Natural Flower Fertilizer - A Recipe For A Fantastic Garden
Dean Shainin

Want to know what’s the best and least expensive natural flower fertilizer?

It’s no secret. Composting is one of the oldest methods used to fertilize plants whether of the flowering variety or the leafy kind. Learning how to compost certain food scraps and yard waste and turn it into a natural flower fertilizer is the single most money-saving method of fertilizing out there. And what’s more, it helps you reduce waste. Once finished, compost is a dark, crumbly mixture of decomposed organic matter. Used as a natural flower fertilizer, it can:

* Provide nutrients to plants
* Reduce the need for fertilizer
* Improve the quality of clay or sandy soil
* Control weeds
* Save water

Recipe

But what is the best compost recipe for natural flower fertilizers? The basic rule is this: two parts brown to one part green.

A compost pile is a teeming community of microorganisms that help break down organic matter like yard debris in to compost. To encourage the growth of these microorganisms, you need to use natural flower fertilizer that is two parts “brown” materials, such as dried leaves, which are rich in carbon. Mix this with one part nitrogen-rich “green” materials, such as grass clippings, and you have yourself a natural flower fertilizer – the perfect formula to promoting large populations of microorganisms that will heat up your yard debris and produce compost quickly.

Raw Materials

Use the following materials for composting the brown parts:

* Old potting soil
* Twigs
* Dried grass and leaves
* Shredded newspaper
* Straw
* Wood chips

For green matters:

* Grass clippings
* Fresh leaves
* Plant stalks
* Hedge trimmings
* Annual weeds without heads
* Coffee filters and tea bags
* Vegetable and fruit scraps

DON’T use the following materials:

* Diseased plants
* Weeds with seed heads
* Invasive weeds such as quack grass and morning glory
* Pet feces
* Dead animals
* Bread and grains
* Meat or fish parts
* Dairy products
* Grease, cooking oil or oily foods

Size Matters

To speed up the composting process of your natural flower fertilizer, try chopping them small. Cut them into smaller pieces as the smaller they are, the faster they compost. You can use shears or a machete to chop garden debris. For shredding, use a chipper-shredder or lawn mower.

Also, for even faster composting, your compost pile should be at least 3 foot square in size. Why does size matter? Because composting actually happens with the heat generated from the millions of microorganisms in the soil. As they process the raw materials, they release tons of energy that will help activate decomposition. So, if you want hot, fast composting, use this minimum size.

Air and Water

Every form of life on earth needs some amount of air and water to survive. The microorganisms in your natural flower fertilizer can do their job best when they are supplied with enough water and air. Sprinkle some water over your compost material. If possible, make them as dump as a wrung-out sponge. Also, make sure there are plenty of air passages for air to get through.

Dean Shainin is a well known writer, developer and internet marketing expert of http://www.Deans-Knowledgebase.com a directory designed to provide current information, resources, tips, services and products.