this year. Then start drinking. Coffee.
