A Better Way to Fertilize Your Garden - Homemade Organic Fertilizer

(Page 6 of 6)

Article Tools
Bookmark and Share

If you routinely garden with this homemade fertilizer mix, you won’t need to apply additional lime to the garden. The mix is formulated so that, when used in the recommended amount, it automatically distributes about 50 pounds of lime per 1,000 square feet each year.

RELATED CONTENT

Bone meal, phosphate rock or guano (bat or bird manure) all serve to boost the phosphorus level, and phosphate and guano usually are also rich in trace elements. Bone meal will be the easiest of the three to find at garden centers.

Kelp meal (dried seaweed) has become expensive, but one 55-pound sack will supply a 2,000-square-foot garden for several years. Kelp supplies some things nothing else does — a complete range of trace minerals plus growth regulators and natural hormones that act like plant vitamins, increasing resistance to cold, frost and other stresses.

Some rock dusts are highly mineralized and contain a broad and complete range of minor plant nutrients. These may be substituted for kelp meal, but I believe kelp is best. If your garden center doesn’t carry kelp meal and can’t order it, you can get it from Peaceful Valley Farm Supply of Grass Valley, Calif.: (888) 784-1722.

— Adapted from Gardening When it Counts, a Mother Earth News“Book for Wiser Living” from New Society Publishers. To order, visit Mother’s Bookshelf.

Page: << Previous 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |

Comments

  • paul brakebill 7/21/2008 12:16:01 PM

    I know that heretofore using newspapers and/or magazines with color print for mulching vegetable gardes is dangerous because of lead content in the print. Has that changed or is it still not usuable as mulch?

  • Clifton Middleton 6/23/2008 9:15:17 AM

    The Water Crisis, A Practical Solution

    The Water crisis is the most serious problem humanity has ever created or faced. We are experiencing worsening water shortages around the world and mankind induced water pollution has infused the entire food chain with neurotoxins, poisons, pharmaceuticals and organic nutrients, all of which threaten the health and survivability of the human family and planet ecology.
    One of the main causes is something that is buried and seldom thought about, namely, our modern, water based sewer system. The average water consumption is 150 gallons per person, per day. We flush all of our disposables down the drain, into the sewer system where more chemicals are added and then finally pumped back into our water system. Water based sewer systems are the prime polluters and our use of them has proved to be full of unintended and unanticipated horrors. The use of water based sewer system wastes and contaminates the entire water supply by mixing pollutants and nutrients that if captured and recycled, could provide sufficient agricultural nutrients to ensure a sustainable food supply.

    System to reduce water consumption by 80 percent
    One practical solution to the water shortage is to replace our centralized water based sewer system with on site, waterless toilets and to recycle grey water. Grey water is the water from the kitchen and shower and can be recycled, on site and reused for landscaping and gardening. This will reduce our demand on the water source by up to 80 percent while simultaneously creating a sustainable, renewable, agricultural resource, namely, organic nitrogen.

    Changes pollutants into renewable source of food and energy
    No Mix toilets collect urine and feces in separate places, the toilet bowl has two drains, one, in the front for the urine and one in the back for the feces. The feces are dry composted and the urine is processed for agricultural purposes. Nothing is flushed into the sewer/water system. Separating to

  • jackhickman 12/2/2007 3:45:21 PM

    Can I use Algae for the Kelp?

  • mitch 3/5/2007 10:50:36 AM

    Thanks for making the article so easy to find and print, It's
    always hard to find just the right article in all my magizines, and
    of course I misplaced the pullout guide. My garden and I thank you.
    Mitch

Add Your Comment

Please note that there is currently a problem with the comments function and your comment may or may not post successfully. We are working to correct the problem and thank you for your patience. 

You can use this comment form to enter your personal experiences or additional information and resources that you'd like to share with Mother Earth News readers. Your helpful advice will be posted on this page.  E-mail addresses are never displayed on comments, but they are required to confirm your comments.

Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br> tags.

New to Mother Earth News?
Sign up to share comments.
Asterisks(*) indicate required fields.
Name*
Your name appears next to your comment.

E-mail Address*
This will be your login ID.

City State Zip Code

Password*


Confirm Password*

Comments
1500 character limit (Offensive materials and/or spam will be removed, no HTML allowed)
Please Note: Your sign-up must be verified via e-mail before your comment is published.


Subscribe Today - Pay Now & Save 66% Off the Cover Price

First Name: *
Last Name: *
Address: *
City: *
State/Province: *
Zip/Postal Code:*
Country:
Email:*
(* indicates a required item)
Canadian subs: 1 year, (includes postage & GST). Foreign subs: 1 year, . U.S. funds.
Canadian Subscribers - Click Here
Non US and Canadian Subscribers - Click Here

Lighten the Strain on the Earth and Your Budget

Mother Earth News is the guide to living — as one reader stated — “with little money and abundant happiness.” Every issue is an invaluable guide to leading a more sustainable life, covering ideas from fighting rising energy costs and protecting the environment to avoiding unnecessary spending on processed food. You’ll find tips for slashing heating bills; growing fresh, natural produce at home; and more. Mother Earth News helps you cut costs without sacrificing modern luxuries.

At Mother Earth News, we are dedicated to conserving our planet’s natural resources while helping you conserve your financial resources. That’s why we want you to save money and trees by subscribing through our Earth-Friendly automatic renewal savings plan. By paying with a credit card, you save an additional $4.95 and get 6 issues of Mother Earth News for only $10.00 (USA only).

You may also use the Bill Me option and pay $14.95 for 6 issues.