A well-known Venezuelan announcer and declaimer named Pedro Colina coined a phrase that is very pertinent to the subject I will deal with, it was "There are things that are silenced because they are known and forgotten because they are silenced"..
Our grandparents and great-grandparents knew very well how to use the organic waste generated by everyday life and make it productive in the short and long term for their lives, something that ended up generating savings in the future.
With it they fed pigs and other animals and also served as nutrients for the different plants they harvested, both in pots and in their large yards.
The flowers were always beautiful and there was always something to eat in the yard, whether it was vegetables or fruit..
Now that the city increasingly isolates us to small spaces full of asphalt and concrete, it has become an odyssey to imitate them and the vast majority have simply forgotten that they can help themselves to subsist with little effort, in addition to saving waste to throw away..
Plants as living beings need many of the minerals that are necessary for us and that we obtain through them, so giving them back to them is an almost obligatory retribution..
Potassium, calcium carbonate, nitrogen, iron, and many other vitamins are present in the organic wastes we throw away and are needed by the plants we grow, even human urine has urea which is important for them..
My great-grandmother's roses were always beautiful and her secret was to pour the shells of the potatoes she used, these gave the potassium to keep them that way, also the banana and cambur shells provide this nutrient, you can chop them, open a hole next to the plant and pour them there or blend them and pour that meringue at the edge of the stem of the plant..
Eggshells give calcium carbonate to the soil and also serves as a pest repellent, you can crush them and make a hole next to it and bury them or turn them into powder and spread it on the base of it, you can also water them with the water where you boil the eggs, instead of throwing it away..
The coffee grounds that we usually throw away provide nitrogen to the soil, and also serve as a repellent against ants, you can mix it with the soil or spread it around the trunk..
The unsalted water where we boil the vegetables is a source of proteins for the plants, instead of throwing it away, water them with it, the same happens with those who have fish and change the water of the fish tanks, throwing it to the drain, this contains organic wastes that are very useful for your planting, so it is more beneficial to throw it to them..
Nails, screws, rusty pieces of metal are wonderful for providing iron to your plants, so instead of sending them in the bin, save them and bury them next to your crops..
The dry leaves of the plants that we burn or throw away are useful to prepare the soil for future plantings or the land where we will sow seeds in a pot so that the plants will be born. We can store them in a large container and bury them, as well as grass clippings, weeds, sawdust, dried or wilted flowers and wood ashes..
There are even human wastes that are excellent for plants such as urine and hair. The first gives urea to your plants and must be mixed with water, the proportion is 8 portions of water to 1 of urine. The second contains nitrogen and also prevents the appearance of weeds, stimulates the activity of bacteria and makes the plant grow faster..
The peels or shells of citrus fruits also serve, given their acidity, to lower the PH of the soil, since we generally use tap water to water them and this increases it. Cut them in small pieces and place them superficially, it will also serve to aromatize the environment and to scare away the cats to prevent them from laying on them, the excrement of these animals is harmful for your garden. You can also place them among the ingredients of the homemade compost that you can make by mixing several ingredients that I will explain in another chapter..
Also these citrus peels mixed with boiled water and natural soap serve as insecticide, pouring with an atomizer on the top and bottom of the leaves of plants..
The peels of other fruits are also useful for your plants as they help fix nitrogen in the soil.
There are several ways to minimize the amount of waste, one is by burying it around the plants, another by liquefying it and pouring the juice into the soil where they are planted, you can also remove the soil and pour it in it covering it with a thin layer of sand..
Do not forget that meat, bones, dairy products, fish, fatty foods, dog and cat excrement, wood waste that has not been cut into small pieces or the remains of diseased plants are not used as fertilizers..