natural fertilizers

Well, call me odd, but I'm jumping on the organic fertilizer bandwagon. Sort of. This summer, my Mom told me that coffee grounds can be used as fertilizer or in compost. Then, some friends at W@H swore that their roses bloomed better with coffee grounds used as fertilizer around them. So, as my cherry tomato plants are not growing as well as I would like and we do have a new Starbucks within walking distance (if I'm motivated enough-I went through the drivethru today), after I ordered my orange creme frappucino (a disappointment, but ok), I asked the barista for some grounds. Expecting a confused response, she actually was surprised that I only wanted a little bit. I told her I have a small garden and am just trying out the coffee-makes-good-fertilizer theory. She smiled and said"no problem", and proceeded to get me my Grande cup of coffee grounds as requested. I added most of the grounds to my tomato pot and a few to my green been pot, covering the egg shells which I have crushed and added in the last couple of days....

Yes, you read that right. Egg shells and coffee grounds are the newest phase of my gardening experiment. I also read somewhere that ants don't like the smell of coffee, so perhaps other insects will stay away and I won't have to use harmful repellents? Nice theory, anyway!

These may be old news to you real farm-hands and gardeners, and they do make sense to me as I've seen my parents use egg shells in compost for years. The good news is you don't have to go all gung-ho into composting if you don't have the time or space to get some of the benefits!