Amazing amendment
An old French gardening proverb says: “Feed the soil first to harvest more”. The secret to successful gardening is a good soil. And how do you feed it? With quality food, i.e. a great fertilizer. The good news is you can prepare an amazing one yourself, with ingredients you already have in your kitchen, i.e. organic food waste. To create this marvel, you need:
Banana skins packed with potassium. With this totally legal stimulant, plants proudly stand upright. They are more vigorous, more beautiful and more resistant to pesky pest and disease.
Coffee grounds, high in nitrogen and phosphate. Nitrogen encourages plant growth. If they are too small and scrawny, with pale leaves, they are most probably lacking in nitrogen and in dire need of a quick fix. Phosphate facilitates fruiting and flowering; it is also essential for good root and shoot growth.
Egg shells crammed with calcium. Known as the “Trucker of all minerals”, this most important mineral in the soil, helps open it up to allow more oxygen. Plant cells need it to stay strong.
Special garden smoothie
In your favourite blender, chuck 1/3 coffee grounds, 1/3 chopped up banana skins and 1/3 egg shells and, if you have any left, 1 or 2 cups egg boiling water. If not, use vegetable cooking water or filtered water. Don’t worry too much about the amounts of each ingredient. They can be adjusted to whatever you have at hand. The end result won’t be less efficient for it. Mix furiously for 3 minutes. Pour this magic potion into your divine watering can. Add water to thin your mixture down and stir it with a stick. Remove the sprinkler rose to water your plants. Repeat the treatment regularly.
Your concoction is not compost, so it needs some time to work. But having broken down all the ingredients in your blender will make them decompose faster. If you persevere for a few weeks, you should start seeing some changes: thriving plants and more earthworms, all deliriously happy.
More amazing recipes are eagerly waiting for you in:
Le Dictionnaire à tout faire du jardin
