7 www.SmallFarmCanada.ca FROM SCRAPS TO SPROUTS: SUPERCHARGE YOUR GARDEN SOIL ARTICLE AND PHOTO BY AMY HOGUE & FINN HOGUE Whether you are growing just enough for yourself in a small kitchen garden or enough for a CSA in an acre or more field, your soil needs help. Every year of harvest extracts essential nutrients from your soil, and without replenishment imbalances and deficiencies can be created. Using commercial fertilizer is an option not every small farmer wants to consider and while low tech options like adding compost or manure may be an easy way to add nutrients back into the soil, it is a shotgun approach to a microscopic problem. For a more targeted approach, consider these Waste Not suggestions that are of benefit to both the environment and your pocketbook. EGG-CITED ABOUT CALCIUM Anyone with laying hens will no doubt have an abundance of eggshells. These discards are often added to the compost pile, and while their value in compost shouldn’t be overlooked, they can also be of particular use for targeted soil enrichment. Eggshells contain magnesium carbonate and are extremely rich in calcium carbonate and calcium phosphate, with each teaspoon containing between 800 and 1,000 mg of calcium. Beyond mineral enrichment, eggshells also add structure when worked into the soil, making it lighter and less likely to compact. Unfortunately, eggshells can take a long time to decompose and it’s not unusual to add fully digested compost to the garden and still find intact shells. This is why eggshell powder is the perfect way to get small enough shells to begin decomposing in the soil, adding those much desired nutrients. Note that while any eggshell will do, be aware that farm fresh eggs are higher in magnesium and calcium than commercially-farmed eggs. HOW TO MAKE EGGSHELL POWDER: 1. Rinse your eggshells to remove any remaining egg. 2. Collect your eggshells in a large bowl until you have a substantial quantity. Since you have rinsed the remaining egg out of the shells, there shouldn’t be any odour. 3. Now the easy part: let them air dry! 4. Grind the shells with a mixer, food processor, coffee grinder, or mortar and pestle. 5. Work the eggshell powder into your soil to improve structure and boost calcium, magnesium and potassium levels. Eggshells can also provide pest resistance as a coating of crushed eggshells in the garden is said to help deter several pests, both large and small. BANANAS ABOUT POTASSIUM Canadians eat a lot of bananas, consuming on average 15 kilograms of bananas each year. That means we are throwing out or composting a lot of banana peels! Besides their flavour, there’s lots to like about using bananas as a natural fertilizer. Bananas are high in potassium (330 mg), calcium (22.8 mg), magnesium (29.6 mg), and phosphorus (11.2 mg). Potassium is a key element needed for plant photosynthesis, while potassium and phosphorus are both essential elements in fertilizer. Banana peels are also aphid resistant and when used in banana peel powder, promote healthy plant growth, improve fruit development and enhance overall plant vigor. While you could take the easy route and bury a composting banana peel in your garden, this could become problematic as composting bananas may attract insects. Instead, you can make banana powder, an easy to use, concentrated, slow-release organic fertilizer that is the ideal plant food. In case you are thinking about how much you DON’T want rotting banana peels sitting on your counter for days until you have gathered enough to process, don’t worry. You can save your banana peels one at a time in the freezer until you have enough. Tip: Take the time to cut off the stem and end piece before putting the peels in the freezer as it will make processing day that much easier. HOW TO MAKE BANANA POWDER: 1. When you have saved enough banana peels for a batch (around 15 to 20 banana peels) thaw the entire bag on the kitchen counter. 2. Chop your banana peels into small strips, about WASTE NOT TOP: AMY HOGUE AND FINN HOGUE
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