Have you ever wondered what you could do with food scraps and kitchen waste instead of tossing them in the garbage? There are many of ways to use your leftovers in your garden, from organic pest deterrents to yellow jacket traps, to the ground covering that prevents weed growth. Here are some of our favourite food waste recycling tips to use on November 15 for Recycling Day. At Steyn’s Culinary School we make sure nothing gets turned into waste.
Coffee Grounds
Don’t toss your coffee grounds, rinse them out to remove extra acids, then simply sprinkle them onto the soil surrounding your plants. It not only keeps the pests at bay but enriches your garden soil. The coffee grounds can be used as mulch in the garden to repel cats and to set up a slug-deterring barrier (but be warned, this treatment might repel you, too!).
For a less-aromatic option, you can work the grounds into the soil. It is believed that coffee grounds are especially welcome around onions, lettuce, carrots, and radishes. If you don't want to put the coffee grounds directly in the soil, then add the grounds to water, and water your plants with the nitrogen-rich water.
Eggshells
It may seem strange, but eggshells are a pet hate of slugs and snails, it is believed that they don’t like crawling over them. By breaking eggshells on the ground around your salads, should help keep them at bay. Wash your eggshells well and store them for later use in the garden, then crush and spread when ready.
By using eggshells as fertilizer, they'll add calcium to your soil. Crushed eggshells can be added to holes when planting seedlings in your garden, or you can work eggshells into the soil around plants in an already planted garden.
A fun project is using your intact eggshell halves as little starter pots for delicate plants. Fill them with soil and seeds, when your seedlings get big enough to plant, thin them as needed by keeping only one or two of the strongest-looking seedlings, gently crack the eggshell, and plant the whole thing (eggshell and all) in your garden.
Rice Water
When you cook rice keep the water and turn it into liquid gold for your plants. The cloudy liquid that remains when we wash the rice is called rice water. This cloudy white colour is due to the starchy powder present in the rice grains.
Aside from just simply watering your plants, rice water can be used as fertilizer to increase production and helps plants grow at a much better rate. Your golden liquid can be misted on your plants, applied to the soil, or given via tap watering.
Paper Towel You also may not have thought to put paper towels into your garden, but it can be very beneficial: The soft fibers of used paper towels are another ideal substrate material that gives the soil room to breathe and helps the organic parts of rich soil grow and survive. Carefully shred old paper towels into small pieces and work them into your soil to help. You can germinate seeds on paper towels. Simply keep seeds consistently moist by wrapping them in damp paper towels and sealing them in plastic sealable bags for the greenhouse effect (known as the baggie method). Https://plantscraze.com/germinating-seeds-in-paper-towels/ Note: only use paper towels that came in contact with food, not cleaning chemicals. Banana Peels Prepare to up your waste warrior status by using banana peels that are rich in phosphorus, potassium, and other nutrients that your plants love. However, you don't want to just toss rotting peels into the garden: The best method is to leave banana peels in a protected, airy environment to let them dry out, and then crush and mix them into the soil. Some people prefer to leave them soaking in water to make banana tea for fertilizer.
You can also use the banana peels as mulch by placing them directly, in a single layer, on top of the soil, being sure not to let them touch the plant stem. Cover the peels with standard mulch to keep the fruit flies away. Shells and Rice Pips, nut shells, rice, and other similar matter can perform the same duties as egg shells. Crush them if necessary and mix them into your soil to encourage aeration Because they are coarser than most composting materials, mixing them in with your compost will improve the structure and drainage. This aids in the composting process by allowing air and moisture to flow through This type of kitchen waste is otherwise wasted in the trash, so why not use it? Composting Other Food Scraps Old fruit, bread, vegetable peels, lettuce, and many other items may have a place in your yard, but you probably don't want to bury them right in the soil. Instead, use them for leaf-based or worm-based composting. Mix them in with soil and plenty of fiber and let this kitchen waste stew until it provides very rich well-fertilized soil. This a great way of disposing of items that you couldn’t eat in time. If you don’t have a composter and you are not sure where to start when composting, make sure you research it thoroughly so that you know what you are doing. Most of the kitchen items mentioned can also be used in composting. Https://helpmecompost.com/home-composting/implementation/how-to-make-compost-from-kitchen-waste/
When it comes to choosing how you want to recycle your kitchen waste will largely depend on your situation. The best part is you will end up with fantastic soil which helps your plants grow happy and healthy.
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