Improve Drainage In Your Potted Plants With The Help Of This Food Scrap

Food scraps aren't always trash — in fact, some can be surprisingly helpful in the garden. Everything from apple cores to watermelon rinds can be composted, while fish and dairy products are among the foods that should never be added to the compost bin. Food scraps are useful beyond the compost bin as well. Food-related waste such as coffee grounds could help strawberry plants thrive, while eggshells have numerous uses in the garden. One type of food scrap that's often overlooked, even by avid garden enthusiasts, is nut shells. Some shells, such as those from pistachios, can improve drainage in plant pots. Since bagged pistachios are often sold in their shells, finishing each bag gives you more useful material. Save those shells and use them as a drainage booster for potted plants: They will thank you. 

Not all nut shells are good for potted plants or garden plants, including some that drop from common North American trees. Many tree nuts in the walnut family produce juglone, a phenolic chemical that's toxic to many plants and can cause wilting, stunted growth, or even plant death. Shells from black walnuts and butternuts in particular are high in juglone, and the reason you should never plant them near your blueberries. 

Shells from unsalted, unseasoned pistachios are ready to use as plant-pot drainage. But if they came from salted nuts, they need to be rinsed before reusing them, otherwise the salt could leach into the potting soil. It's best to avoid using shells from flavored pistachios as well, as the added ingredients may attract pests or cause other problems for the plants. As a drainage booster, pistachio shells can be used two ways in plant pots. Mix them in with compost when creating the ultimate potting mix for your potted plants, or use them at the bottom of plant pots as a drainage layer. Shells improve drainage thanks to the air pockets they create within the soil. They also retain some moisture deep down in the soil, reducing the need for frequent watering. If you're a fan of pistachios, loads of shells could be saved and used as filler to cut down on potting-soil expenses while improving soil drainage. Shells come in handy as a base layer in raised-bed gardens, too, improving drainage and potentially suppressing weeds.

Peanut shells can be used in much the same way as pistachio shells to improve drainage within plant pots. When saving peanut shells for plant-pot filler, make sure they stay dry, as they could develop mold or mildew if they're wet. Add peanut shells to the bottom of hanging baskets, before the soil layer, to make the baskets much lighter than they'd be if filled with soil alone. This could be especially helpful with larger hanging plant baskets that tend to get heavy, especially following watering.