Organic farming has been popular for the promise of safety and sustainability. However, organic farming has also been viewed as expensive. While this may be true, organic farming is really cheap and sustainable as the things you need to grow food is just in your kitchen.

Here are some kitchen wastes that you can use to keep your own organic garden affordable and healthy:

Coffee grounds

narrative-coffee-22 — *Photography by Danica Condez*

If you like to make coffee from beans, you probably end up with lots of coffee grounds. Just like any other waste, you can add coffee grounds to your compost pile or vermicompost bin. However, you can sprinkle coffee grounds directly to the soil. Although it won’t supply nitrogen, a nutrient needed for leaf-growth, as efficiently as compost, coffee grounds can raise the acidity of the soil. Coffee grounds also deter pests like slugs.

Fish

When preparing fish, the head, guts, and other parts are usually discarded. However, fish fertilizer does wonders in the garden. In fact, you could see results overnight. Rich in micronutrients, oils, protein, and amino acids, fish fertilizer also feeds soil microorganisms and provides nitrogen to the plant.

Fish fertilizer recipes usually involve fermentation. If you don’t want the funky smell, try doing the cold-processed hydrolysate. If you don’t want to go through the hassle of fermentation, you can also purchase fish amino acid fertilizer from Cedarhills Garden Center.

Egg shells

Egg is a breakfast staple. If your breakfast is not complete without egg, then you can also add calcium-rich eggshells to your garden soil. Calcium is a nutrient that strengthens plants. Tomatoes are especially fond of calcium, especially when they are already fruiting. To make it more effective, make sure to break the eggshells into tiny pieces before combining in soil or making a calcium phosphate fertilizer. Like coffee, broken eggshells deter slugs as well.

Compost

noli march feature teraoka family farm — *Rice hull is a good soil conditioner. It improves the structure of soil for better drainage and water retention. Photography by Jilson Tiu.*

To be honest, every biodegradable waste you find in the kitchen are suitable for composting. A compost bin, whether traditional, with earthworms, or bokashi, can turn vegetable peels, leaves, and fruit leftovers into a nutrient rich soil additive.

Header photo by Artu Nepomuceno