Garden fertilizer...now??

Okay, so let’s talk Fertilizer!  I have so many other ideas to post right now, but I really wanted to get this one in because it's time-sensitive for most gardeners! Its time to start your collections! :)

Whether you do square foot gardening or something else, whether you compost or not, it’s always nice to know some tips and tricks for growing great plants in the summer! The best way to work on that right now has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with seeds. Not seed research, or pest resistant varieties, growing season length... nope! What you can be doing right now is saving some stuff! There’s a few awesome things you can be saving for your garden. Some require a bit more effort than others.

Let’s start with egg shells...

You know that vase you have? The nice big one that your partner never gets you flowers for? Lol well I have a use for it! Every time you crack open an egg, save the shell! It takes a LONG time  to save up the amount of egg shells you can use in a standard hobby garden. I’ve been saving mine for over a month already. You can ask your friends and family to also save you egg shells.

 Egg shells are VERY rich in calcium (about 30% of an eggshell is straight-up calcium). Our soil naturally gets calcium from bone decay. So if you have an in-ground garden, or an above ground one for that matter, chances are you haven’t put bones in it (unless you use bone meal, but more on that another day). Egg shells are a great addition to the soil, just as is. No need to decompose them first. They have so many benefits including slug-deterrent, and they can help your veggies resist stuff like blossom end rot. (You May have noticed veggies going bad on the ends before they are fully ripe? Yup! That’s it!)

 They decompose very slowly, so it’s important to crush them finely! If you want to deter slugs, you want tiny shards which you sprinkle in a doughnut all around your plant. Slugs will not cross these sharp glass-like bits, leaving your plant slug-free. The trick is to make sure you make the shards tiny enough to get stuck to the slug. Big shards they'll cross right over. they need to grit-sized. If you are adding it directly to the soil, just send the shells for a whirl though the blender to powder them.

Egg shells can also balance the ph of your soil if it’s too acidic. Eg: if your compost has been half coffee grinds, chances are you’ve upped the acid in your soil... great for a rose bush but not so great for all kinds of veggies!

Another fun trick I have seen is to use an egg shell to start a seedling in. It’s a cute idea in theory, but I’m not sure where that leaves you 2 weeks later when the roots need a bigger seedling pot... personally I’m saving all my shells for the dirt!

Egg shells, are mistakenly claimed to decompose very quickly. Actually they take a couple years to do so (one reason to powder them). However, adding egg shells every year will ensure that in a year or two, you always have fresh calcium in your soil! :)

Here’s a couple good links for more info on the benefits of egg shells in your garden!

Coffee Grinds!

I know I knocked them in the above section but if you’re not saving some coffee grinds for your grounds, you are MISSING OUT!   If you don’t drink coffee just talk to literally any coffee shop and they are usually happy to save you some! These things are so full of nutrients and they raise the acidity which some veggies really like! plus they feed the microorganisms in the soil that are good-guys. :)

 If you’re worried about the acidity, I'll let you know the reasearch is out on this one! One study showed that un-composted grinds are too acidic for most garden plants other than acid-loving ones like rose bushes.  Another site says that so long as the grinds you're adding are USED grinds, their PH is in the relatively normal range. So you wont burn your plants with them.  But really. Some acid is good! And if you combine egg shells and coffee grinds, you're basically neutralizing the ph right there. Still, if you're a heavy coffee drinker, just sprinkle a bit of baking soda over your grinds and mix it in before sprinkling them in the garden. It'll neutralize the ph while keeping all the nutrients! :)

 We use keurig coffee maker, so our grinds accumulate slowly. I keep a nice big cookie jar beside the coffee maker and we simply empty our pods right into there. When it’s full, the grinds go into a zipper bag and out into the porch for storage. I recommend either drying your grinds in the oven, or storing them in a freezer, otherwise they do start to go moldy. And it’s a very spore-ey mold. Gets airborne as soon as you disturb the grinds. (Yes... I learned the hard way lol). I’m guessing the mold is good for decomposition, so if you only plan on opening the bags over the garden, standing up-wind, feel free to let them begin composting!

yup... gonna have me some rotton tomatoes to deal with in the spring :( hopefully I can get them to the garden before they thaw too badly lol!

I save my grinds year-round. We have 5 acres. I won’t use them all in the garden but I’ll sprinkle some around trees, in our berry patch (blueberries also love acidic soil), over grass etc...

Here’s a couple links about coffee grinds


 Banana Peels!

This one is only for those with the freezer space. I don’t save them, but we do go through a fare number of bananas. So I’m not worried quantity-wise.

yup... straight-up stole this picture off the internet lol. Thank you shutterstock ;)

The potassium in your banana peels is great for lots of plants nutrition and disease prevention. If you remember to wash the peels (or if you buy organic), start chopping them up and tossing them into freezer bags. Sprinkle them in the holes with your veggies for a nutrition boost.

Here’s a link on banana peels in your garden



Lastly: The Hair On Your Chinny-chin-chin!


Yup... hair. Planning your next big hair style? Time to chop it off for a new look? Bring along a ziplock bag for your clippings!  Start saving your hair cut hair from the whole family. You’ll want to collect enough to make a perimeter around your whole garden. While hair doesn’t decompose very quickly, it does eventually. And in the mean time, it’s a human scent to deter deer, rabbits and the like! I am intentional about saving ours year round since we don’t do many hair cuts. If you have a barber friend, ask them to save you scraps from un-dyed hair cuts.

Jojo's first haircut ;) Cuter than a picture of hair clippings **Plug-in for En-Route hair design! ;)**

There you have it. It’s very simple stuff you just work into your routines. But in the spring time when you have a 4 litre pail of egg shells and coffee grinds, you’ll be glad you did!


I realize many people just add these things to their compost bins. and that is also excellent! However, (and i'll get into this another time) we choose to compost directly in the soil of our garden. This means that as organic matter decomposes, its actually TAKING nutrients out of the soil. However, it will decompose and become organic compost itself. So the first year or two, I'm also adding in some worm castings, bone meal and blood meal to my plant fertilizing mix. That way i'm both feeding the plant and the decomposition. After a few years, I wont have to because it will become a continuous cycle of decomposition and fresh compost. Our garden is a large one. So composting specific things within the rows that I plant, is simply wise composting practice :) 

Until next time, keep it green!