Gardening involves using vegetable scraps as well as other food scraps. Some food scraps, however, can be used in other ways and make the garden stay healthy and vibrant. This article explains different ways by which kitchen waste can be used in the garden.
1) Using Spent Coffee Grounds
They can be used to make a nitrogen-rich watering solution because once they are spent, their acidity level decreases. They can also be sprinkled around the edges to deter slugs and snails. They can serve as a good source of fertilizer for your garden.
2) Using Organic Banana Peels
These are excellent kitchen waste for your garden. They contain a considerable amount of potassium which is a great necessity for your plants. With banana peels, your plants get to fruit better.
To make use of banana peels for gardening, seep the peels in water for a couple of days to make banana tea. The peels can also be diced, dried, spread around the base of plants, and left to rot. Learn more about making liquid fertilizer from kitchen waste.
3) Using Organic Citrus Peels
These can be very useful in the garden. You can keep the peels in nice halves to make excellent biodegradable seedling pots to start plants in. Also you can drive and dice the citrus peels and afterwards, sprinkle around in the garden. This will help to keep away cats from using the area as a litterbox.
Afterwards, top off with 2 – 3 inches of mulch. The food scraps will break down and not only that, it will also attract worms. As for the cardboard and newspaper, they will prevent weeds from growing.
There is conservation of moisture by the mulch as it breaks down into rich soil. This process can be used to make garden beds and it is not only easy, but also cheap and efficient.
5) Direct Soil Feeding
This can be done by putting food scraps directly in the garden. You can either bury the scraps next to and around plants, or you can buckets drilled to have drain holes and sit in garden beds to feed the plants as decomposition of the food takes place
6) Using Eggshells
Eggshells can be used as fertilizer as they add calcium to the soil. When planting seedlings in your garden, add crushed eggshells to holes. You can also have the eggshells worked into the soil around plants in an already planted garden.
Also, eggshells can be used as a pest deterrent. This can be done by sprinkling crushed eggshells around plants to keep away slugs and snails.
7) Using Nut Shells
Nut shells can be crushed into pieces and used as a thick layer which protects against the growth of weeds. Also, nut shells can be mixed in with the soil. Doing this will help to aerate otherwise compact soil.
8) Using Garlic, Onion, and Spicy Pepper
These help in warding off pests in your garden. You can have the spicy materials mixed with water and sprayed on the plants. Doing this will prevent insects, rabbits, e.t.c from attacking your crops.
9) Using Cardboard Boxes
Cardboard boxes are also kitchen waste. To utilize cardboard boxes as a waste, cut them into small pieces and throw into your compost bin. Based on the fact that most of the kitchen wastes are most times wet, cardboard pieces can serve as a drying agent for them as they help to absorb the excess moisture.
However, never use printed boxes. This is because they contain ink which is toxic and when such pieces of carbon boxes are mixed with the plants, they could harm the plants. An alternative is to rip off the top printed layer of the cardboard and then proceed to compost the box.
Different Methods Of Using Kitchen Wastes
1) Blend Up Method
This method helps to speed up the decomposition of kitchen wastes. You can make use of a blender. This will break down the waste material into a slurry which can afterwards, be added to an outdoor tumbler or larger garden bin for a faster rate of decomposition.
In the absence of a permanent outdoor bin system, a compost tumbler can be a substitute and works absolutely great. To prevent your blender from getting spoilt, avoid blending wastes which could cause damages. In short, be selective on the kind of kitchen wastes you blend up.
2) Freeze and Dispose
If you choose to only reduce your food waste without having to compost for the garden, you can make use of this method. This is done by popping up your kitchen wastes into the freezer until collection day.
With this, your countertop is clear and the scraps are kept away. For ease, make use of a biodegradable trash bag which you can toss into the pickup bin from the freezer.
3) Countertop Pails
This is the easiest method of collecting kitchen wastes. Here, you need to get a pail with a tight-fitting lid which will fit on your countertop. Pour in your kitchen wastes daily and empty regularly into a tumbler or larger outdoor bin.
Here, odour shouldn’t be a problem if emptied every day. However, if your fruit and vegetable leavings are going to be on the counter for some days, ensure to use a container with a snug-fitting lid or a container having a charcoal filter.
Suitable materials for countertop pails include: ceramics, stainless steel, BPA-free plastics. Avoid using wood products as most kitchen wastes contain a lot of moisture. Also, wood materials won’t be as attractive as the rest so you can picture how it will look like when having it sit on the countertop.
Conclusion
When disposed accordingly and utilized, kitchen wastes give a vital, rich soil. However, there are some cases and cities where backyard food composting is resisted due to situations whereby open-air bins attract scavengers and vermin but this can be addressed by using an enclosed container having a latching lid such as a tumbler.
Another way to address the situation is by eliminating any food which they might find appealing such as dairy products, processed foods, meat and meat waste products, e.t.c. For details about composting kitchen waste, check our guide on how to make compost from kitchen waste here.
