Improving your garden soil without compost in 3 easy steps

Composting your food scraps is great for your garden. It is an effective way to get rid of organic waste, is great for the environment and is great for fertilising your garden.

Sometimes, however, it can be time-consuming. Each day you need to go out and turn the compost, keep adding new organic waste and eventually apply it to your garden.

Also, not everyone has the space to house the large composting containers needed to create quality compost. Another downside is that compost tends to attract unwanted furry visitors.

It’s not always necessary to compost your kitchen waste prior to adding it to your soil; you can still reap the benefits of your scraps by burying them directly in the earth. 

If you are looking for an easy way to give your soil nutrients and improve its breathability bury these leftovers in your garden.

Banana Skins

Reusing your old banana skins for your garden is an excellent way to improve the nutrients in your garden soil.

Simply cut up the skins into small pieces and add it directly to the soil. By chopping the skins up they will break down at a faster rate by offering the micro-organisms in soil a greater surface area to work with.

You want to aim for your skins to be broken down quickly to avoid mice, rats, and other animals from disturbing the soil.

As the skins break down they provide plenty of organic matter which results in light and well-drained soil.

The skins will also attract earthworms which are integral to any good garden soil.

Banana skins add calcium, magnesium, sulphur, phosphates, potassium, and sodium to the soil.

All of these nutrients play a part in helping plants grow and develop fruit.

Coffee Grounds

Coffee grounds are another easy thing you can add to your soil.

Coffee grounds can easily be scattered around your garden each day after you finish your morning coffee and like the banana skins, the grounds can be added directly to the soil.

Coffee grounds work as a general fertiliser that improves the organic matter content, helps with drainage and water retention and aerates the soil.

As they break down they will continue to add nitrogen which is so good for plant growth.

Coffee grounds do not affect the PH level of your soil if it is used in small amounts.

By concentrating your use of coffee grounds around acid-loving plants you can instantly improve their growth. 

Earthworms love coffee grounds and will do there own work aerating your soil. If you don’t drink coffee leftover tea leaves are also beneficial for your garden.

Egg Shells

Old eggshells work well as a soil aerator and improve the drainage of harder soils. To use eggshells in your garden allow them to dry for a few days then crush them up and spread them in your garden.

Crushing them will help them break down in the soil more easily.

The calcium in eggshells promotes plant growth and prevents blossom end rotting in tomatoes and squash plants.

If you grind the eggshells up even further that work as an excellent pest repellent for your fruit and vegetable plants.

They act like broken glass and deter slugs and snails. They will also stop flea beetles and Japanese beetles in their tracks.

Read More: How to use leftover eggshells for pest control

What do you think of these methods? What do you do to improve your garden soil?