Natural Ways to Make Your Soil More Fertile

Do you also just throw away your kitchen scraps? What if I tell you are throwing gold in the form of these kitchen scraps. Yes that’s right! Kitchen waste can prove to be absolute gold for your garden and plants. Here are a few examples of foods that can feed both you and your plants. 

Kitchen wastes that can make soil fertile

Banana skins: Fresh banana peels can help to diffuse potent nutrients into the soil. Banana peels are rich in potassium and it helps the plants transfer water between cells, set down healthy roots, aids in photosynthesis and food formation, helps retard crop diseases. It even has traces of magnesium and sulfur that help to make chlorophyll. Next time you eat a banana save the skins and bury them in your garden at 1-2 inches. Roses and tomatoes, peppers and flowers are especially fond of these. As the peels will decompose, it will release potassium and other nutrients into the soil. 

Egg shells: Eggshells are an excellent way to introduce calcium in soil and it helps to make the plant’s cell walls - strong. They are also rich in nitrogen and phosphoric acid. You can add them into your soil by crushing followed by tilling into the soil. You can also reduce acidity in your soil using eggshells. 

Coffee Grounds: Coffee grounds make great fertilizers because they contain several key nutrients required for plant growth. They also attract earthworms and decrease the concentrations of heavy metals in the soil. There are certain compounds in coffee such as caffeine and diterpenes, which are toxic to insects. It is because these compounds, coffee can be used to repel bugs. 

Orange peels: Orange peel scraps can be used in your garden. Some plants like Hydrangeas and Daffodils thrive in acidic soil and oranges can help you add some acidity into the soil. Orange peels are also known to repel aphids. Just add a few peels into hot water and let it sit for some time you can then spray it on your plants directly. Oranges also provide nitrogen to the soil. 

Limestone: Limestone is a healthy addition to soil and is usually used to balance the pH level of the soil. It contains calcium which helps with the overall plant growth and magnesium, which encourages stronger, healthier plants.  Just be a little cautious while using it and test the levels of acidity in your soil to determine how much quantity to be applied. 

Cinnamon powder: Cinnamon powder can be used to keep pests like Ants away. Ants don’t like to walk where cinnamon powder lies. It is a wonderful rooting agent; a single application to stem can stimulate root growth in almost every plant variety. Cinnamon can help prevent the damping off disease which is caused due to fungus and hence, is a good fungicide. 

Stay tuned for more gardening hacks!