Fertilize Your Garden with Household Scraps

Don't throw away your tea bags, banana peels, egg shells, and other organic trash. Use them as nutrient-rich fertilizers instead!


I love getting to work on my flower beds every year, caring for my perennials and planting my annuals. It's such calming and fulfilling work. But I know it's not just the planting and weeding that's important. Fertilizing the soil is also crucial for adding nutrients and making plants strong enough to combat damage from pests and their environment, not to mention boost root, leaf and flower growth.

All you DIYers will be happy to know that you don't need to run to the store every time you want to fertilize your soil. You probably have some great, all-natural fertilizers right in the house. You can either add them to your compost -- or, if you're not the composting type, you can add these ingredients on their own. Then watch your garden flourish!

COFFEE GROUNDS

Coffee grounds add acidity to soil. After you brew a pot of coffee, sprinkle the grounds on the soil around any acid-loving plants, like azalea, hydrangea, and magnolia.


FIREPLACE ASHES

For plants that thrive in more alkaline soil -- such as yarrow , delphinium, and pink carnation-- sprinkle some fireplace ashes (if you happen to have any hanging around this time of year) around your plants.

NEWSPAPER

Nitrogen is a natural fertilizer and is produced in the waste of all garden creatures. Feed the creatures and you feed the soil. Worms love paper, so rather than sending the whole newspaper to the recycling bin when you've finished reading it, bury some around the base of your plants. The worms will eat it and help the soil to thrive.

SUGAR

Those beneficial garden insects will eat sugar too. In addition to sprinkling pure sugar in the soil on the soil, you can add foods that are high in sugar. Sugary cereal crumbs, for instance, have both sugar and other nutrients, so sprinkle the crumbs from the bottom of the box around your plants. Another easy sugar source is an energy drink. It will give you a one two punch: first, it feeds the organisms in the soil and second, it adds potassium -- a really important nutrient for plants!

BANANA PEELS

Another great source of potassium is banana peels. They're especially good for roses. Simply bury them at the base of the rose bush and watch those flowers bloom!

TEA BAGS

Used tea bags buried in the soil will release nutrients and the paper will decompose easily and feed those pests to help your plants thrive.



EGG SHELLS

Eggshells are composed of calcium and magnesium. Simply crush them up and sprinkle them around your plants. Not only do the shells infuse the soil with nutrients, but plant-eating slugs don't like to crawl over the sharp shells and will stay away.



SEE ALSO:

How to Make Compost

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