Table Scraps that Naturally Fertilize Your Garden Soil

Hold it right there, lady! Don’t throw away those eggshells, coffee grounds, and banana peels; use your table scraps to naturally fertilize your garden!

Since starting my vegetable garden, I’ve been researching like crazy how to boost my garden soil and help my vegetables grow.

I don’t want to pump my soil full of chemicals and other unhealthy things. However, I do want my vegetables to grow. I mean, that’s sort of the point.

I don’t have a compost bin right now. I’m trying to decide how to keep the bears out of it.

In the meantime, I’ve been working some common table scraps that I would put into my compost bin directly into my soil to help give it a boost and encourage root growth in my vegetables.

In case you’re like me, and just getting started gardening, then you might like to know how you can make your food work for you in the garden too!

Here are four table scraps you’re most likely throwing away that can be used to add a nutrient-dense natural fertilizer to your garden.

Eggshells

Eggshells add calcium and magnesium to your soil.

Heavy feeding plants like tomatoes need lots of calcium. When I transplanted my tomatoes to their pots outside, I added some crushed eggshells to the hole.

From time to time, I go out and sprinkle more eggshells around my tomatoes and other plants to continue giving them a little boost.

Plus the shells deter slugs and other slithery critters from climbing onto my plants.

Coffee grinds

I have clay-based alkaline soil so I need all the acidic help I can get! Coffee grounds are acidic and great for adding nitrogen to the soil.

Just sprinkle your used coffee grounds around your acid loving plants for a great natural fertilizer. Coffee grounds also work great for mulching!

Citrus peels

Another nitrogen boosting table scrap!

Just let your citrus peels dry and then grind them up to add to the soil around your nitrogen-loving plants.

Citrus peels also add calcium, magnesium, and sulfur to your soil.

Banana peels

Banana peels are a great source of potassium and phosphorus.

Potassium is one of the prime sources for new flower buds. This makes banana peels great for flowers that you want to continue blooming over and over again!

Because it’s great for making flowers bloom, you don’t want to overuse banana peels in your soil around your vegetables. You want them to produce fruit, not just flowers and leaves. So don’t overfeed your vegetables with banana peels.

For an extra boost, blend some banana peels with your eggshells for a nice rich soil addition.

There are so many other table scraps that could be used to naturally fertilize your garden. What are some of your favorite table scraps to add to your garden’s soil?