Do you wish to boost the growth of your potted plants? Here are five easy-to-make organic fertilisers that can help you grow healthy fruits and vegetables at home—organically!

1. Trichoderma biofertiliser Visakhapatnam-based urban gardener Bangaru Jhansi prepares unique trichoderma-enriched biofertiliser using 100 kg of cow dung, 10 kg of neem powder, and two kg of trichoderma viride.

“Mix the ingredients, sprinkle some water over the mixture, cover it with a cotton cloth, and keep it in the shade. After seven days, white-coloured good bacteria will have formed. Directly mix the compost with cow dung and add it to the soil,” she explains.

2. Fish-based fertiliser Bangaru also prepares a unique fish amino acid biofertiliser. To make this, take one kg of sea fish and one kg of jaggery. Mix them in a terracotta pot or plastic container using a stick. Cover the container with a cotton cloth and keep it in the shade.

“Every morning and evening, stir it in a clockwise direction. The fertiliser will be ready in 15 days. Take 10 ml of fish amino acid and dilute it in five litres of water. Spray it on the leaves and under soil roots of the plants,” she adds.

3. Fish and drumstick leaves Chennai-based Dr Naveen Kumar prepares a unique organic fertiliser using fish and drumstick leaves to boost plant growth.

“Take one kg of fish in a clean plastic container and mix it with one kg of jaggery, a handful of drumstick leaves, and two well-ripened bananas. Close the lid and keep it in the shade,” he says.

“The fertiliser will be ready to use after 21 to 27 days. Rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, this fertiliser helps boost flowering and fruiting in plants. Apply it once every 15 days,” Dr Naveen advises.

4. Mustard & neem cake Odisha-based Jayanti Sahoo advises making fertiliser by mixing one kg mustard cake and 250 grams of neem cake powder in 5 litres of water. Stir the mixture, then keep it in the shade for five days.

“Mix one litre of this liquid fertiliser in 10 litres of water and give the diluted fertiliser to the plant every 15 days. This liquid fertiliser helps boost flowering and fruiting in trees,” she says.

5. Watermelon rinds Surat-based urban gardener Anupama Desai suggests using watermelon rinds as fertiliser. “Chop the rinds into small pieces and fill a plastic bucket with twice as much water as rinds. Cover the bucket and keep it in the shade. Stir the mixture once every day.”

“The liquid fertiliser will be ready in about three days. Filter the mixture and strain the water. Now you can either apply the fertiliser directly to the plants or mix it with water in a ratio of 1:1,” she adds.