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
Seems interesting. Just planting some flowers.
I have gone from a 1 acre yard to an apartment front yard. Looking forward to planting in smaller pots but using good soil and beautiful plants.
I worked professionally as a grower for 2.5 years. Another 2.5 years at Atlanta’s largest garden center, both in the 80’s. Since then, degreed in horticulture & engineering, a Garden Designer, had my own CBS-TV show, written 5 books, blah-ti-blah. Just to preface bad news.
Annuals from the garden center have a wildly toxic foot print upon Earth. Their production from greenhouse to greenhouse workers, to you, toxic to air, soil, water. I quit using nursery/greenhouse annuals in the late 80’s.
Have been using pots so wonderful they can remain empty or have shrubs. Most of the empty sort ! Good example of empty gorgeous pot on plinth, here, http://taradillard.blogspot.com/2016/04/another-1st-rule-of-garden-design.html.
Love the product you highlight, EcoScraps. Had not heard of them. Of course, I don’t need it. Got my 1st chickens 4 years ago. They are a great delight, and there is zero waste in my kitchen or eating out. The girls get treats daily. I scoop the poop in the coop daily & toss it somewhere new daily.
Again, hate to burst a bubble about greenhouse annuals in your pots, but feel strongly enough to mention it. I do use annuals, self seeing annuals. They are the bomb !
Love your patio….. And learning about EcoScraps.
Garden & Be Well, XO Tara
Hey, Tara, I know you are an expert, but darn, I just can’t quit planting my annuals in containers. I don’t quite get the toxic foot print to the earth thing, but I’m sure you know all the details.
I always plant flowers and I think the system is awesome
To me, composting is just as rewarding as gardening. Am I wierd? 😉
I think it’s a great thing the Ecoscraps is doing–I will look for their products. I have planted veggies and flowers for this year.
This sounds like a great product! I love to garden and I will definitely look for Eco-scraps! Thanks for the information, Rhoda.
Patio looks really nice, love the colors! Great job with the planters, I like the concept of EcoScraps…I should try it out. I’m planting flowers and will be doing more. Making a list of all the ones I want to add, so excited for Spring/Summer!
Thanks for the giveaway. I could use this to buy new flowers.
Sounds like a great idea for potting plants.
Yes, we plant pots every summer and I would also like to try planting zucchini.
We recycle everything possible so I think this is an awesome idea. We plant veggies in our garden and we have lots of plants and flowers.
Hi,
Your patio and garden look great! I am looking for furniture much like that. Where did you find the coffee table with hidden foot stools? Perfect!
Hi, Bobbi, that set is from AE Outdoor and they are here in Marietta. I worked with them last year on my patio redo and here’s the post with their information.
http://southernhospitalityblog.com/the-decorated-paver-patio/
Yes, I would love to try this new product. I always have to go back to Lowes for more potting soil over and over. Love flowers and that is what I plan to plant more of!
What a great idea EcoScraps! What smart kids! I will try it out for sure. Down here in Savannah our weather has been gorgeous. I am full speed into gardening. I am fixing to redo two flower beds on either side of the driveway. The front of my house is red brick so I always do white flowers in the front. Thank you for the giveaway!
What a great idea and such a wonderful way to support the environment! Food waste is embarrassing, especially with so many people starving. Thanks for the opportunity to try this product.
Great concept! I plant flowers and my daughter is in charge of the garden. Also, love your rug, where did you get it??
Sarah, I got it last year on Overstock.com. There were several online sites who had the same rug and it was cheapest there. Here’s the post I talked about the patio furniture:
http://southernhospitalityblog.com/the-decorated-paver-patio/
What a great idea. I’m happy to see composting getting so much good press. I am planting both flowers and veggies. Looking forward to garden fresh veggies this summer.
We are planning to put tomatoes in containers this year! Hope we can enjoy the fruits of our labor!! I love the idea of recycling food to use like compost!
Very good idea! I was astonished at the Rose Bowl comment. Shocking that we throw away so much.
Thank you for letting us know about EcoScraps…
This is a great idea and I hope it will continue to be a successful venture.
I am going to look for it at Lowes.