In order for the crops in your home garden to thrive and develop robustly, they require additional nutrients, which can be provided through the use of fertilizers. For those seeking organic options, incorporating banana peels or eggshells into your garden can be an effective approach.
By utilizing these natural fertilizers, you can promote healthy plant growth without exposing them to potentially harmful chemicals found in commercial fertilizers.
Banana peels
Utilizing banana peels in your compost pile is a beneficial practice, but it’s also worth noting that they can serve as a natural fertilizer independently.
Due to their significant potassium content and rapid degradation, banana peels are an ideal choice. Moreover, they don’t create an unpleasant smell and can act as a repellent to pests. When cultivating roses, consider adding banana peels to the soil around the base of the plant. These peels contain vital minerals that roses require to thrive. As the peels decompose through the action of worms and microorganisms in the soil, they deliver vital nutrients directly to the roots of the roses.
By feeding your roses with banana peels, you’ll see an increase in blossoms and a flourishing plant. The beautiful flowers that result will also have a longer lifespan.
Coffee grounds
Coffee is not only a morning pick-me-up but can also be beneficial for your garden. After brewing, you can set aside the leftover coffee grounds to dry. These dried grounds are rich in magnesium, nitrogen, and potassium, essential nutrients for healthy plant growth. Acid-loving plants like blueberry bushes, roses, tomatoes, and azaleas will particularly benefit from using coffee grounds as a natural fertilizer.
In case you live in an area with alkaline soil, using coffee grounds as a soil amendment can help adjust the pH level. Nonetheless, note that coffee grounds can alter the pH balance of your soil, which could impact
plants requiring a specific nutrient balance. As an alternative, you can mix coffee grounds with other organic materials like potato peels, and grass clippings, and add them to your compost pile to decompose naturally.
Eggshells
If you’re looking to provide your plants with a calcium boost, don’t throw away those eggshells! After cooking your eggs, rinse out the shells and let them dry. This will prevent them from attracting animals to your compost pile.
Once dry, break the shells into smaller pieces and add them to the soil when planting tomatoes. If you’ve already planted your tomatoes, you can still benefit from the calcium in eggshells by crushing them up and sprinkling them around the base of the plants.
In addition to their use as a soil amendment, eggshells can also be an effective organic solution for controlling snails and slugs. To use them in this way, crush the shells into pieces larger than those you’d add to the soil. Sprinkle the crushed shells around plants that are often targeted by these pests, such as hostas. Eggshells will work similarly to diatomaceous earth, repelling or killing the snails and slugs without relying on harsh chemicals.
Fish scraps
One way to enrich the nutrient content of your garden soil is by burying fish scraps. When you filet a fish, hold onto the bones and remaining scraps after cooking. These can be pureed with water and milk to create a powerful fertilizing mixture.
Another tip is to avoid dumping aquarium water down the drain when it’s time for a cleaning. Instead, use the discarded fish tank water to hydrate your garden beds and potted plants. The fish waste in the water contains valuable vitamins that can benefit your plants without any extra effort on your part.
Powdered milk
Don’t discard powdered milk that has exceeded its expiration date. Instead, mix one part of the milk with four parts of water to create a concoction that contains calcium, proteins, sugars, and vitamin B.
This mixture can prove beneficial for your plants’ overall health. If your plants appear stunted, they may benefit from this powdered milk mixture. Additionally, milk can aid in treating blossom end rot and diseased pepper plants, squash, and tomatoes.
Teabags
Tea bags can be used as a natural fertilizer even if you’re not a coffee drinker, as they can provide similar benefits to the soil as coffee grounds. To utilize tea bags for fertilizing your garden soil, extract the tea leaves from the bags and let them dry out prior to use.
Many gardeners suggest that tea leaves are especially advantageous for tomato plants.
HAIR (HUMAN/ANIMAL)
Adding hair to your compost pile is a great way to enhance it, but you can also use it directly in your garden. As hair decomposes, it releases nitrogen into the soil which benefits plant growth. Additionally, the presence of human hair can deter deer from approaching your garden.
Wood ash
By having a wood stove or fireplace on your homestead, you can obtain free fertilizer from wood ash, which can provide your garden soil with calcium carbonate and potassium.
However, note that you should not use wood ash if you have already added other items from a specific list to your garden soil. Also, keep in mind that wood ash can increase soil pH, so avoid using it if your soil is already alkaline. Furthermore, wood ash can serve as a natural deterrent to slugs.
You can save money and promote the growth of healthy, chemical-free plants in your home garden by utilizing nutrient-rich household items like banana peels or eggshells as natural fertilizers.
EPSOM SALTS
Epsom salts are a beneficial addition to your garden water due to their mineral components, specifically magnesium, and sulfur. However, it is important to note that these nutrients are considered micronutrients and that Epsom salts alone cannot serve as a complete fertilizer for your plants.
Gelatin
To provide a nitrogen boost to your plants, try using gelatin as a simple monthly fertilizer. Mix one packet of gelatin with four cups of water and apply it to houseplants or small gardens.
FRESHWATER AQUARIUM WASTE
Another way to nourish your plants is to use the wastewater from cleaning your freshwater aquarium. This can benefit both vegetables and houseplants, but be sure to avoid using saltwater as it can harm your plants.
VEGGIE SCRAPS
Even if you don’t have the space or the desire to keep a composting bin, you can still reuse your veggie scraps to make fertilizer in your garden.
Grind them up and mix them directly into the soil. This works especially well if you do it in the fall or a few months before you plant out your veggie starts.
MATCHES
Burnt matches consist of a small quantity of magnesium, as well as wood or paper. You may dispose of them in your garden soil, and they will gradually release micronutrients, providing a slow-release source of nutrition.
This article was originally published on USnews3
