Around the Yard

How to Use Gelatin as Plant Food

By: Tricia Craven Worley

To keep seedlings healthy and growing, feed them gelatin! Any flavor is okay as long as it’s sweetened with sugar and not artificial sweeteners.

The gelatin contains the nutrient nitrogen, which helps plants form green leaves. The sugar actually feeds beneficial microbes already in the soil that help young plants defend against disease causing organisms. Here’s how to go about it:

  • Fill the flats with seed starting mix.
  • Sow the seeds in the flats.
  • Use an old saltshaker to lightly sprinkle powdered gelatin over the seedlings.
  • Press the seeds and gelatin into the soil.
  • Cover with a thin layer of starting mix.
  • Mist the soil and cover with wet paper towels.
  • Place the flats in a warm area (around 65° F to 75° F).
  • Keep the towels moist by occasionally misting them, and check the flats daily for sprouts.
  • As soon as you see growth, remove the paper towels.
  • After the plants take off, feed them liquid fertilizer with a teaspoon of gelatin powder mixed into each gallon.

Watch this video to find out more.

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  • Katie Moe Says:
    April 8th, 2018 at 12:47 pm

    I have a small spider plant that someone gave to me several months ago and it is green but not growing at all. If I have to re-plant it, what kind of soil do I buy. I also have a pathos philadendrum the seems to be root bound. I trimmed the long leaves that needed to be put in water to root . I can’t seem to get them to fill into the soil . I had no way to get the roots to grow down. I laid them on top of the soil and put a very wet paper towel on top of the roots. I never let the towel get too dry . Now those same starters are producing leaves but that side of of pot is not filling in.
    what do I do??? will gelatin work for my problem ?
    I

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How to Use Gelatin as Plant Food