Permaculture: Garbage for Your Garden

The following posting is particularly written for those who don’t make compost for their gardens. Maybe you have a tiny yard or just a patio or balcony with plants on it. I understand.

Take NOTE; Take HEART: Even without composting, there are many ways that your flowers and vegetables can benefit from much of the garbage your kitchen accumulates (see alphabetical list below).
(I will add to this posting over time).

Free. Available. Non-toxic. Gets rid of garbage. What’s not to like? Give some of these a try and let me know how they work for you. I always use the banana, coffee, egg shell, and wood ash hints, and less often the others.

Banana peels: These peels decompose quickly and deliver 41% potash and 3% phosphorus to the plants around which they are buried. Roses particularly benefit. Chop the peels into little pieces and poke a few (2-3) into the ground around the roots. How easy is that! If you wish, you can freeze the peels in order to accumulate enough for a one time spring project.

Easy Recipes from a Tiny, Remote Kitchen: Appetizers (that double up for other meals)

(I welcome your comments, recipe suggestions, and questions through the "comments" option below any entry. --Laura)

UPDATED: See Tomato Nut tapenade and Tomato Puff Pastry at the very bottom of list.

Do you have a tiny kitchen, limited time, a bare pantry?  Perhaps the following recipes will appeal to you. 

Living a half-hour flight from a town, out in the boonies, I cook 2-4 meals a day for months at a time.  No restaurants.  No pizza take out.  As a break, my husband kindly offers to cook all day once a month (which usually means “do you want the bag of green leftovers or brown leftovers?”)

 So by the combination of frequent necessity and boredom, I endeavored to make the process of cooking easier and more interesting to me, within the constraints of a tiny kitchen and no spontaneous access to a supermarket.  My favorite recipes, such as those below, meet the following criteria: 1) few ingredients (most below use only 3-5 ingredients, not including herbs), 2) few preparation steps/bowls/space requirements, 3) ingredients that store well or expand easily for groups or large harvests of produce or fish.  4) Less than ten minutes of preparation time (other than cooking or making dough) and, in most cases, 5) versatile.  Most of the 14 recipes below include 2-5 alternatives, each, and most can be used in various ways, for example, as a dip one day, a sandwich spread later, and a sauce for meat or pasta on another occasion.