How to Make Your Own Organic Fertilizer at Home

Anyone with a little bit of determination can make their own plant food, especially if a small organic garden is being planned. You can buy prepared organic fertilizer that will serve most any grower's needs, but sometimes the expense can be prohibitive.

A Guide To A Better Way

Some backyard gardeners build small compost pile or construct a bin and discard their refuse from table scraps and layer it on a regular basis with a little loamy soil and keep it watered.

How About An Unorthodox Aproach

By making your own organic fertilizer you will save a lot of money. You can use simple organic waste and prepare it yourself very easily. One example when you or someone else in your household is about to throw out their banana peel, tell them to save it. The next step is to dry it in a small toaster oven or regular oven until you can pulverise it to powder in a small dish.

Example Of The Analysis Of Banana Peel And Other Organic Materials

Banana peel N= 0 P= 3.25 K= 41.76
Cantaloupe rinds N= 0 P= 9.77 K= 12.21

The values shown are for stem and fruit growth and as can be seen the K value for the banana will yield large fruit. It should also be noticed that in order to maintain "green leaf" growth you should add either fish emulsion or blood meal.

For your interest, the NPK composition of other organic materials are: Banana peels = 0-3.25-41.76; cantaloupe rinds, 0-9.77-12.21; fish scraps (average composition), 4.75-1.5-6;