You can make your own fertilizers Earthworm compost Another of the easiest fertilizers to make comes from an earthworm compost pit. You add kitchen scraps, grass clippings, leaves, etc. into the pit, and as it is processed by the earthworms, you soon have a rich, black garden amendment. Adding compost in volumes of about 10% into your garden is generally all that is needed to increase the health and insect repellency of your trees, vegetables, and other garden plants. Though composting is the epitome of simplicity, there are a broad variety of containers that you can make or buy. Sometimes decomposition does not occur properly if you have used too much of one ingredient. For this reason, we suggest you research composting in a good book, such as Rodale’s Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening. BHM has had some good articles on the subject, too. Rabbit droppings When it comes to animal fertilizers, the best readily-available fertilizer is rabbit droppings. Rabbit droppings have the highest nitrogen content of any of the commonly available barnyard manures, such as cow, horse, pig, etc. Rabbit droppings are small, compact, and nearly odorless. One organic gardener described them as “miniature, time-released, fertilizer capsules.” If you raise rabbits, or know someone who does, you’ll have a source of one of nature’s best natural fertilizers. We have our rabbit friends living atop our earthworm compost pit. Rabbit droppings can also be called “earthworm caviar.” The fertilizer provided by our earthworm compost pit is about the best you could find anywhere, and it’s “free.” Don’t discard those egg shells... If you’re in the habit of buying all sorts of liquid fertilizers and other commercial treatments for your garden, you may be happy to learn that at least two commonly discarded kitchen scraps are ideal for many of your garden plants. You’ve heard of “liming” the garden and lawn, right? Most people buy a bag of lime (calcium carbonate) every few years and sprinkle it throughout the garden. Were you aware that eggshells are 93% calcium carbonate? Otis the pot-bellied pig lives in the authors’ yard. A pig in the yard is a great source of fertilizer. In addition to the calcium, the eggshells contain about 1% nitrogen, about a half-percent phosphoric acid, and other trace elements that make them a practical fertilizer. Calcium is an essential plant nutrient which plays a fundamental part in cell manufacture and growth. Most roots must have some calcium at the growing tips. Plant growth removes large quantities of calcium from the soil, and calcium must be replenished, so this is an ideal way to recycle your eggshells. We save our eggshells in a pan in our oven. The pilot light temperature slowly dries them out. Then we crush them by hand and powder them in the blender. The powdered eggshells are then placed around fruit trees, in potted plants and roses, and broadcast throughout the vegetable garden. You can also solve your snail problems with the help of recycled eggshells. Instead of powdering the shells, use them at the hand-crushed stage, with plenty of rough, sharp edges. Scatter the crushed shells in circles around those plants that the snails are eating. Since the shells cause discomfort to the snails, they nearly always retreat and do not cross the shell barriers.
Posted on: Wed, 23 Oct 2013 10:42:03 +0000
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