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.
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. My dad has composted forever by throwing their vegetable and fruit scraps out in his garden and under his trees. 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? It’s enough to fill the Rose Bowl every day. Think about that for a minute! I know how guilty I am of wasting food. 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. 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. 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. 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. The roots will completely go to the bottom of the container and wrap themselves all over those peanuts until they are barely detectable. 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. 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. I got the patio all cleaned up for the year and ready to relax. I stored all the cushions for the patio on the screened porch this year and covered all with old sheets. 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. 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. 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. 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! 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. If they don’t have it in stock, order it online and then pick up at your local store. That’s what I did! 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! EcoScraps is giving away a $50 Lowes gift card, so that you can pick up bags of EcoScraps for yourself to try out!
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?
One winner will receive a $50 Lowes gift card!
Note: This post is sponsored by EcoScraps.
Patriaic says
Love the patio. I will be planting my pots this weekend. Not sure of which plants just yet. Oh Yeah a Day at the Garden Center..Love looking, touching and smelling all the plants and flowers..then to have to decide. I’ll be there quite a while I know..LOL!!!
Have a Great Weekend Rhoda and Thank you for the Information. I will be picking up this potting soil if available this weekend at our local Lowes.
Jill Jones says
Rhoda – Thanks for the introduction to this green product! I am a complete supported of composting and this company had a fabulous idea to incorporate food waste into potting soil. Fantastic. Yes, I have already planted a few new plants in my front yard…dogwood, lavender, groundcover and now want to pull out a couple of things in pots on the backyard patio. I will definitely order some of the EcoScraps to use. Love the way you did your pots. -Jill
Carly Williams says
I love that EcoScraps is natural and organic! What a cute outdoor space!
Carrie says
I’ll have to look for this at my Lowes!
Karen in Texas says
Excited for rain to stop here in Texas and work on my flower pots and flower beds. I think composting is great !
Patti Osmus says
Love the idea! I’ve already set out marigolds and pansies. My four o’clocks are coming up and the heather is beginning to bloom! Three tomato plants in the ground, too. Loving spring!
Deb Young says
Great idea! I think I will try it this weekend. Been planting flowers for a few weeks and only have 2 more beds and one container to go!
Michelle B says
I live in Houston, and our spring started very early this year. My flowers and plants are fully into their growing season. I even have tomatoes on the vines in my garden. Spring is my absolute favorite season! Good luck with your flowers. Thanks for sharing some great ideas 🙂
Roxanne says
Heading to Lowe’s today to pick up bedding plants for the pots on my deck. Will check out the new potting soil. I love how you have extended your indoor color themes to your patio. Rhoda, do you read Southern Living? The April issue is all about container gardening, and Page 114 reminds me of the brick retaining wall you worked on last summer! My favorite bedding plant for summer is one recommended by P. Allen Smith…Proven Winners’ Vista Bubblegum petunias. ONE tiny plant grows to a 3′ x3′ mass of blooms that drapes beautifully over containers. It blooms non-stop from spring until the first killing frost, even through our hot SC summers!
Rhoda says
Hey, Roxanne, I have the SL issue, but haven’t looked at it yet. I’ll definitely check out that page.
Barbara says
Your patio looks great! I noticed my peonies already have bulbs, which seems a little early. My Hosta’s have grown like crazy. Once they peeked through the soil their growth went like gang busters. Every morning I would check them and I do believe they grew an inch or two every night. Loved the pic of Lauren and the babies. Parker looks so much like her dad and Lauren looks more like you than her mom. I so enjoy reading your posts, keep up the good work.
Jan says
I haven’t started my plantings yet, it’s just warming up in my area. But, I can’t wait! I’m always looking to try something new, this would be great!
Itma says
Beautiful flowers. Please post another picture in the summer when the plants fill in the container! The heavy rain we’ve been getting here in the Houston area washed away mulch and compost.
Bettye says
This is a great idea! I’m always glad to see and use new products made from recycling. We are planting tomatoes, cucumbers onions and squash in our garden. Flowers will adorn the front yard and the back as well. Love to watch them grow and they make a home look nice.
Lisa s says
We compost our scraps as well…but this is really cool. I will look for it when I’m at Lowe’s.
teresa says
Total tree hugger here! I hardly have any trash to put out as a result which is another great result. I just bought my “eco” roses, so it would be great to get some ”’eco” soil to plant them in!
Btw, Rhoda, it’s best to just plant any old roots under you other plants. They provide great drainage and become compost themselves when they break down. I usually just chop mine up and mix them into the new soil, unless the prior plants were sick. The peanuts aren’t a problem and will help with aeration.
Ciline says
Both!
Cathy J says
We plant flowers and veggies every year. I had not ever heard of this company but it sounds like a wonderful concept! I would love to give them a try!
Our French Oasis says
What a fabulous concept, to recycle wasted food. But also, whilst we are sitting and thinking about the food we are wasting, perhaps we should also think about the money we are wasting. When we lived in the States the thing I noticed more than anything else in restaurants was the sheer size of the portions and the amount of wastage on every plate, on every table all around us always. I thought if a restaurant just cut it’s portion size by 2 % a negligible amount and still charged the same price and donated just 1 cent for every plate of food ordered to a charity it would literally feed the world’s starving. Imagine how many plates of food are served all around the country every hour let alone every day and how much is scraped off into the trash. Alas, I did try to get this off the ground but I am afraid I don’t know people in high enough places who would listen and run with this idea! Just another think to ponder!!!
Cathy B. says
Yep, containers are all potted up but we still need to plant the garden. How did you like that little cold snap we had in Atl, last week was it? Has your dad gotten his garden planted?
Your patio looks very inviting and I really like your colors, but dang, girl, what if we have one of those “isolated thunderstorms” when you’ve run out to the store? I’m too forgetful (lazy) to cover my nice things with tarps. How about making your patio into a screened-in porch? Preferably one with a creaky door that has a pleasant slam when it shuts …
Rhoda says
Hey, Cathy, I’m about to do an update on my dads garden, he’s already started planting. I did end up covering the patio furniture a lot last yr when it rained a bunch and I’ll probably do the same thing year. If it does get wet, it’s not going to ruin it, cause it’s all weather resistant and Sunbrella fabric, so I’m not too worried about it. I’m planning to cover it most of the time when the weather is bad, cause I want to keep it as long as I can. I already have a screened porch, so don’t mind this patio being open.
Sally says
Hello!
We are in Southern California, severe drought situation, so we tore up our front lawn, side lawn, and back yard lawn and planted drought resistance plants. This would come in so handy to continue that process. While I miss the lawn, sometimes, I really love looking at all the plantings we have done. Beautiful patio!