by Julie Bawden-Davis

Created on: December 17, 2010

Making your own organic fertilizer has the same benefits of a home-cooked meal. You know the ingredients going into the fertilizer, and they tend to be a lot healthier than anything you can buy in a store. When you create your own organic fertilizer, you ensure that your plants get the healthiest, most complete nutrition.

Formulating your own fertilizer is fun and easy, and the results are well worth the effort. Here is a list of ingredients for your fertilizer, as well as how much to add to your signature blend.

Alfalfa meal (2 cups)

Alfalfa meal is just what it says—meal from alfalfa hay. It may not sound impressive, but the truth is, this is one of the most powerful ingredients of your homemade fertilizer blend. Alfalfa meal contains triacontanol, which is a natural growth stimulant. Alfalfa meal also provides your plants with nitrogen.

Bloodmeal (1/4 cup)

Bloodmeal is dried blood. This is a rich source of nitrogen, comprising 13 percent. It also serves as a good animal pest  repellent.

Bonemeal (1/4 cup)

Bonemeal is finely ground bone that contains a high percentage (10-12 percent) of available phosphate and up to 25 percent calcium.

Epsom Salt (3 tablespoons)

Epsom salt is mined and processed magnesium sulfate, which is composed of 10 percent magnesium and 13 percent sulfur. It provides a quick source of magnesium to plants.

Greensand (1/2 cup)

Greensand is mined from deposits that were originally parts of the ocean floor and are now found in the northeastern United States. Greensand is composed of 7 percent potash, as well as iron and silica.

Guano (1/2 cup)

Guano is aged bird or bat excrement. It looks like gray powder or pellets. Guano contains 15 percent nitrogen, 10 percent phosphate, and a small amount of potash, as well as calcium.

Kelp meal (1/2 cup)

Products containing kelp meal are usually made from dried and ground Ascophyllum nodosum, which is seaweed harvested from waters of the North Atlantic Ocean. Kelp Meal contains a wide variety of trace minerals and potash, as well as amino acids and vitamins. It also feeds the beneficial organisms in the soil.

Why are all of these ingredients important to your plants?

Much like the human body needs a wide assortment of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids to function at top performance, so do plants.

Nitrogen is key in the production of chlorophyll, which is the major nutrient for stimulating leaf growth and keeps foliage green. A lack of nitrogen is the most common nutrient deficiency. It

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