You can easily add these items to your garden to provide free nutrients and fertlizer.
In this article, we will discuss seven items that can be buried in your garden to serve as free fertilizer. These items are great for decomposing in your garden and providing nutrients to your plants. Additionally, we will cover certain items that should not be buried in your garden.
Some of the items that can be buried in your garden for free fertilizer include kitchen scraps, such as squash peels, banana peels, and mushroom scraps. Eggshells are also good for adding calcium to the soil, while cardboard products, stale bread, coffee grounds, grass clippings, and dead or fallen leaves can provide a lot of organic matter to your soil. However, it is important to note that wood chips, pine needles, peanut peels, and dairy and meat products should not be added to your garden. By adding these items to your garden, you can increase organic matter, microbial life, and nutrients in your soil, which can lead to healthier plants.
Key Takeaways
- Certain kitchen scraps, eggshells, cardboard products, stale bread, coffee grounds, grass clippings, and dead or fallen leaves can be buried in your garden to provide free fertilizer.
- Wood chips, pine needles, peanut peels, and dairy and meat products should not be added to your garden.
- Adding these items to your garden can increase organic matter, microbial life, and nutrients in your soil, leading to healthier plants.
Things to Bury in Your Garden for Free Fertilizer
Kitchen Scraps
To provide nutrients to your plants, kitchen scraps can be buried in your garden or raised beds. Squash peels, leftovers from tomatoes, butternut squash peels, banana peels, and leftover greens are great for this purpose. Mushroom scraps are also a good option as they attract earthworms that help in decomposing kitchen scraps into organic matter. However, avoid burying avocado peels and onion and garlic scraps as they take a while to decompose and repel earthworms.
Eggshells
Eggshells are rich in calcium and can be added to the garden to provide nutrients to plants. Crushed eggshells can be added to the soil for faster decomposition. It takes six months to a year for the eggshells to decompose, so it is best to add them to the soil in the fall months when planting tomatoes.
Cardboard Products
Cardboard boxes, toilet paper rolls, and paper towel rolls are great for aerating the soil and providing shelter for worms. Worms love cardboard, and when buried in the garden, they will take care of them within three months.
Stale Bread
Stale bread is a good source of organic fertilizer. It absorbs moisture and provides perfect conditions for worms to hide and feed. Mold and fungus grow easily on stale bread, which worms enjoy.
Coffee Grounds
Coffee grounds are a good source of organic matter and absorb moisture well. They are neutral in nature and do not change the pH level of the soil. Worms love to munch on the fungus that grows on coffee grounds, which helps in decomposing them faster.
Grass Clippings
Grass clippings contain up to four percent nitrogen and are a good source of nutrients for plants. However, make sure there are no grass or weed seeds when mowing your lawn. Only use grass clippings in your garden if you do not use any chemical compounds in your lawn.
Dead or Fallen Leaves
Dead or fallen leaves are a free resource available in fall and autumn. They provide a lot of organic matter to the soil and can be easily raked using a lawnmower.
It is important to note that wood chips and pine needles make the soil acidic and lock up nitrogen in the soil. Peanut peels are hard to decompose, and dairy and meat products attract anaerobic bacteria and bad insects. It is best to avoid burying these items in the garden.
By burying these seven items in your garden, you can increase organic matter and microbial life in the soil, making it nutrient-rich for your plants. To prevent critters from digging up your garden, use a fencing material and weigh it down with heavy bricks.
Preventing Critters from Digging Up Your Garden
When adding kitchen scraps, eggshells, cardboard products, stale bread, coffee grounds, grass clippings, and dead or fallen leaves to your garden, you may encounter an issue with critters digging them up. To prevent this, it is recommended to use some sort of fencing material and weigh it down with heavy bricks. This will prevent critters such as rodents, raccoons, and dogs from accessing the buried scraps.
It is important to note that certain items should not be added to your garden. Wood chips and pine needles should only be used if you want to grow acidic soil-loving plants such as blueberries or potatoes, as they make the soil more acidic. Peanut shells should also be avoided as they are difficult to decompose.
Dairy and meat products, including eggs, should not be added to your garden as they attract anaerobic bacteria and bad insects. While they will eventually decompose and provide nutrients to the soil, it can take a long time and may result in a bad smell if the garden is dug up before decomposition is complete. These items are better suited for a compost pile, as long as it is properly maintained.
By following these guidelines, you can ensure that your garden is enriched with organic matter, microbial life, and nutrients, providing free fertilizer for your plants.
Things Not to Bury in Your Garden
Wood Chips
Wood chips are a great mulch that can retain moisture in your garden and prevent weed growth. However, they should not be mixed into your soil unless you plan on growing acidic soil-loving plants like blueberries or potatoes. This is because wood chips make the soil more acidic and mainly consist of carbon, which can lock up nitrogen in the soil, making it unavailable to plants.
Pine Needles
Like wood chips, pine needles can also make the soil more acidic, so they should not be added to your garden unless you want to lower the pH level of your soil.
Peanut Peels
Peanut peels are not recommended to be added to your garden because they are hard to decompose.
Dairy and Meat Products
Dairy and meat products, including eggs, should not be added to your garden. These products attract anaerobic bacteria, which do not decompose quickly and attract harmful insects. While they will eventually decompose and provide nutrients to the soil, it will take a long time, and if you dig up your garden during that time, it will smell bad. It is better to add these items to a compost pile, which should be maintained and taken care of properly.