Happy World Environmental Day!

One of the many ways we can do to help to reduce food waste is by turning our kitchen scraps into garden food. Those scraps make great fertilisers! The best part is that some of those scraps are so easy to be repurposed and by doing so, we are also helping to save the environment.



Coffee grounds

Coffee grounds contain nitrogen, magnesium and potassium that can enrich the soil. Periodically, sprinkle a handful of the grounds on the soil around the base of the plants and on your lawn for greener and healthier grass. Acid-loving plants like azalea, gardenia, rose, hibiscus, ixora, allamanda and citrus plants love coffee grounds.

Fresh coffee grounds are too acidic for feeding the plants. If you get a large quantity from a coffee outlet, dry the grounds in the sun first before storing. Otherwise you can just spread a thin layer of the used coffee ground directly onto the soil.



Tea leaves

Occasionally, re-brew tea leaves and use the cooled mild tea to water plants like orchids, ferns and acid-loving plants - like us, they love tea as well :-) You can also sprinkle new or used tea leaves on the soil or bury in the ground around a plant. When watered, minerals will be released and absorbed through its roots. Rose loves the tannic acid found in the tea.

Egg shells

Rinse, dry and crush egg shells. Add the crushed shells into the planting hole. Grind them into powder for faster decomposing. Egg shells are high in calcium carbonate which helps control blossom-end rot disease. Even the calcium-rich water used for boiling eggs can be re-used for watering plants.

Banana peels

The phosphorus-and-potassium-rich peels help plants to grow healthily, form flower buds and resist diseases. Many gardeners use the peel to feed their roses for more blooms. Flatten a banana peel and bury in the soil at the base of a plant. For potting up seedlings or young plants, cut or grind the peel before mixing into the soil.

Fruits and vegetables

Like the rest, chopped vegetables and fruit are ideal for composting. Well-made compost have both macronutrients and micronutrients that improve soil quality to ensure delicious produce and bigger yields.

When kitchen scraps end up in the landfills that is lack in oxygen, they generate methane which contributes to global warming. Every effort counts when it comes to maintaining the beautiful planet we all live in.

This is an extract from my article published in the New Straits Times on 1 June 2013.