It is well known that vegetable peelings can be reused in cooking. But did you know that it was also possible to use them for the garden, and more particularly for the vegetable patch? All for maximum efficiency and minimum budget!
1. In the compost
If you already have compost in your garden, do not hesitate to add your fruit and vegetable peelings. But be careful, prefer all the same avoid citrus peelings, avocado and pineapple, which are only slightly compatible with compost because they are too thick. To find out how to reuse these fruit and vegetable skins, consider going to get recycling ideas on DIY.fr.
Note that for successful compost, it is essential to mix green waste (peelings, wilted flowers, coffee grounds, etc.) with brown waste (dead leaves, cardboard, straw, etc.) in a perfectly balanced way. Once a week, it is also advisable to aerate the compost, mixing the layers well. As a general rule, compost can be transformed into fertilizer after 8 to 12 months. Patience, then!
2. As a fertilizer
Fruits and vegetables have the advantage of being naturally rich in nutrients, which is very useful for our plant friends. It is therefore quite possible to Arrange them as they are directly at the foot of the plants to turn them into natural fertilizer. This is called surface composting. Be careful not to forget to mulch well in order to conserve humidity and thus promote decomposition.
It is important to note that banana peels are particularly effective in surface composting.
3. As a pest repellent
It may seem surprising, but some fruit and vegetable peelings have a natural repellent effect against garden pests. And it can be very handy!
However, it is advisable to remove them once they start to decompose as they then lose their effectiveness. Especially since some of these repellent peelings (garlic and citrus fruits in particular) can also repel earthwormswhich are essential in the recycling process.
Here is the list of peelings to place at the base of your plants and the pests they keep away:
- Garlic peelings and broccoli stalks : they act against the carrot fly.
- Citrus peelings : they act against ants as well as slugs.
- Banana peels : they act against aphids. Banana peels can be left free to decompose over time since, as we have seen above, they are a very nourishing natural fertilizer for plants, being particularly rich in potassium.
4. To create a vegetable garden
Nature is decidedly well done. Indeed, it is possible to reuse vegetable peelings to obtain young shoots to add to your vegetable garden. For this, it suffices to immerse the roots in water and place them in a sunny spot. It works for many vegetables, such as leeks or spring onions. For potato peelings, on the other hand, you have to wait until they germinate before planting them.
Good to know : to go a little further, vegetable seeds (avocado, squash, tomato, cucumber…) and citrus seeds (orange, lemon…) can also be replanted!
