Last year, my patio had just been finished in April and I planted my huge white planters with beautiful flowers, so this year I was ready to get started on that once again. Planting flowers is something that I love to do for the summer months and it’s fun to get them started in April and they have a chance to really explode with growth and blooms.
I was contacted by a new company called EcoScraps® showing me their innovative gardening products.  Since I love to plant flowers every year and was getting ready to replant for this spring, I looked at their website and really liked what I saw.  Two college students noticed how much food was being wasted when they went out to eat and decided to do something about it….by turning it into gardening products.Â
Since 2010, EcoScraps has been working to be a part of the solution by reusing this waste and keeping it out of the landfills. They want to educate and make sustainability something that’s part of mainstream America.
I would agree that this is a good idea. Â My dad has composted forever by throwing their vegetable and fruit scraps out in his garden and under his trees. Â It really does work!
I’m not a total tree hugger, but I do think we can do a better job here in the US of recycling waste products and EcoScraps has made great headway into that endeavor.
Did you know that in the US, we waste 40% of the food produced? Â It’s enough to fill the Rose Bowl every day. Â Think about that for a minute! Â I know how guilty I am of wasting food. Â I can’t count the number of times that I’ve let lettuce and other produce go to waste by not having the time to prepare it before it goes bad.
Bagged salad is one of the top foods wasted, so consider buying bagged lettuce only on days that you actually plan to use it all. Â Raising my hand here. I’m completely guilty of this one!
Here’s another staggering statistic for you.
Between 2011 and 2015, EcoScraps recycled 75 million lbs of food waste. Something else to ponder! They are matching that number in 2016 with projected recycling of another 75 million lbs of food waste, this time in just 12 months.
The amazing part of this is that recycling 15 million lbs of food waste is equivalent to keeping 500,000 cars off the road for an entire day. Â An entire day!!
OK, so why not support a company who does all of this?
I purchased a couple of bags of EcoScraps potting soil for my new planters and got to work planting.
Out came the old spent flowers from last summer. Â Here’s what happens when you put foam packing peanuts in the bottom of a big planter and fill it up with dirt and plant it. Â The roots will completely go to the bottom of the container and wrap themselves all over those peanuts until they are barely detectable. Â I threw this ball of roots away and started over with nice fresh dirt.
I added all my plants to each planter and will be having fun watching them all grow again for this summer season. Â It’s nice to get them all potted up before it gets too hot and they have a chance to fill out and grow well.
They anchor my new patio that I’m really going to enjoy this year. Â I got the patio all cleaned up for the year and ready to relax. Â I stored all the cushions for the patio on the screened porch this year and covered all with old sheets. Â It worked out great and they were all safe and sound.
I covered the vinyl sofa with my tarp, just to keep it covered and protected from debris for the winter. Â I then took off the tarp, hosed it all down with the hose to get off any pollen that had gotten in there and then let it all dry really well, before bringing out all the cushions.
I rolled up the rug and stored it on the screened porch too and that worked out well for protecting it through the winter. Â It’s an outdoor rug so holds up well to water.
I’m leaving it all uncovered for now since no rain is projected for a few days, but when the rain sets in again, I’ll get the tarp back out and cover everything again. Â It’s not so bad to do that and I want to protect it all for as long as possible.
In the meantime, I’ll be watching these beauties grow and bloom and that’s the start of summer for me! Â Potting up some new planters is a great way to kick off the fun season of summer.
EcoScraps has a cute video that shows the process of how they recycle food scraps and turn it into potting soil, so check that out for more information.
You can find EcoScraps products at your local Lowes. Â If they don’t have it in stock, order it online and then pick up at your local store. That’s what I did! Â It’s no more expensive than regular potting soil and I like that we are helping to recycle and reuse waste products.
GREAT news for my readers! Â EcoScraps is giving away a $50 Lowes gift card, so that you can pick up bags of EcoScraps for yourself to try out! Â
Enter to win by signing up on Rafflecopter and leaving a comment here.  What do you think about the EcoScraps concept and are you going to be planting any plants this year?  Planting veggies or flowers? Â
One winner will receive a $50 Lowes gift card! Â
Note: Â This post is sponsored by EcoScraps.Â
I compost but usually don’t have enough for my entire garden. Eco scraps is such a great solution!
I planted flowers and veggies this year.
I can’t wait to get to gardening here in Ohio. My perennials are starting to come up and I’ll probably go get some full sun annuals to plant by the mailbox soon. I’ve always wanted to compost but have worried about smell and attracting pests. I love the concept of buying it to add to my flowers.
I love reading your blog and make it a regular favorite!
I lean towards being a tree hugger, so this concept sounds great to me! Your patio area looks great!! Hope you are having great weather there as we are in SC.
I’ve composted for years. I’m a school teacher, this year my class is doing worm composting. It’s fun and easy. I plant window boxes and pots of flowers.
I love their concept and I’m blown away with the amount of food wasted numbers. I will be planting vegetables because we are in a new home and are waiting to see what types of annuals are sprouting around our new home.
What a great idea! Love your patio!
Love the concept of recycle waste, Rhoda, and I would certainly be willing to try it. Thanks for the opportunity!
I think it’s a great idea. I love your blog. Thank you for the giveaway.
I will try this new potting soil. I’m planting flowers and vegetables this year. I m also planting pumpkins to use for my daughter’s fall wedding!
Thank you – for the generous giveaway!
What a great concept. And the moisture control compost is a great idea. Food scraps at my house get thrown on a small leaf pile on the corner of my lot and this provides me a small amount of compost to use when planting my spring flowers, but will certainly look for this product at Lowe’s. Perennials have become my plants of choice, but there will always be a couple of tomato plants in pots near the back door. LOVE your patio!!
I love their concept! I’m eager to fill my planters with new plants on my deck and dock to enjoy this spring and summer at the lake.
I love this concept. I always plant flowers in pots and in raised garden beds.
I think this is such a smart and fantastic idea. This is the last year I’m going to try and plant tomatoes. If they don’s grow then I’m done. So I would like to try some of this eco friendly planting mix. That might just do the trick.
I applaud the brilliant idea these college guys had to come up with EcoScraps. My husband and I will purchase EcoScraps to use in planting our flowers and herbs. I, too, along with you, Rhonda, waste too much produce not matter how hard I try not to. Life gets busy and produce goes bad before I have time to prepare it. So glad EcoScraps has us covered!
What a fantastic ides — I love innovative folks who think outside the box, so hats off to EcoScraps. I also love planting my patio containers, because it is so easy to just pull out the hose and give them a good soak. Also, no weeding required — unlike my flower beds!! No veggies for me – yuck! But I will be planting flowers for some summer color.
This is a great idea, glad you brought it to our attention. I’m getting ready to plant my veggie garden and containers, still a little early here in MD. I’m going to look for this at Lowe’s.
Can’t wait to get planting!
I love the idea of recycling and reusing! It’s wonderful that this company has figured out how to do that and turn it all back into gardening projects! I’ll be planting lots of flowers and veggies this year ~ some of my faves are petunias, geraniums, eggplants, tomatoes, and marigolds! 🙂 Would love to win the gift card ~ Lowe’s is my garden center bliss this year!
Your patio looks great! I’ve started planting, but have more to do. Bring on summer!
I will definitely be checking out Ecoscraps on my next visit to Lowes. Your patio is beautiful! Love all of the colors! Happy Spring!