Are you looking to reap the benefits of compost, like nutrient-rich soil, but aren't ready to commit to a full compost heap? No fear, says one popular Instagram creator — just bury those kitchen scraps in the garden for rich, fluffy soil.
The scoop
Instagram gardening coach Philip Longo (@earthnailsandtails) shared a super easy hack for getting rich garden soil without a compost bin. In his reel, he demonstrates simply burying food waste from fruits and veggies in his garden soil.
Two weeks later, he returned to the spot where he had the buried goods to reveal that all traces of the food scraps were gone, having broken down into the soil and leaving behind important nutrients.
"Bury your food scraps!" Longo said in his caption. "Not everyone has space for a composting system, but if you're just trying to recycle fruit and veggie kitchen scraps do you even need it?"
He did warn against burying meats, dairy, eggs, and citrus, however.
How it's helping
Adding organic matter from your kitchen is a great way to boost soil health without store-bought fertilizers, which can be costly. Too much fertilizer in the garden can also burn roots and harm the environment.
Plus, composting food scraps on any level helps reduce the amount of trash you're sending to landfills, which can help curb global temperatures. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, food waste contributes more methane — a potent planet-warming gas — than other trash because of its fast decay rate.
Now that you have a new tool to help you up your gardening game, you can soak in all the benefits of growing your food, including cheaper and yummier produce and improved mental and physical health.
What everyone's saying
While some commenters expressed doubt that the fruits and veggies had broken down so quickly, most people were enthusiastic about the hack.
"Hey nice," one person said. "I just did this today and posted on my story too."
"The only way we should go if we have access to land!" someone else chimed in. "I repeat you don't need compost bins if you have land! Let soil do the work as forest floors do."
"Wow. The soil looks so rich and fluffy," another person added.
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