Time to read: 3 mins
There are so many plant foods and fertilisers on the market, but feeding your garden in a natural and organic method is simpler than you may think.
Gardens, especially those producing food, require certain nutrients to really thrive and deliver crop after crop. There are three key nutrients provided by fertilisers – Potassium, Phosphorus, and Nitrogen.
These are the best fertilisers you can make at home, using materials you might normally throw away.
Coffee Grounds
Perk up your plants with an abundance of coffee grounds worked into the soil. They are rich in nitrogen and help to raise the acidity of the soil which is important for vegetables, as well as flowers bushes such as roses and hydrangeas.
Clipping Tea
Just like coffee gives plants a pick me up, so too does a simple homemade tea fertiliser. Half fill a 15 litre bucket with fresh grass cuttings and fill with water. Leave for around five days and then dilute one cup of tea with 10 cups of water to feed your garden.
Epsom Salts
Most of us have these therapeutic salts somewhere at home. Tomatoes love this simple fertiliser as it is high is magnesium and sulphur. Just take 1 tablespoon of salts and mix with 4 litres of water.
Banana Peels
Peels are often thrown away, when they are in fact powerhouses of nutrition for plants. There are two ways to deliver their potassium, calcium and phosphorous to your plants. Either bury them into the soil, or soak them in a spray bottle for a few days and then spray the soil around your plants.
Egg Shells
This is another powerful plant food that is often thrown out. Instead of putting egg shells into the bin, crush them and mix then through your soil – making sure to bury them deeper than the top layer so they can deliver their calcium rich cells to the roots.
Simple DIY Fertiliser Recipe from Better Homes & Gardens
Using three of the ingredients in our list above, try making this simple fertiliser recipe and watch your indoor and outdoor plants flourish.
- Collect any leftover coffee grounds, egg shells and banana peels from your kitchen.
- Cut the banana peels in chunky squares.
- Wash and dry out egg shells, then break them into smaller pieces.
- Pop all three ingredients into a food blender or processor and blend until the mixture is soil-like.
- Spread over the soil in your pot plants or garden.
