Organic waste that you can use to feed your plants

Plants are an essential element to give a green touch to our homes. However, even those listed as “easy” require basic care precise to develop properly and shine in those chosen corners to place them.

Among the basic care we must provide is the subscriber. And it is not necessary to resort to chemical fertilizers to feed our plants; use organic waste that we generate daily in our home is an economical and sustainable way of doing it.

There are many advantages of using organic fertilizers. Taking advantage of waste, we avoid generating waste and contributing to the acidification of soils, as well as other negative causes of the use of chemical products. Coffee grounds, banana peels and even the ashes from your fireplace can be used to feed your plants, as we tell you below.

Coffee grounds

Coffee grounds are commonly used in making homemade compost, but we can also use them as organic fertilizer on those plants that they need acidic soil, such as azaleas, hydrangeas or gardenias, among others. In addition to providing us with basic nutrients, especially nitrogen but also potassium and phosphorus, coffee grounds are great for enhancing the bacterial life of the soil.

The way to use them is simple. We can let them dry for a few days to avoid the appearance of fungi and then sift them on the surface of the pot or mix them with a little substrate -in small proportions- to apply it in different pots. We can also apply them through irrigation. How? Putting 5 cups of grounds in a water blade and letting it rest a couple of days before watering.

Eggshells

Egg shells can be used, thanks to their high calcium content, to avoid apical rot on plants. To use them, they must be washed well and allowed to dry. Once dry, we will only have to crush them and apply the resulting «powder» on the soil, around the plant.

It must be applied in small amounts because the abuse of this type of fertilizer could modify the pH of the soil making it more basic. And it is recommended once applied to slightly move the surface soil so that it is better absorbed.

Banana

Potassium is one of the most important nutrients for plants. Intervenes in the photosynthesis process, in the osmoregulation of the water in the plant and the formation of resistant tissues. That the plants burn easily, appear opaque or reduce their flowering, may be due to the deficiency of this nutrient. And it is precisely in the flowering season and in those plants with many flowers where we must apply it.

The best way to take advantage of these nutrients from bananas is infusing their skins in water. To do this, we will chop five banana peels and bring them to a boil in a liter of water. After cooking the mixture 15 minutes, we will only have to strain the mixture, wait for the liquid to cool down and mix it with two more liters of water to water our plants.

Chimney ash

Chimney ash can contribute large amounts of potassium and calcium carbonate to the earth. Also silica, magnesium, phosphorous and some sulfur, but in much smaller amounts. The ashes are applied directly to the soil, around the plant. However, it is important not to apply them around acidophilic plants or on alkaline soils.

Vegetable waste

Earthworm humus is one of the best organic fertilizers with which to treat our plants; is complete and balanced. It naturally occurs on forest floors thanks to the help of earthworms. However, it will not cost us much to reproduce this process at home with the help of a vermicomposter and taking advantage of vegetable waste: zucchini skins, onions, banana peels …

And in the same way that we use humus we can also use our compost. Because although some organic waste can be thrown directly to the ground, as we have verified, the ideal for these break down is to follow a series of steps to make compost.

These homemade fertilizers will allow you to feed your plants in a simple, ecological and sustainable way. Enough reasons to try them, don’t you think?