You can create fertilizer out of materials that are in your trash! REALLY! Believe it or not gardeners have been spending thousands of dollars on nitrogen and calcium enrichment fertilizers while at the same time throwing out after their morning meal thousands of dollars of perfectly great sources of nitrogen and calcium !! Ok. So I have a apartment garden and it is constructed on cement out of reclaimed wood and potting soil. How do I keep my soil healthy if it isn't actually "real" soil?
I add what other folks would consider breakfast, still others may consider 'trash,' or here in the Seattle what many consider something that goes in the yard waste container. . . . Coffee & Eggs!
Coffee Grounds
Get this! Used coffee grounds (minus the filter) are great as mulch on the garden AND it deters slugs! It adds nitrogen to the soil and can either be added to compost, dug into the soil, or placed on top directly. Vegetables and other plants that grow fast love this nitrogen-rich amendment! check out this great article by the Seattle Pi on the benefits of using coffee grounds in the garden: Give Your Garden a Jolt. . . I suggest getting organic coffee! Chemicals used on non-organic food sources leech there way not only into your body but into the dirt!
Egg Shells
Clean, crushed eggs shells make the perfect amendment to soil that is lacking in calcium. Tomatoes LOVE calcium. See my previous post "Huevos! How to get More Out of your Breakfast! for more details. I use organic, free-range egg shells only! If you haven't tried organic, they are worth the extra cost! The egg shells are thick and rich with calcium!
Here is to gardens everywhere!
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