Free Fertilizers for Your Garden

There are many free fertilizers that are available for your garden. You do not to buy them but it may require some extra work on your end. These fertilizers are available almost everywhere but please note that you may need permission to get to them. Please note that these are but a few examples of the types of free fertilizers available.

1. Leaves

A rich and natural source of organic fertilizer, it is plentiful in the autumn when Mother Nature calls them to fall on the ground. Instead of packing them for disposal, why not pack them instead for an almost year-round recycled use?

Before you pack the leaves though, you will need to shred them for easy planting. Some would use leaf vacuums, shredders and even lawn mowers to achieve this. An old family tradition was to allow the kids to jump and play on the leaves. The kids will have to rake all the leaves again to play. All they have to do is rake and play until the leaves are properly shredded. If you don’t have children of your own, call upon your neighbour’s kids for this fun task.

On its own, leaves are a great source of protection. In the summer, thin layers of leaves keep the ground cool while holding in moisture and prohibiting weed growth. Use the leaves as mulch in the winter as they will protect your plants’ roots from frost. Partially decomposed leaves can be mixed with soil as topsoil and for a better quality soil for your plants.

2. Farm Excrements

... and we literally mean it too. It doesn’t smell good and you most probably will have to mix it with leaves and other natural materials before you use it. Types of animals used for this purpose are chicken, horse and bovine. If you’re living in the city, this may be harder to find but check your local community boards or newsletters for anyone who might be a provider. You may also want to rethink this one as it may offend your neighbours if it’s still fresh.

3. Eggshells

Who says eating eggs is bad? As long as you do not throw away the shells, you can recycle it to protect your plants from snails and slugs. The shells are also a great source of calcium for your plants. To prepare, all you need to do is set your eggshells out to dry for a few days or stick them in a warm oven for a few minutes.

Next, simply bash them up with a rolling pin or get your kids to break them up. Incidentally, breaking eggshells are also a great stress reliever, if you want to do it yourself. Finally, simply scatter the broken up shells at the base of your plant for maximum protection. You can also mix them into the soil prior to planting to allow direct calcium access to your plant’s roots.

4. Coffee Grounds

This is probably the easiest fertilizer to get especially if you’re a coffee drinker. All you need to do is save your coffee grounds for the grounds (pun intended). Coffee contains valuable nutrients in them, such as nitrogen, that are vital to plant growth. Since coffee beans are already broken into fine dust after you use it, all you have to do is spread them on the ground without having to wait for it to decompose.

Be generous with it though as coffee grounds are naturally acidic. It is best used with alkaline soils or with plants that needs that extra acidic kick like azaleas and blueberries. If you think your soil is pH perfect, you can still use your coffee grounds with other natural fertilizers such as wood ash which can help neutralize acidity in your soil.

If you’re not a coffee drinker, there is no worry. Visit your local coffee houses or Starbucks, which runs a Grounds for Your Garden campaign, with bags of five pounds of grounds. Different branches may enforce different rules regarding how many bags you can take though so do check out with the staff beforehand.

To learn more about natural fertilizers and organic gardening, visit http://bit.ly/organic-gardening-tips. For all your organic gardening supplies and needs, visit http://bit.ly/GardenSunshine