Use Kitchen Scraps in the Garden without Composting

When it comes to gardening, using veggie scraps just makes sense. It completes the logical cycle: Plant to crop to kitchen and back to plant again. Trees, grass, flowers, and other fauna require decomposing organic matter to get their thing done. So, we make compost, feed our gardens with it, and grow more food. While most of us know that our food scraps can be composted, here are some thoughts as to how to otherwise use them in the garden.

Direct Soil Feeding: Composting can take a lot of patience, and then it has to be moved to the garden. Instead, some gardeners prefer to put food scraps directly in the garden. Scraps can either be buried next to and around plants, or buckets can be drilled to have drain holes and sit in garden beds to feed the plants as food decomposes. This is a lower maintenance means of converting food scraps into plant food.

Getting New Plants: A huge amount of plants we get, especially when buying organic, can be used to produce more of the same. Autumn squashes come with seeds, as do tomatoes and peppers. Potatoes and sweet potatoes sprout anew. The bottoms of cabbages, lettuces, and celery can all be used to grow new plants. In other words, scraps can be kept to cultivate a whole new garden.

Banana Peels

Banana peels are potassium-rich and contain calcium and phosphorus, which are beneficial for fruit trees and flowering plants, specifically roses.

The potassium present in a banana’s peels can help your plants grow healthy and strong. This nutrient helps plants take in and transfer water at a cellular level, grow healthy roots, fight diseases and produce more fruit and blossoms.

Chop up banana peels, then bury them in the soil when you plant tomatoes, rose bushes, or green pepper plants (and make sure it’s a couple inches deep to prevent bugs —don’t get lazy and bury whole peels, unless you want to start attracting larger pests). From there, the banana peel will break down, releasing its potassium right into the soil for plants to pick up. The potash and phosphorus content in the peels will enrich the soil and strengthen your plants.

If you are afraid of attracting pests or animals, try liquefying the banana scrap in a blender with one quart of water before pouring it on to your plant or bush.

Ann Gibson, a.k.a. the Micro Gardener, suggests soaking a fresh banana peel in water for a day or two and then using that water to water the staghorn fern and other plants.

Orange Peels

Did you know that orange peels are chock full of nitrogen? Nitrogen is essential to good fertilizer. When your soil needs a boost, you can add in ground up orange peels. The peels will release the nitrogen and the result is nutrient rich soil your plants will love.

If you’re frustrated every time you head out into your yard and discover bugs have been munching on your plants, it’s time to turn to your fruit bowl. Instead of dropping orange peels right into the trash, you can use them to fight off pests that are interested in snacking on your flowers, food and more.

Orange peels are a natural pest deterrent, and they’re so effective that they’re used as an ingredient in many bug repellent sprays. The peels work well because most insects, including fleas, fire ants, mosquitoes, flies and roaches, dislike their fragrance. To create an anti-pest barrier in your garden, all you have to do is scatter small pieces of orange peels around the base of your plants. You can also bury the peel just below the surface of the soil or incorporate shredded peels into the soil in areas where aphids are appearing, or sprinkle shredded or grated peels around plants to repel aphids and ants.

Orange peels work as a mosquito repellent, too. If you’re into citrusy fragrances, rub peels directly on your skin (the outside of the peel, as you’re trying to get the oil on your skin).

Lemon Peels

Lemons add acidity to the soil, so if your plants require this, lemons can surely help. Take the time to learn about the pH your plant requires, as not all plants will benefit from the acid lemon peels provide. An easy way to add acidity to the soil is to dry the lemon peels and grind them into a powder. You can then stir the powder directly into the soil.

While banana peels can be used to make a water fertilizer, lemon water is NOT a suitable plant food. Lemon water will act like acid rain if poured onto plants and can do more harm than good.

Coffee Grounds

Coffee grounds are a fabulous source of organic matter right at your fingertips. Coffee grounds are a composting favorite because they add nitrogen into the mix, a key ingredient for the waste-to-compost process. And that nitrogen is also highly beneficial even if you aren’t turning the grounds into traditional compost material. When you infuse extra nitrogen into the soil, plants can thrive and see increased healthy foliage.

The grounds can be added to the compost or used as a fertilizer. The organic matter in coffee grounds includes 2% nitrogen, 0.06% phosphorous, 0.6% potassium, and micronutrients like calcium, magnesium, boron, copper, iron, and zinc that benefit plants by encouraging healthy growth. Left outdoors over the course of several months, bacteria and fungi break down the various chemical components of coffee grounds. Nitrogen-rich compounds including proteins and caffeine break down quickly, releasing plant-available nitrogen into the soil.

Scatter fresh grounds lightly at the base of your plant or mix your coffee grounds into the soil throughout your flower beds or planters. The New York Times One Thousand Gardening Questions says used coffee grounds are “especially welcome around onions, lettuce, corn, and other nitrogen lovers.

Used coffee grounds are actually nearly neutral in pH, so they shouldn't cause concerns about their acidity. Fresh (unbrewed) coffee grounds can have more acid; they still have most of their caffeine content as well as the acid, so use only used coffee grounds. However, be careful not to use too many coffee grounds at once. Coffee grounds can benefit drainage and aeration but the best way to enhance garden soil is when it's done gradually. When coffee grounds pile up. their small particles can lock together and can interfere with moisture and air movement in soils. If mulching with coffee grounds, add a 4-inch layer of coarse organic mulch, like wood chips, to help protect grounds from compaction.

Dry the grounds before using them so there is no concern over mold growth.

Sustainable Enterprises suggests sprinkling used grounds around plants before watering for a slow-release nitrogen, or dilute with water for a gentle, fast-acting liquid fertilizer.

Fresh grounds are demonstrably phytotoxic to a variety of plants, so their use as an amendment or stand-alone mulch is not recommended. Likewise, don’t use coffee grounds in areas where you are growing plants from seed. Reduced seed germination and plant growth of many crop and ornamental species has been observed in experiments using coffee grounds.

Eggshells

The soil around potted plants, your vegetable garden and outdoor trees will get an incredible boost from the shells calcium composition, which is almost 98 percent of the shell.

Because of their rich calcium content, eggshells should be tossed in your garden, not in your trash bin. You can rinse, dry them for a day or two, and crush up eggshells and sprinkle them throughout your garden. Or give them a little whiz in the blender or coarsely grind them to turn them into a powder that can be added to soil. This common idea is so well-known because it’s highly effective. An extra dose of calcium can help prevent blossom-end rot, a plant problem that’s directly tied to a calcium deficiency. Specifically, plants like tomatoes, peppers, broccoli and spinach can get a boost from these calcium-packed shells.

They can also be used as a pest deterrent. Some gardening sources recommend sprinkling crushed eggshells around plants to discourage slugs and snails.

Peanut and Pistachio Shells

Peanut and Pistachio Shells can be broken up into pieces and used as a thick layer that protects against weeds popping up. Mixing nut shells in with your soil can also help aerate otherwise compact soil. Do not put salted peanut shells directly in the garden. Salt is used to kill weeds, and as the salt will stay in the soil, it will damage plants. If the shells are from salted peanuts, you should soak them and change the water at least once to get rid of the extra salt.

Hard shells like on pistaschio nuts will take a lot longer to disintegrate. Peanuts shells break down much faster, blending into the soil quickly. As with peanut shells, if your pistachio shells are salted, soak them in water, changing the water at least once.

Fruit pits can also be composted, although those with hard shells will take a long time to break down.

Tea Leaves

Used tea leaves contain the three nutrients you need for a good fertilizer: nitrogen, potash, and calcium. Sprinkle them at the base of your plant for a budget-friendly boost of nutrients. You can also compost whole tea bags, Just remove the staple if there is one.

Aged Cow Manure

Aged cow manure, also known as well-rotted manure, is rich in nutrients that plants love and does a great job of retaining moisture. Just make sure not to use fresh manure since it’s too strong for most plants. Aged manure looks very similar to peat, with a dark crumbly composition that’s odorless and has a consistent appearance throughout. It can take anywhere from a few weeks to a year for manure to be considered aged—it ages fastest in hot climates. Apply a 1- to 2-inch layer across your garden beds and watch them thrive.

Dead Leaves

Instead of tossing dead leaves, shred them up with your lawnmower and use them as mulch. They provide a wide range of essential nutrients—in fact, they can potentially fully replace synthetic fertilizers since they often provide more nutrients than the store-bought stuff. Apply them in the fall to allow the weather and various organisms to slowly absorb them into the soil throughout the cooler months.

Paper

Newspaper, printer paper, cardboard, carboard egg cartons, non-glossy junk mail, paper towels and napkins (but not those with grease on them) and paper bags can all be composted. Avoid magazines, glossy brochures, colored paper, and paper with heavy, plastic-like, or metallic coatings, as these often contain plastic or heavy metals. Tear or shred paper into smaller pieces to help it break down faster. Shredded paper is considered an excellent "brown" (carbon-rich) material for compost. It provides essential structure and aeration to a compost pile, helps manage moisture, and breaks down relatively fast. It is ideal for balancing high-nitrogen green materials, such as food scraps and grass clippings.