Use Your Kitchen Scraps to Enrich Soil (Without Making Compost)

"Hand Gardening Tools" by winnond

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It annoys me to waste kitchen scraps. Every time I put potato peelings or eggshells in a plastic garbage bag I can't help thinking that I'm wasting something valuable. I would love to have a compost pile or bin, but I just don't have the room. So I came up with a very simple way to return organic matter to the soil thus boosting the soil naturally.

First you need to find a large bucket with a snug fitting lid. This was an old one my Mom had, I'm not crazy about the pink, buy hey...its free and it will work. A 5 gallon paint bucket would work well too.

I used a drill with a 1/2 inch drill bit. I wanted holes big enough to allow worm access and drainage.

I drilled holes all over the bottom.

and around the sides, but not too high up.

Dig a hole big enough to put the bucket in. You could place it in a garden, in the yard or wherever your soil needs help. I chose a place in my yard where the soil is poor but close to my kitchen for convenience.

You want to be careful to place it somewhere where people won't trip over it or possibly step through the lid. Safety first!

Place the bucket in the hole and put soil around it.

Put a little soil in the bottom of the bucket, put in kitchen waste (no grease or meat products), then add a little more soil. Wet it down.

Maybe the pink lid will keep me from stepping on it. ;-)

Put the cover on, makes sure its on good, and wait. Anytime you have a banana peeling, eggshells, coffee grounds, or any other organic matter you can add it to the bucket. When you have layer a few inches deep you need to add a little more soil. Keep the lid on to control odor and keep out flies and small animals.

You can keep a bag in your freezer and just keep adding scraps to it. When the bag is full, dump it right into the bucket where it will thaw and start to break down.

Now you can put all that wasted stuff to good use and improve your soil without adding chemicals!