Organic manures, fertilizers and pesticides that can be made from our kitchen items or wastes.

Let us first understand what is Manure , Fertilizer and Pesticide

Fertilizer : Its a natural or synthetic material applied to the soil for supplying essential nutrients for growth of plants. Fertilizer can be natural as well as industry produced.

Manure: Its a natural fertilizer for soil made usually made out of either Animal Feces, Human Feces or Vegetable Wastes.

Pesticide: They are used to destroy or control pest and helps in proper growth of plants

Fertilizers can be Organic or Inorganic Fertilizer (Synthetic Fertilizer) . It can be Single Nutrient Fertilizer or Multi Nutrient Fertilizer. The type of fertilizer to be used depends on the type of Crop/Plant/Tree you want to grow and also the type of soil in which you want to grow it.

Incase of Pesticides too it depends on the type of insect/bacteria/fungi your targeting to avoid or get rid off.

You can use all the vegetable and fruit peels which you get during your regular routine and mix it in the soil as this can increase the fertility of the soil to some extent. You can also use the waste what you get post filtering the tea. Also you need to keep a check on the growth of weeds if any in the soil and remove / clear them regularly so that the fertility of the soil is maintained

You can spray regularly few drops of Neem Oil/Eucalyptus Oil / Salt Spray as a natural pesticide to keep away insects/fungi/bacteria

Hope this helps

1. The different types of manures, fertilizers and pesticides are as follows-

a) Manure- A manure is a natural fertilizer which is derived from animal, human or plant waste to improve the quality of soil and increase the production of healthy crops. Examples are- Cattle dung, human excreta, urine, crop waste etc.

There are three types of manure-

i) Green manure- It is uprooted part of crops that are left to wither on the field so that they serve as the mulch to conserve soil moisture, improve the fertility of the soil, reduce the growth of weed etc. It is very organic in nature.

ii) Farmyard manure- It is composed of waste products of the farm animals, like dung, urine, litter, straw and the residue of fodder which is used to feed animals. They contain a lot of nutrients and most important of them is nitrogen which is needed by the plants. It is also known as traditional manure and doesn't require any process to be followed to prepare it.

iii) Compost manure- It is a fertilizer that is made by thermophilic decomposition of a mixture of organic residues like animal carcasses, straw, dead leaves etc. It is rich in nutrients and helps to improve the structure of soil and its water and nutrient holding capacity.


b) Fertilizer- A fertilizer is a natural or synthetic substance which is used to enhance plant growth by supplying one or more essential nutrients needed for the growth. It also improves the fertility of the soil.

There are two types of fertilizers-

i) Organic fertilizer- As the name suggests, it is made from natural or organic materials like agricultural waste, livestock manure, municipal sludge etc. It contains different kinds of organic acid and rich nutrients elements. It works slowly but is beneficial in the long run.

ii) Inorganic fertilizer- It is made up of chemical components that contain nutrients necessary for the growth of plants and fertility of the soil. Examples are- Nitrogen fertilizer, phosphate fertilizer, compound fertilizer etc. It gives a quick boost to the plants and is good for short term only.

c) Pesticide- It is a chemical substance that is used for destroying insects or other animals harmful to cultivated plants or to animals. It is also used to control the growth of weeds. Examples are- fungicides, herbicides, insecticides etc.

Pesticides can be grouped according to the type of pests they kill-

Herbicides are used to kill plants. Fungicides are used to kill fungi. Insecticides are used to kill insects. Rodenticides are used to kill rodents like rats and mice, etc.

It is important to note that pesticides can also be grouped according to the chemicals they contain or to the method of application.


2. Yes, we need to have different kinds of manures, fertilizers and pesticides for different kinds of plants. It is because different plants have different needs and we only have to fill the soil/plant with the nutrient they need, not the nutrients that they already have. Also, different insects eat different plants, so a particular fertilizer is needed to kill that insect without harming the insects that are beneficial for plants.

3. Yes, kitchen items can be used to make manure, fertilizers and pesticides.

4. Peeled off skin of vegetables and fruits can be used as organic manure. The used coffee ground can enrich the garden soil. Eggshells are composed of 95% minerals and they can help in the growth of plants.

When we boil eggs or vegetables, the boiled water when cooled down can be used to fertilize the plants.

The pepper leftovers like their tops and seeds can be used as a pesticide. For this, the leftovers need to be blended, strained, mixed with water in a spray bottle to spray on plants and to keep pests away.

Animal wastes, plant wastes which are obtained from your kitchen or the food remnants after your eating can be stored and decomposed in your back yard to get you manure. Manure is a natural form of fertiliser. A fertiliser made with naturally occurring materials like plants and animals is known as manure. The products produced in the factories for the same use are called fertilisers.

Types of Manure


1. Green Manure: This manure helps in increasing the organic matter content in the soil. They will suppress weeds and prevent soil erosion.

2.Farmyard Manure: This will help in increasing the soil structure and can be used as fertilizer in farming. This will help the soil to take and retain more water and nutrients.

3. Compost Manure: They will make the plants healthy and resistant to deceases. It will also help in improving the soil structure.

Advantages of Manure
A good source of macronutrients. they make the soil more fertile. Cost-effective Soil erosion will get reduced.
Improves the water and nutrient holding a capacity of the soil.

How to make:


1. All Vegetables and fruit peelings over-ripened fruits and vegetables, nuts, and eggshells. All these items are useful for making the manure. Put these items in a bin and add little quantity of wood ash. This will make the composting process past.
2. Sawdust, livestock can be added so that the process will become fast.
3. To the above bin, you can add some garden waste. This can be added to your above bin.

4. You have to mix the contents of the bin by using a stick or by rotating the bin to ensure better mixing. thorough mixing and to incorporate oxygen into the mixture. The bin should have some drain through which excess water can go out. It is better to mix at least 3 times a day.
5. Wait till the compost is ready Once the compost is ready the material in the bin will become dark in colour and appear like soil. Once the changes are noticed your compost is ready.

Plants grow in soil and take their nutrition from the soil when they grow and water which we add. But sometimes there may be deficiency of some nutrients in the soil or water which is required for healthy growth of a plant. Then we have to use these manures, fertilizers or pesticides.

Fertilizers: It is a material that is applied to soil or plants to supply nutrients and minerals. They are of two types Inorganic and organic fertilizers. Based on the requirement of the nutrient for plant or deficiency of nutrient in the soil, a fertilizer can be selected.

Inorganic fertilizers: These are the chemical fertilizers contains one or more nutrient required for plant growth. Nutrients required for plants include primary nutrient viz. nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) or Secondary nutrients viz. calcium (Ca), sulfur (S), magnesium (Mg), and any other trace metal like chlorine (Cl), boron (B), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), molybdenum (Mo), selenium (Se) and manganese (Mn).
Commonly used fertilizers are:
1. Nitrogen Fertilizers: These fertilizers contain nitrogen as main component. It increases plant growth and quality of plant products.
2. Phosphate Fertilizers: These fertilizers contains Phosphorus nutrient.
3. Potassium Fertilizers: They contain potassium.

Organic fertilizers /Farmyard Manures: It is a natural fertilizer made up of animal or plant wastes. It is also called as farmyard manure. Manure is considered as complete fertilizer. But a main drawback is it has fewer nutrients.
1. Agricultural /vegetable waste manure: It is made up of agricultural waste like straw, dead leaves or vegetable waste.
2. Livestock manure: It is made up of animal feaces. Common are rabbit manure, pig manure or chicken manure.

Pesticides: These are chemical substances that are used to kill pests. There are various types of pesticides available. For a specific pests a specific pesticide is used.
Insecticides – These are used to kill insecticides.
Herbicides/weedicides - These are used to remove unwanted plants or weeds.
Bactericides - These are used to kill bacteria.
Fungicides – These are used to kill fungi like molds, mildew, and rust.
Larvicides - These are used to kill larvae.
Molluscicides- These are used to control snails and other molluscs.
Rodenticides – These are used to kill rodents

Besides these chemical fertilizers and pesticides, some ecofriendly alternatives like biofertilizers and biopesticdes are there.
Biofertlizers: These are the natural substance containing living microorganisms which add nutrients and stimulate plant growth when supplied to plant surfaces, or soil.

Vermicompost: It is also an organic fertilizer or biofertilizer produced as the worm humus by earth worm. This compost is contains enough quantities of N, P, K and several other nutrients required for plant growth.

Biopesticides: These are the natural pesticides or biological agent such as a virus, bacterium etc. that are used to kill pests. Common biopesticides are Microbial pesticides like bacteria, fungi, viruses and Bio derived chemicals like neem oil, pyrethrum etc.

We need to use different manures, fertilizers and pesticides for different plants according to their nutrients needs and soil type.

For gardening you can use kitchen items for making compost vegetable, fruit waste rotten vegetable etc.

You should keep vegetables /fruits peels or rotten vegetable / fruits separate. You can use a terracotta pot as a decomposter pot. Add equal quantity of dried leaves. Now add semi composted material cow dung. Mix it daily until pot become full. Now keep it as it is for up to 2 months. This mixture now turned into a dark coloured manure.

Many of us are having hobby of gardening and due to limited space most of us have flower pots and some bigger pots even for a little of vegetable plants. No doubt that gardening is a good hobby but the problem is that only soil can not sustain the plants and some nourishment from outside is required. Here comes the utility of manures and fertilisers which are used to give nutrients to the soil and plants will get the adequate support from it.

There are various types of manures and fertilisers which are used for different types of plantations like flowers or vegetables and accordingly they are to be supplemented to the plants. There are many microbes, insects and bacterias which attack these plants and destroy them. In such conditions we have to use pesticides for killing and weeding these infections so that the plants remain healthy.

As regards to making manure from the kitchen waste, many people are doing it efficiently and using it in their flower pots etc. The kitchen waste is an ideal input for the manure making and the process is simple and straight and anyone can do it without any external help. For making manure what we need is one big bucket or drum and then we have to layer the kitchen waste in it and cover it with some dry leaves and grass and some thin twig pieces etc and then again put a layer of kitchen waste and go on doing it alternatively till the drum is filled up to three - fourth height. We have to cover the drum or bucket with a lid so that it does not give foul smell. It is a good idea to keep this preferably in open balcony area. One thing which is important is that we have to sprinkle a little water weekly or in 10 days so that there is humidity inside the bucket for bacterial actions for disintegrating the food items in the kitchen waste to a form of manure. Once the process is complete which usually takes 2-3 months it can be used as manure in the flower pots. The manure made with kitchen waste is of high quality and will give a new lease of life to the plants where they are used.