Many of us might be passionate about gardening and farming but not all of us are aware of nurturing soil. And that's why we have to shed tears when our plants, who we water every day with utmost love, die very early. It's easier to love planting and watering a plant, but it is even difficult to maintain the healthy growth of those plants, which is the reason why we chose an easier path to treat our soil by using chemical products like fertilizers.
If an easier path is all you want, then why opting for fertilizers when you can make your own natural fertilizers in a few minutes? In this article, we present the top 5 ways to nourish your soil organically.
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Keep Banana Peel in the Soil
If you are a gardening-lover, then you must think twice before tossing a banana peel in the trash. This is because banana peels can help in adding to the quality of your soil! Banana peels make excellent natural fertilizers. Banana peels contain a good amount of potassium. As they decompose in the soil, they add potassium as well as small amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus, and magnesium to the soil, likewise a slow-release fertilizer.
The best way to use banana peels as a fertilizer is to add them to the hole before you plant the seedling. As they degrade naturally, the soil around them soaks the potassium, and this will guarantee the long-term fertility of your soil!
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Use Fishtank Water to Irrigate Your Soil
Fish emulsion is considered as a great fertilizer in itself. It consists of a perfect blend of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. While there are different kinds of natural fertilizers available in the market, one doesn't have to spend extra money if they have a fish tank or aquarium in their home. As you all might know, fish tanks have to be changed on a regular basis to keep fishes from dying. Instead of throwing the water away, one can use it to fertigate (fertilize and irrigate at the same time). Avoid doing this if your fishes have been treated with antibiotics as it might kill the healthy soil bacteria present in the soil.
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Crushed Eggshells into the Soil
Eggshells are abundant in soil nutrients. Take a dozen eggshells, crush them out when they are fully dried and add them to your compost.
You can also mix them with the soil directly. Even though eggshell gives you a small amount of nitrogen and phosphorus, it is abundant in calcium. So, it can boost the calcium content of the soil.
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Use Livestock Manure
If you are involved in animal husbandry also, then livestock manure is one of the easiest ways for you to add fertility in your soil. Cow manure, for instance, can work as a wonderful fertilizer. Similarly, manure from horses, sheep, goats, rabbits and chicken manure are commonly used as a natural fertilizer. Manures from different animals can provide different types of nutritional value to the soil. For instance, cow manure makes slow-release fertilizer but does not have high nitrogen value while chicken manure can give you the high content of nitrogen. Similarly, sheep and goat manures provide more potassium than dairy and horse manure.
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Add Weeds into the Compost
Unwanted plants, commonly known as weeds, are removed away as they rob the essential nutrients of your plants. But did you know that these robbers can help you bring back the nutrients they had taken away earlier? Yes, they can! These weeds can be turned into liquid fertilizer, also known as weed tea.
Weeds like dandelion, nettles, burdock, etc can be made into a weed tea. Just add weeds in a bucket with a proportionate amount of water (with every pound of weed, add 8 cups of water) and leave it for 2-4 weeks. After 2-4 weeks, strain the liquid and use it on the soil after diluting with water. This will give your garden a boost of nutrients, including nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, boron, copper, manganese, sulfur, iron and silicon.
