8 Effective Things to Fertilize Your Garden Like an Expert
For any gardener, there is nothing more soothing than a sight of all the hard work paying off. But before you see that, you need to ensure everything for the healthy development of plants in your garden. Fertilization is an essential aspect of the successful growth of your garden plants. It makes all the difference in the longevity of the plants.
While there are different ways to fertilize your garden, you can always use some home-made ingredients for efficient fertilization. Here are some of the essential things you can use to fertilize your backyard for some astonishing results.
Biodegradable kitchen waste
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You might be tempted to invest in artificial fertilizers to provide all the essential nutrients to the garden plants. But there is always something in the kitchen that you can use. From fruits & vegetables remains to leftovers, we produce a lot of biodegradable waste daily.
If you are gardening in the backyard, then you can use all your bio-waste to increase the fertility of the soil. One of the great features of kitchen waste is it releases the nutrients slowly and gradually. So, if you are using kitchen compost regularly, your garden can go a year or two without the application of fertilizers.
Moreover, the kitchen bio-waste helps to retain soil moisture. It allows the garden plants to thrive during hot summer days.
Garden weeds and grass clippings
Weed is a concern for any gardener as it sucks-off all the water from the surface with little left to the plants. Often people avoid using the weed compost in their garden, thinking that it might somehow grow back. Well, it won’t if you separate the roots.
While it might be annoying to see a weed in your garden, you can always use it to your advantage. Lawn grass clippings and weeds make an efficient weed blocking mulch.
The mulch made from the combination of weeds and grass is rich in nitrogen and other nutrients. It helps in the growth of the plants and maintains soil fertility. Moreover, a splash of rain is all it needs to sprout weeds. So, next time when you see a weed, don’t be annoyed and use it to fertile your land.
Tree leaves and waste
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Instead of burning the leaves fallen from the trees, you can collect them from dumping it in your garden. There is no better way to use the dry leaves, then to increase the fertility of your ground. The fact that tree leaves are rich with essential minerals, it attracts numerous earthworms, flies, and other insects to feed on them. These worms and microorganisms help to retain moisture in the soil.
Moreover, if your garden soil is hard for the water to penetrate and thorough distribution, earthworm serves as the best to lighten it. Now, you can use tree leaves in two different ways in your garden. Either you can directly dump it into the soil or mix crushed leaves in the potting soil.
If you feel the need for pruning some trees around your house, you can also use its waste as a fertilizer. The tools like tree loppers Castle Hill are perfect to prune your trees.
Coffee grounds and remains
Whether you are growing flowers such as roses or fruits and vegetables like tomato & blueberries, coffee serves as a great addition to soil fertility. Coffee is an excellent addition to plants that thrive in acidic soil.
Now, you can use the coffee grounds to help acidify the soil that helps it become more fertile. There are two ways to use coffee in your garden. Either you can sprinkle the used coffee grounds over the surface of the soil, or you can make coffee and directly pour it around the plant. For best results, you can soak up to six cups of used coffee grounds and apply it weekly to the soil.
Banana Peels
Banana is a great source of carbohydrates and potassium. But do you know banana peel can be as useful as the banana itself? People dump a banana peel into the dustbin as soon as you are done eating. Instead of dumping it in the trash, you can always use it to boost the nutrient level of the soil.
Just like nitrogen, potassium is an essential nutrient needed for the fertility of the ground. So the next time you eat a banana, make sure that you don’t throw it away in the waste.
If you are growing flower plants like rose, bury the banana peels along with the rose bushes. It will ensure that the banana peels naturally composts. Now, as the rose plant grows, you can bury the peels below the top layer of the soil.
Eggshells
Now, if you are growing plants that don’t necessarily require acid, you can try adding lime into the soil. When it comes to lime, there’s no better source than eggshells. It works a great deal to lower the acidity of the ground. The outer layer of the egg or eggshell is made up of calcium.
Calcium is a natural fertilizing agent that serves as an effective way to reduce the acidity of the soil. Now, all you need to do is keep all the eggshells, whether you are boiling it or making an omelet. Make sure that you crush it thoroughly to be able to spread it equally into the soil. And the fact that eggs are comparatively cheaper than the fertilizers, you can easily save a lot if you want an efficient way to fertilize your garden.
Manure
Are you looking for a practical yet efficient way to fertilize your garden? How about some good-old manure! From the times’ agriculture and domestication of animals became a part of human civilization, manure is used for soil fertilization. Depending on feasible options available, you can use manure from various animals, including cows, chickens, horses, and more.
Manure is rich in all the essential nutrients necessary for the growth of garden plants. While raw manure is highly acidic and contains more nutrients than your plant needs, make sure that you don’t burn your plants with its excessive use.
The best way to use manure is in the composted form. It acts as an efficient way to improve soil’s water retention capability without affecting the garden plants. And if you are afraid of the odor of the manure, don’t be! It doesn’t take long for manure to turn into an odor-free soil form.
Seaweeds
While you may not necessarily have the option of seaweed, but if you do happen to live at the coasts, you can use it as a fertilizer. The fact that seaweeds contain trace elements of the food source for soil microbes, it is considered as an excellent soil amendment. And you don’t necessarily need to wash it before using it.
To use it efficiently, you can chop the seaweeds into tiny pieces and store them in a bucket with a gallon of water. Cover it loosely and let it be for 2-3 weeks. Now, you can pour it directly to the soil and let it drench. Make sure you use the right proportion of seaweed solution for different plant sizes. Smaller the size of the garden plant, the lesser the quantity of seaweed fertilizer.
Conclusion
You don’t need to be an expert gardener to be able to see some good results. If you understand the basic principles of soil nutrients and fertility, you can use the best of everything around you. The best feature of using all the things mentioned in the article – it’s cheap!
