Between commercial organic fertilizers and the synthetic chemical varieties, there are many choices for feeding your garden. Commercial organic options can be expensive, the chemical alternatives hard on the soil; and the more you rely on your garden for nourishment, the more these issues compound. However, there is a healthier, less costly third choice: homemade organic fertilizer.



Here are a few tips for making your own fertilizer and growing nutritious, delicious fruits and vegetables.

Best methods. For optimal results, treat your garden with a homemade fertilizer and compost. The two together make for excellent results and have been repeatedly successful.

Ingredients. The most important ingredients are seed meal and various kinds of lime, plus bone meal and kelp meal for good measure. It's important when you're making the fertilizer to measure by volume, not by weight. Don't worry about exact measurements. The proportions can be over or under by 10 percent and still produce great results.

Recipe (mix uniformly):
4 parts seed meal
? part ordinary agricultural lime, best finely ground
? part gypsum (or double the agricultural lime)
? part dolomitic lime

For best results add:
1 part bone meal, rock phosphate or high-phosphate guano
? to 1 part kelp meal (or 1 part basalt dust)

Cost. Buying your ingredients in bulk from farm or ranch stores, by mail order or online will often give you the most materials for your money. If you find a good source, go ahead and stock up once or twice a year. Garden shops generally sell ingredients in smaller quantities and are often (comparatively) higher in price.

Application. Evenly spread 4 to 6 quarts of fertilizer per 100 square feet of raised garden bed (or for every 50 feet in a row, in a width of 12 to 18 inches) before planting each crop (or a minimum of once a year, spring being best). Work the fertilizer into the soil with a hoe or spade. For more demanding vegetables, sprinkle small quantities every few weeks after the original application.

These tips are adapted from Steve Solomon's article, 'A Better Way to Fertilize Your Garden: Homemade Organic Fertilizer,' from Mother Earth News magazine. Find alternative ingredient options, crop-specific instructions and additional fertilizer information in the complete article.