From leaf mold and mulch to compost, here's how you can enrich your garden with compost.
Any sustainable gardener should strive to create closed systems in which the garden can be maintained without too much need, if any, for outside input. In other words, wherever possible, we should aim to create a garden that can sustain itself over time.
This internal stability is especially important to consider when it comes to garden fertility. Fortunately, there are many potential sources of organic garden fertilizers that can be found around the home and garden.
When we use these sources of garden fertilizers, we can keep our soil healthy and our gardens beautiful and productive over time without spending money on commercial products.
Homemade compote
One of the most important ways to recycle nutrients in your garden and support a healthy soil ecosystem is to make your own compost at home.
Composting is not that difficult. After all, it is something that happens naturally without our intervention. But choosing the right composting technique for our situation and where we live can be important.
It is possible to compost in situ in a garden system without digging. We can have a simple cold compost pile or container. We can speed things up by using hot composting, compost cups or using special composting worms and start vermicomposting.
Compost is an excellent soil amendment and a good source of organic matter that replenishes soil nutrients and provides a slow-release fertilizer for plants.
: Learn more. How to make compost at home? basic steps and types of compost
leaf mold
Leaf mold is another excellent source of nutrients for plants and, like compost, is a great soil improver when spread over growing areas as a mulch. It is a semi-degradable material made from autumn leaves that are collected and left to rot for a year or two.
Spreading leaf mold on the ground or using it to line pots and containers can also slowly release nutrients that plants will absorb over time. And overall, it can help improve the soil for better plant health.
Additional information: How do I make mold for my garden?
Mulching materials
In addition to thinking about brown organic matter such as compost and leaf mold, ensuring good fertility in an organic garden means looking at green mulch or plant material that is cut and discarded. This can be very important in maintaining fertility in an organic garden.
Leaves such as grass clippings or green leaves from other plants, even weeds that are cut and left on the soil surface, decompose and restore fertility to the system.
Some plants can collect certain nutrients and store them in their plant tissues. These plants can be particularly effective as mulch under certain conditions, such as helping to compensate for nutrient deficiencies in certain areas of your garden. or provides the plant with a specific nutrient it needs.
Matching the mulch we use to the soil in our garden and the plants we grow can help us fertilize our plants naturally and efficiently.
:Read more. a practical guide to mulching
Liquid vegetable food
Various plant materials and compost can be used to make liquid organic fertilizers for our plants. Liquid plant food serves a different purpose than organic mulch.
While mulch and compost are slow-release fertilizers, liquid foods release nutrients very quickly to encourage plants. They can be especially useful for growing plants in pots or other containers. But they can also increase yields when used in other areas of the garden.
Again, it is important to prepare liquid foods with careful consideration of the needs of the particular plant we are using, such as whether the plant needs a high-nitrogen, balanced, or high-potassium diet.
Additional information: Liquid organic fertilizers I make for my plants
Well digested manure
Last but not least, our gardens can also be a place where we keep pets or livestock that provide us with manure (often along with other crops).
Many people, for example, raise chickens, ducks or other poultry, whose manure can be a good source of fertilizer if it is well decomposed and composted beforehand. Some may also consider rabbits, whose manure can be used in a compost-free garden.
If you plan your garden well, whether you keep animals in the garden or not, you can always find a variety of organic garden fertilizers near you and grow your garden.
Learn more. What is compost and why is it such a valuable component for the environment?
