I love my compost pile but there are many reasons that people are unable to have a compost pile or bin. But don’t be too sad – you can still improve soil without a compost pile. There are 6 key ingredients you can add to your soil to make it rich and healthy.

How to Improve Soil Without a Compost Pile

The best part about these 6 ingredients is that 4 of them can come right out of your kitchen without costing you a dime! The other 2 won’t cost you much either.

So let’s talk soil improvement!

1. Eggshells 

   Eggshells are an amazing way to improve soil and help your garden in many ways. You can use them as a fertilizer that will add calcium to your soil, an unappreciated nutrient for your veggies. Mix crushed shells into your soil or add them to the bottom of your hole before planting transplants. Eggshells can also help you fight the good fight against snails and slugs. Take your crushed eggshells and sprinkle them around the base of plants; most pests won’t want to cross over the sharp shells to bother your plants. Make sure to give your shells a good rinse before you use them. See other ways to reuse your eggshells here.

2. Orange Peels 

   Cut up peels and shred them and spread them around your garden to deter cats from using your garden as a litter box. If you want to use orange peels as a soil improvement you can cut them into small pieces and bury them in your garden. They will add a punch of phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium. You can do more with orange peels to improve your garden – see ideas here.

3. Rabbit Manure 

   Rabbit manure is one of the few manures that you can use without composting.  Rabbit droppings are rich with phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen. And trace elements calcium, copper, magnesium and sulfur too. It isn’t a “hot” manure like chicken poo, so you can put it right in the garden without worrying that you’ll burn your plants. If you don’t have a rabbit of your own, find a rabbit owner – they’ll probably give you all the poo you want free of charge. See more about rabbit manure in your garden here!

4. Banana Peels 

   Banana peels are a natural fertilizer and improve soil by adding calcium, magnesium, phosphates, potassium, sodium and sulphur. You can dry them, grind them into power and mix the powder into the soil to boost these nutrients. You can also make a fertilizing tea with banana peels. See directions for making that tea and more about using banana peels to improve soil here!

5. Coffee Grounds 

   We are big coffee drinkers at our house so I am so glad they can be used to improve soil and help in the garden. Used coffee grounds mixed into your soil will add organic material, improve the soil’s drainage and soil aeration. But that’s not all; coffee is a great fertilizer too. Coffee has many benefit for your garden so be sure to see more about coffee in the garden here.

6. Azomite 

   Azomite is A to Z Of Minerals Including Trace Elements. Azomite improves soil by adding all minerals – many which are low or missing in today’s soil. Not only does this mean that your soil will be healthier, your vegetables will will be filled with minerals that you need too! For more information about Azomite as soil amendments see Azomite.com.

I hope I’ve helped you to understand how you can improve your soil without a compost pile. All soil needs a little help to be nutrient rich – especially after a season of growing! But don’t forget, even in an apartment you can do some small-scale composting with something like a Bokashi Bucket or your own worm farm for vermicomposting.