A few tips to help you make a use out of your food waste
Think to yourself how many times a day you meet your chopping board to make some food with veggies or fruits- It all starts from this moment
Imagine to yourself how much of your fruits and veggies you actually eat? what do you usually do with the rest of it? If the answer is - "I just throw them to the bin" then this post is especially for you. It is also relevant for the ones who want to get more tips to help them reduce their food waste.
We are going to share with you here two very simple actions you can make to benefit your garden and your own lifestyle :) Hope it will help you all get the relevant information for you to make these changes.
The first method we really like and is very common but sometimes we don't really know how to make it effective and then we just give up is COMPOST . It means to use the things in your refrigerator that are a little past their prime, or using the food scraps into the compost pile\bin, by doing that you help yourself reduce your food waste and the plants you grow in your garden to thrive. You can add into your compost bin also fruit scraps, vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, dry leaves and chopped wood and bark chips, compostable wraps and packaging, grass and plant clippings and more! Avoid adding to your compost pile meat, bones, banana peels, peach peels, and orange rinds as it may contain pesticide, fish scraps, residue and pet manures.
So how do we start?
Start by making your compost pile on the ground so the worms and other necessary organisms can aerate the pile and start to break it down.
Make some air to drain and aerate the pile with straw and branches.
Add compost materials in layers, alternating between moist and dry. Moist ingredients(food scraps, seaweed etc.). Dry materials(straw, leaves, sawdust pellets).
Add manure, green manure or any nitrogen source such as flowers, cuttings, green comfrey leaves, seaweed, kelp and more. It helps to speed the process along.
Water your compost to keep it moist- make sure it is not soaked and sodden.
Using wood, plastic sheeting, carpet scraps helps to retain moisture and heat- two essentials for compost.
Once in a while give the pile a quick shuffle with a pitchfork or shovel by doing that you add more oxygen which is required for the process to work. To make the pile bigger you can add new materials by mixing them in.
The second method comes usually after your compost pile is ready but its not really needed- it is only depends on you.
Growing plants from your waste When you finish chopping your salad pick up the herbs you have added to your salad inside a cup and fill it up so the roots are covered by the water- leave it there for about a day or two (make sure that the water is clear so the plants won't die). Finally you can take the cup with the herbs outside to your garden and by using your composter you can make the soil rich with nutrition