When Life Gives You Lemons….Think Before Composting the Peels!

Lemons and oranges are tasty citrus fruits, especially during these hot summer months. After making lemonade, orange juice, or some other treat, you’ll probably want to toss the peels into your compost bin. While this is a perfectly acceptable practice, have you ever considered using the peels to make something new?

When it comes to food waste, it’s important for us composters to get creative before we chuck everything in our backyard bins. Composting is pretty awesome for your garden and for the earth, but food should always be eaten if possible! Need some ideas to get you started? Well, pull up a lawn chair, put on some sunglasses, and learn about how you can upcycle citrus peels this summer:

1. Let’s start simple…. use the zest! Zesting a lemon or orange is a great way to extract its delicious flavor for deserts and other recipes. If you don’t need the zest immediately, you can freeze it for future use. Feel free to compost whatever is left of the fruit after you zest it.

2. Let’s get fancy…. make a marmalade! Orange and lemon marmalades are a yummy breakfast addition. You can even make St.Clement's Marmalade (orange and lemon combined), which is quite popular in the U.K. Best of all, most marmalade recipes use nearly the whole fruit!

3. Let’s get fancier…. make a flavored olive oil! Lemon and orange olive oils can be fun and fresh alternatives to traditional olive oil. Just make sure to carefully strain the excess oil out of the citrus peels before you compost them!

Hopefully these summery recipes inspire you to use your citrus peels before (or instead of) backyard composting them. For more tips on how to reduce food waste at home, you can visit the Wasted Food Stops With Us website and subscribe to Tony’s blog!

Guest blogger and sucker for citrus: Abigail Miller

Want to Compost Your Old Houseplants? Do Some Detective Work First!

If you like to compost, odds are you like to take care of plants. But what do you do when your beloved plants pass away? It seems only fitting to return them to the earth as compost that will nourish a new generation of plants.

However, there are some things to keep in mind before you put your old houseplants in your backyard bin. As a rule of thumb, do some step-by-step sleuthing before you give your plant a proper burial…

Check for a pulse. Can you resuscitate your houseplant?

Even if your houseplant looks like it’s passed on, you may be able to revive it with some good old-fashioned sunlight and water. Check out this article for tips.

Identify the victim. What kind of plant was it?

Some houseplants, (pothos, snake plant, varieties of succulents, etc.) propagate easily. This means that when you compost your old plant, little plant babies (volunteers) may come up in your bin and eventually in your garden. It’s best to chop up these troublemakers before backyard composting them.

Find the culprit. Why did your houseplant die?

If your late plant fell victim to disease or pest infestation, do NOT put it in your compost bin! Most backyard compost bins don’t reach the temperature needed to kill pathogens, and the same pests that caused your houseplant’s demise could make their way into your compost and wreak havoc.

So, whether you feel like a criminal for killing your plant or you’re mourning its natural demise, you may be able turn your houseplant into compost. Just make sure it’s actually dead, cut up your plant if necessary, and avoid composting diseased or infested houseplants. Stay safe out there, detectives!

And some fun plant art just because…

Guest blogger and houseplant hoarder: Abigail Miller