Are you ready to start using natural ingredients in your garden? Are you tired of having to worry about what chemicals you are putting in your body? Then this post is for you!
Many people are opting for more natural ingredients these days. They are buying more organic foods in stores, purchasing natural ingredient cosmetics, and even buying more naturally created pet foods.
So why not start growing your food at home more naturally too? In this post, learn some of the ways you can grow your own food in a natural way without any chemicals. These natural ingredients and tips will provide a safer way to grow healthy food for your family right in your own backyard.
Natural Ingredients and Their Uses
Coffee Grounds
Coffee grounds are great for the garden. They provide help with aeration and assist in drainage.
They also give off nitrogen very slowly while they break down into the soil. This acts like a slow-release fertilizer for your plants.
There are many claims that coffee grounds help to deter pests, but to date, no scientific evidence is available to prove such claims. My suggestion, use them as one of the natural ingredients to aerate the soil.
Eggshells
If you are looking for high-yield plant growth, eggshells are one of the best natural ingredients you can place in your garden.
For starters, you can drill a tiny hole in the bottom of an eggshell, and place it inside some soil and a seed or two. Once the seedlings appear, simply crack the shell and plant the seedling.
But don’t throw away those shells! Crumble them up and place the crumbled shells in your garden to deter snails and slugs. These pesky creatures won’t dare crawl across those rough edges of the shells.
Crumbled eggshells are a great natural ingredient to add to the hole when planting tomatoes. The calcium is great for these calcium-loving plants. Calcium from the shells will help prevent blossom end rot.
Aspirin
Believe it or not, crushing up four aspirin in 4 gallons of water and spraying your vegetable and fruit plants every three weeks will allow for a better harvest. Aspirin contains Salicylic acid. This ingredient boosts the immune system of plants.
If you are wondering how to keep those beautiful flowers you cut fresh in the vase longer, just crush an aspirin into some water and pour the mixture into your vase with your water and cut flowers.
Also, one uncoated tablet of aspirin dissolved into 1 cup of distilled water will act as a rooting hormone. Just place your cut stem into the water mixture for a few hours, then plant.
Tea Bags
Those used tea bags don’t have to be thrown away any longer. Simply mix a few tea bags with some warm water to make a weak tea. Water your plants and spray the leaves to deter pests and prevent some fungal diseases.
Have unopened or unused tea bags laying around? No problem, tear them up and sprinkle them around your plants for added nutrition. Bonus – the earthworms love them!
Ferns and acid-loving plants like some houseplants will benefit from the nutrition while the tea reduces the acidity a bit. Roses love tea leaves when placed in the ground around their base.
Dip tea bags in lemon and ginger juice and bury them in an infested area of maggots and unwanted pests. It kills the larvae almost immediately.
Turmeric
One of the most yield-producing natural ingredients you can use in your garden is Turmeric. Using this “superfood” in the garden will do wonders for your plant’s immune system!
It is an excellent pest repellant and kills many disease-causing microbes. Use this natural fungicide and pesticide in your garden today.
Milk
That’s right! Milk not only boosts the calcium in the garden, but it also helps in improving soil health, controlling insects, and acts as a disinfectant.
Mix your milk at a ratio of 1:1 and spray on your plants for yet another natural ingredient to boost your garden.
Cinnamon
This spicy natural ingredient has tons of uses in the garden. Firstly, it works great to deter squirrels, moles, and even rabbits when sprinkled around the garden by aggravating their mucus membranes.
By sprinkling cinnamon on the ground you can also keep those wild non-edible mushrooms from popping up. The same sprinkled cinnamon will also keep ants at bay as they cannot stand the smell of it.
Dipping your cuttings in cinnamon will act as a really great rooting powder. Try it.
Old Aquarium Water
Don’t throw out that nasty water the next time you change your fish tanks! From now on, pour it into your garden beds. All plants will thrive from the “yucky stuff” in the water. That yucky stuff is like a smorgasbord for your plants.
Banana Peels
Peels from bananas are an excellent natural ingredient to add to plants that love potassium and phosphorus. Plants such as roses, tomatoes, peppers, and most flowering plants will reward you for the thankful addition.
Hair
Yes, you read that right. Hair clippings and the hair you pull out of your brush are the best natural ingredients to deter raccoons, possums, cats, and rabbits from your garden. These critters don’t like the human scent and the hair will provide nourishment as it composts in the garden soil.
Are you ready to start adding some natural ingredients to your garden this year? Do you use any of these ingredients currently? Can you share any other ingredients that others may find helpful? Share them in the comments below.
These are great ideas! We use some of these like banana peels. I didn’t know about the tea bags, but it makes sense. And the fish water is another great idea for the garden. Ours usually contains a charcoal pellet bag, which is also good for the soils.
Thanks for sharing this at the Sunday Sunshine Blog Hop
Laurie
Glad to be a part of the hop and thanks for stopping by!