How to Fertilize an Organic Garden
When you garden in an organic way, you have to take precautions in everything you do. You have to make sure that you aren’t using anything that would harm your plants, harm the natural life around your garden or harm your family when you eat it. One of the most important elements of this is knowing what to use to naturally fertilize an organic garden.
There are actually quite a few means to fertilize an organic garden. I’ll go through a few options, but then I’ll tell you about the one that has never failed me!
Compost
Now, obviously, if your are gardening organically, you are probably already creating your own compost to assist in the health of your soil. That is a hugely great start. Soil health is so important to the health and growth of your plants. But there are some things, that you might add to your compost, that you can actually add directly to the soil around your plants. For instance, coffee grounds. They add nitrogen to the soil and increase the acidity of soil.
Epsom Salt
If your plants are needing additional magnesium, Epsom salt can help. I always plant my tomatoes with Epsom salt sprinkled underneath (but away from the roots with a barrier of soil). You can also use it in liquid form by putting 1 TBS of Epsom salt in a gallon of water and pouring at the base of the plant.
Banana Peels
Banana Peels are another basic thing that you probably have on hand. They add potassium phosphorus and calcium. You can bury the peels next to the plants that are in need of these elements or you could make a banana peel spray. Simply soak your peels in water for a few days and use it as a foliar spray.
Compost Tea
Compost tea is also a great way of getting awesome nutrients directly to your plants. Since you are already making compost, you could just grab a bucketful of compost and completely cover with water. Let it sit in the sun for a few days, then strain and use it to water your needy plants.
Rabbit Poop
If you have rabbits, you probably already know that they poop pure gold. Their feces is so pure and full of awesomeness that you can put it directly on your garden without composting first! This year, I had a stand of cucumbers that were going nowhere. I covered their bed in fresh rabbit poop and within a week they were a beautiful green color and finally growing like they are supposed to!!
Last, But Not Least… Fish!
So, these are all terrific ways to organically enhance your garden, but now we come to my favorite…Fish! Now, there are a few ways to do this. If you like to fish, then you can use all of the discarded parts. One way is to simply bury them around your tomato plants….man will they ever love it!!!
You could also emulsify them yourself if you have a blender that you never want to use outside of the garden again. (Yuck) It’s pretty easy to do, just really stinky. You could also purchase fish emulsion. Still stinky but it’s already blended. It comes as a concentrate and you mix it, as directed, into water in your watering can. Then, just pour it at the base of each plant.
Fertilize an Organic Garden Your Way
There really are so many options out there for organically fertilizing your garden. Using these methods could, not only save you money, but also make you and your garden much healthier.
You may also want to check out our post on Installing a Floating Row Cover for an organic bug blocker.
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