# General Topics > Plants, Plant Care & Plant Identification >  Any good SAFE homemade fertilizers?

## Maxim S.

I'm starting my 40 gallon X-Long build and want to do sort of what this guy did: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eX2Tb5NLSIQ only on a larger scale, and without using the walls. In one of the comments he wrote that he used a fertilizer meant for orchids every watering (so everyday). Since I plan on housing dart frogs I don't want to use any harmful chemicals that could cause illness or even death. Sadly, I don't know anything when it comes to gardening and this is why I'm calling on you guys. Is there anything safe and natural I can mix in with my water when I spray the moss down? I know crushes eggshells are good for regular plants but is there anything I should know when it comes to moss? Thanks guys.

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## Lynn

IMO - I would never use fertilizer... regardless what it says about safety   :Frog Surprise: 
But -- I am a worrywart !

Your plants will do just fine in ABG ( which is a soil mixture specifically for this ) 

Here is a common recipe:
2 parts tree fern fiber, 1 part peat moss, 2 parts coco fiber, 1 part charcoal, and 2 parts orchid bark.
I would add very crushed dried sphagnum moss to this as well.

pre-made ABG
ABG, Atlanta Botanical Gardens Mix | Reptile Substrate | Josh's Frogs

NEHERP's mix is a little bit different --- and excellent -- as well  :Smile: 
New England Herpetoculture LLC - Vivarium Substrates
http://www.neherpetoculture.com/images/abgmix1lg.jpg

This type of soil mixture is perfect for the pants that are chosen for a PDF enclose.

Once the frogs start pooping  , good lights, water --------->  and the plants will be just fine  :Big Grin: 

 :Butterfly:

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## Maxim S.

Thanks for the links, very helpful. I found a gardening website that writes if you take weeds and grass clippings and stuff and ferment them in a bucket of water for a few weeks that creates a natural liquid fertilizer. Do you think that would be safe? I don't have any frogs, I would probably give a month or two for the moss to grow in before I got them anyways.

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## Paul

you could potentially introduce man made chemicals or poisons into the tank using grass and weed clippings from your yard. My town drives around and night and sprays for Mosquitos... So I wouldn't use anything from my area in a tank unless it was cleaned and bleached very well.

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## Maxim S.

> My town drives around and night and sprays for Mosquitos...


Wow, I wish my town did the same thing... yeah I can see where you're coming from. I think I'm just going to use the substrate mixture Lynn gave me in that case. Thanks guys.

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## bill

It's moss. There's no need to fertilize it. It will grow, just not as fast. Let it take it's time and grow. If you are a beginner at this, you really need to take the time and learn the basics before confusing things with trying to accelerate a growth cycle of the tank. Keeping parameters in the tank to be beneficial for growth and stable would be priority one  :Smile: 

But the answer to your question is that, yes, there are safe fertilizers you can use. 


Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela

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## irThumper

I know this convo is particularly about tank set ups, but how about safe ferts for outdoor applications?  So many frogs are being lost due to all the chemicals being used in the environment  :Frown:   Is fish emulsion safe for use around frogs? I've heard it benefits plants, but then again we live in an apt and the neighbors wouldn't appreciate the smell; I don't want the landlords making us take out our micro-eco frog habitat!  :Frog Surprise:

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## bill

I am sure that there are some home recipes out there, but to be honest, for outdoors, nothing beats a good organic compost. 


Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela

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## irThumper

As long as it doesn't have a smell anyone will complain about... lol. I'll have to look into worm castings too, that would be a good amendment as long as it's pure and has no chemicals added.

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## bill

Worm castings are good. So is bat guano, but they do make soil acidic. This is fine for most plants because they like some acidity in their soil, but there are many plants, like hydrangeas and some ferns that prefer a more alkaline soil. Actually, hydrangeas will go either way, it all depends on what color you want the flowers to come out. 


Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela

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