9 Effective Ways to Use Food Scraps in the Garden
There is a popular saying that” one man’s junk is another man’s treasure” but what if I tell you that your junk can also be your treasure? Don’t trash the treasure use it, kitchen scraps is a gold mine but too often this gold mine heads straight towards the trash bin when it could have been used to do so much good, in fact, kitchen scraps are one of the safest ways to provide nutrients to our garden plants because these scraps are natural organics that is beneficial for our plants, soil microbes and for us as well.
What are some of these kitchen scraps that can be used in our gardens to encourage or promote healthy plants that are thriving, want to know more then continue reading as we take a closer look at how to use food scraps in the garden. A word of caution here meat scraps are not to be used because of food contamination, meat scraps will also encourage rodents for example rats, and mice.
How to Use Food Scraps in the Garden
1. Orange Peel: Orange peels have their place in the garden scatter the peels throughout your garden area. garden insect pests hate the sent and will stay clear of garden plants. It’s also recommended to scatter some of the peels alongside the bottom of plants to ward off flies, fleas, mosquitos, and fleas.
2. Coffee Ground: Coffee grounds are great for adding lots of nutrients along with nitrogen to the soil for plant uptake, how this is done is to simply mix coffee ground in the top few inches of flower bed soil, coffee ground can be added to the soil of potted or container plants for that extra boost.
3. Banana Peel: Bananas are known for their high potassium content, the peels of bananas contain 78 milligrams of potassium which can aid garden plants. The nutrients that are available in banana peels will encourage flower production along with building your garden’s plant resistance to fight disease. Simply place the banana peel on the soil’s surface and allow it to decompose or degrade.
4. Pasta Water: Indoor and well as outdoor plants can benefit from the water that you boil your pasta in, boil pasta water contains trances of zinc, calcium, iron, potassium, and phosphorus. These nutrients will assist in the proper growth of plants by giving them an added boost of nutrients, once the water cools pour around your plants.
5. Spicy Pepper: I believe that most of us love to add a little spice to our foods to take them up a notch with a little sizzle, but do you know that garden plants can also benefit from a little sizzle also. Scatter peppers around your plants or bury them into the top few inches of soil, this move will not only improve the flavors of foods but will also act as a natural insecticide.
6. Cooking Water: The water that you used to boil eggs or the water from rice can be saved, instead of pouring cooking water down the drain, the starch in the water will not only assist in the releasing of nutrients that are in the soil but will release nutrients also.
7. Wall Nut Shell: Crushing nut shells and sprinkling them over your garden bed is said ” to assist with weed control” compacted soil can also be aerated by mixing nuts ( compacted soils) in it.
8. Onion and Garlic: Onion and garlic are here to the rescue, scattering the peels and scraps from onion and garlic in your garden will keep rabbits, insects, and deer at bay.
9. Eggshells: Eggshells Eggshells add calcium to the soil which plants need to grow healthy, the jagged edges of eggshells will keep snails and slugs out of your garden. When snails and slugs make contact with the eggshells jagged edges will cut into their soft body which is really painful.
The final word on how to use food scraps in the garden
These natural remedies will not cost you anything except for your time in your garden, these methods have proven to be effective without any side effects to garden plants. Why trash the gold when you can use this treasure to your advantage because as we said earlier “one man’s junk is another man’s treasure. Take advantage of this all-natural gold mine that has so many benefits.
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About the author
Norman loves being in the garden, both at home and for his job....
he is 'Natures Little helper' being outdoors, growing his vegetables and flowers from an early age.
Now having spent over 22 years in the profession he want to give some of his knowledge to others...
his vast array of hints and tips you will find scattered over this site will help you no end growing plants in your garden.
I found this article on how to use food scraps in the garden to be incredibly informative and helpful. I have a small vegetable garden at home and I am always looking for ways to be more sustainable and reduce my food waste.
One of the questions I had after reading the article was about what types of food scraps are best to use in the garden. Are there any specific scraps that should be avoided? And is it safe to use meat and dairy scraps in the garden?
I also found the section on using food scraps to create a compost pile to be particularly useful. I have been wanting to start a compost pile for a while now but wasn’t sure where to start. The article provided clear and detailed instructions on how to set up and maintain a compost pile.
In terms of my own experience, I have been using food scraps in my garden for a while now and have seen a noticeable improvement in the health and yield of my plants. I particularly noticed that my tomatoes tasted sweeter after I started using food scraps in my compost.
Overall, I highly recommend this article to anyone who is interested in using food scraps in their garden. It is a great resource for learning about the benefits of food scraps, how to use them effectively, and how to set up a compost pile. I will definitely be referring back to it as I continue to develop my own sustainable gardening practices.
Thank you for those kind words I am so happy to help, as I noted in the post animal scraps should not be used. Only fruits and vegetable scraps along with eggshell and coffee grounds are SAFE. This post has links that will answer your questions. Glad to help.
https://gardenofedengardencent…
Who knew that kitchen scraps could be a green thumb’s secret weapon?! I’ve been struggling to grow anything for years, but with these 9 effective ways to use food scraps in the garden, I’m hoping to finally achieve a lush and thriving garden. No more weeds for me, just a bounty of beautiful plants!
Kitchen scraps are amazing and will work wonders for you, glad to help. Wishing you the best of success. Have a good day!