D.I.Y. Fertiliser

Gardening
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https://homes.nine.com.au/2019/01/02/13/25/how-to-make-diy-natural-fertiliser

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Banana peel, coffee grounds and egg shells.

You could use a much wider range of food scraps to make compost, even in a unit or flat with only pot plants. Food scraps (peels, cores, tops & tails) & soil from a spent plant; leave to compost & apply, or start a new plant or vegetables. It is missing the poo factor, (I have abundant moo poo) but you can get the compost up to temperature by using cheap dry dog food forked through. Leave to heat, turn over to get air through, 3-4 weeks = Compost.

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These have low levels of nutrients when compared to the bought varieties. While it is a good way to potentially remove these from the waste stream/bin (as it composting), they are unlikely to be a solution for most home gardens. They may help supplement bough fertilisers where one lives say in an apartment and has a few pots on the balcony.

It is also worth noting that for the minor quantities of nutrients in say banana peel, coffee grounds and egg shells to be released and available for plant uptake, the materials would need to break down. This breakdown/decomposition would also need to be such that it results in the release of the nutrients.

For example, egg shells while they contain calcium, the egg shells would need to be subject to acidic soil/potting mix conditions to dissolve the egg shells and make the calcium available in the soil solution. Using them as a calcium replacement to lime, gypsum etc is limited to specific conditions and in many circumstances may not supply a nutritional benefit.

As indicated above, the main benefit would be that these as well as other organic materials could readily be removed from the waste stream and reused around the home (instead of ending up in landfill and resulting in methane production).

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This article is full of oversimplifications and assumptions with no justification.

  • There is no need to limit your composting to just three ingredients as zackarii said.
  • There is little to be gained by pulping it unless you want the calcium carbonate to be absorbed quickly which is moot, save the extra washing-up.
  • Adding high proportions of calcium is only appropriate if your soil is deficient, you could be overdosing.
  • The mix is not a complete fertiliser, you will not become independent of other inputs.
  • Unless your garden is very very tiny there will never be enough, you will not be free from store bought. The question of how much might be sufficient is never broached.
  • No evidence at all is supplied that this idea works as advertised, the author doesn’t even say that she has tried it, it could be quite untested.
  • It assumes that a random dose of one soil supplement and one pH suits all plants which is completely wrong.
  • It ends with the naturalistic fallacy ‘all natural no nasties’

The soundbite “Watch the video above to see how stupidly easy it is to create your own fertiliser.” Should be replaced by “Watch the fertiliser above to see how easy it is to create your own stupid video.”

I see no reason to draw to our attention such distilled bad advice. If they had stuck to the simple message to compost your scraps there would have been some merit, but no, they had to exaggerate and make all those absurd claims.

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I commented because I am sick of the “simplistic” solution, the click bait that gets dished up as News or break-through innovation etc, (and isn’t). Annoyed that Mr Google has decided that I am retirement age and therefore taken in by “This will shock you!” “What all Aussies need to know” “What they don’t want you to know
 " Simple/trick/hack to solve 
” It panders to a distrust of authority and naivety. Dishing up pseudo science and myth as fact. Frankly I don’t fit the mould and it really irks me that I am being stereotyped as a gullible, barely educated consumer. Rant over.

Mr Z likes watching YouTube videos and there are lots of presenters that knew a lot about a subject (and maybe not), but they are now dishing up garbage to keep up the Views & income from Google. He likes the mechanical “How to 
” type vids. Gets annoyed with narration by people who know nothing about the subject. I keep saying “Anyone can put anything on YouTube, AND THEY DO!” There’s no fact police or standard of expertise or truth. The Google adverts are the same.

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It’s amazing how posting click bait-junk article links can generate discussion, I prefer not to waste my limited bandwidth on them :wink:

IMO, Gardening Australia/Organic Gardener is the best show to watch/mag to read for composting/fertilser info.

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