4 Kitchen Scraps That Work Wonders in Your Garden

It is estimated that in 2018, the USA recovered 25 million tons of food scraps that would otherwise have gone to landfills. This was done simply by composting. When organic waste is disposed of in landfills, it is unable to decompose healthily and produces methane, a dangerous greenhouse gas. By keeping food scraps out of the trash can, we can not only help to save the planet a little bit, but we can also use those scraps in healthy ways to benefit the garden.

Even if you don’t have a garden with space to compost, there are still ways for you to do your part in reusing kitchen scraps.  Check out this list of waste foodstuff that can be used simply and cleanly in your garden without owning a compost pile!

1. Coffee Grounds

Source: OYR Frugal & Sustainable Organic Gardening/Youtube

• Feed the soil–  Spent coffee grounds are such a valuable resource. The coffee grounds themselves are packed with trace minerals that your plants crave. Coffee grounds are approximately 1.45 percent nitrogen and contain magnesium, calcium, and potassium. If you aren’t going to compost your grounds, you may simply turn them into your soil, scratch them into the surface of the soil around your plants, or simply do a kind of mulch with them. Be careful not to go too thick as the grounds can clump and form a water barrier. Making up a ‘tea’ out of your coffee grounds works as a nitrogen-rich fertilizer that you can spray your plants and the soil with.
• Deter pests–  Slugs can be a bit of a pain in the garden. They munch on your beloved seedlings and devour tender leaves. Sprinkling coffee grounds around vulnerable plants is thought to help deter slugs as they are not able to pass over them easily due to their abrasiveness. Rather than hurting the slugs, they just turn around and head off in the other direction. Hopefully! Cats and dogs are also less likely to dig or do business in gardens ripe with the smell of coffee!

2. Banana Peels

Source: The Ripe Tomato Farms/Youtube

• Feed the soil– Banana peels are rich in potassium, phosphorous, calcium, and magnesium, all of which as essential for plant health. Keep your banana skins and soak them in water for about a week to make a sort of cold-brew tea. You can brew a concentrated tea and dilute it with water before feeding it to your plants. Another way is to dry your banana peels out and grind them up into a soil amendment. You can sprinkle some of the powder around plants or put a scoop into the hole before you plant a plant or seedling into the ground.
• Deter pests– Banana skins are used as a deterrent for aphids. You can either bury some banana peels around plants that are vulnerable to aphids or lay strips of banana peels around the base of the plant. You can also make up a banana peel tea as described above and spray the plants you want to save.

3. Citrus Peels

Source: Plant Intel/Youtube

• Feed the soil– Orange and lemon peels are rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Make sure that all your plants can benefit by adding these skins to the soil. You can dry your peels out and grind them into a powder that can be added to the soil around your plants and scratched in. You can put a tablespoon of the powder into the hole before you plant a plant. Another method is to simply chop up the peels into small pieces and mix them into the soil.
• Deter pests– Make up a batch of citrus peel tea and use it as a spray insect repellent for aphids and even ants. You can safely spray all your plants with the tea or scatter citrus peels around the base of plants that are affected by aphids.

4. Nut Shells

• Feed the soil– Peanut and pistachio shells are wonderful for our gardens. Since they are fairly robust, they can take over a year to decompose. Because of this, it is a good idea to try to crush them up as best you can. Think about washing the shells if they are salted, as the salt can damage plants. Crushed shells make a great mulch for garden beds and in addition, add trace minerals, especially nitrogen, to your soil. Mulch helps to deter the growth of weeds and helps to retain moisture in the soil. Mixing crushed nut shells into the soil can help to aerate and loosen compacted soil. NOTE:  beware of using walnut shells as they contain a chemical that acts as a growth inhibitor in some plants.
• Deter pests– Crushed nut shells may also work as a pest deterrent in garden beds in much the same way as coffee ground. You can crush nutshells by putting them in a sturdy bag and going at them with a hammer! Watch your fingers!

Related Content:

• 7 Ways to Use Food Scraps in the Garden (They’re Not Just for Compost)
• Your Food Scraps Could Help Fight Climate Change
• How to Use Food Scraps For Good, Rather Than Garbage
• A Quick Meal for Your Dog! Food Scraps to Toss Together in a Pinch
• 5 Produce Scraps That Re-Grow Food
• 10 Plant-Based Recipes Featuring Kitchen Scraps!

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