I just did this this morning so I thought I would do a little PSA and repost this handy tip! 😉
The next time you boil or steam some vegetables on the stove top, don’t pour the water down the drain. Â Once the water has cooled, pour the vegetable water in your garden or planting containers to “fertilize” your plants instead of wasting it.
I’ve been doing this for a couple of years now I think it really helps keep my garden green.
Do you do this too? Please tell me I’m not a total weirdo.
~Mavis
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Kate says
I do this, too! You aren’t a weirdo! I also use the water leftover after boiling eggs. It’s full of calcium and really helps.
Carol says
Kate and Mavis, I have been doing the veggie and hard boiled egg water for several years, too. It makes me feel better than just letting it go down the drain. I don’t use the water canned veggies come in, I’m concerned there would be too much sodium for the plants…..
Sharyn Welch says
I have just started doing this again. I also boil any skins, celery tops/leaves, with any other veg not being eaten and make my own stock. Waste not, want not.
Val says
I do too!!! I keep a bag in the freezer for all the ends and then when I get a gallon size bag filled with stuff that I make vegetable stock. As far as feeding vegetable water to my plants I have not tried that but I am definitely going to as I just boiled cabbage today for stuffed cabbage leaves! Thank you for the tip
Ev says
what about the canned veggies with no sodium?
Connie says
No. There’s always some type of additive in canned foods. Just use water you have boiled or steamed veggies in yourself. Besides using water from boiled eggs, you can also pulverize the eggshells & mix a little bit into the soil around your houseplants for extra calcium.
Nuno says
Can the water be seasoned?
Mark says
Yes, it can be seasoned. I cook stews and daal with seasoning. After pouring the cooked food into a glass dish, I add lots of water to the cooking pan and pour the seasoned water into the soil around the plant. The key for me has been to heavily dilute the seasoned food left in the pan. That way it’s like energy water with some added nutrients from the cooked food.
Jack says
I do use liquid from canned vegetables. I dilute 1:10 to avoid sodium or other concentrations.
Afred Bugeja says
I like this article. In fact i take things further as i cannot create a compost heap in my property so what i do is to boil every type of weed or dead dying plant and all my vegetable or fruit waste for about 5 or ten minutes. Then after the water cools i then press all of the residue to get all of the nourishment out before bottling the water. This helps me re utilise old plastic bottles and also ensures that i waste nothing from my house. My vegetables love this form of nourishment as i never have to buy any form of nutrients for the soil. As far as i am concerned it is the best type of organic growing i can use as i even spray the plants and vegetables with this water during growing season.
Ghislaine Coulon says
You may want to try live composting which involves burying your fresh green waste in the soil and let it feed your plants straight away, a permaculture way of gardening and agriculture. Or lay on top of soil and cover with mulch does it just as well…when you have large quantities of green bits. I also select those that are not too shaby blanch them and freeze them to make a vegetable soup at a later stage… carrot leafy tops are good for addding to veg soup.
Martin says
Do you use all vegetables?
Lisa says
Excellent idea! I’m going to do this after I boil corn on the cob tonight.
Jesse says
weirdo.
😉
Nancy D says
I never thought of this. I always feel guilty when I pour it down the drain! Another thing that works if you don’t have a compost pile is save the shells and peelings and whirl them in the blender with water and liquefy them. Pour that on garden plants. I used alot of water so it’s really liquified and soaks in fast.
Diane Murray says
Great idea!
Kathy D says
That is so great!! I would love a composter, but don’t quite have the space. Thanks for the help. 🙂
Earthdavec says
I composted on our fifth floor window sill in the center of Paris, so it’s probably possible anywhere if you really want to. A friend set up a worm compost bin in the ‘cave’ ( basement) of her Paris apartment building, nice stable temperature and always dark. Perfect! So worth the rich soil which results. And no stinky leaking garbage.
Michele says
Yep…I do it too 🙂
Ellen says
I honestly never thought of doing that! I hate pouring down the drain, so will start heading outside with the cooled pan. And what a great idea about “blending up” peels and shells to fertilize with. Will do that especially during the summer when I have fruit and berry peeligs and stems
susie says
i always use the boiling hot water from when I make corn on the cob to kill the weeds in the cracks of our drive way. Works great on weeds! I will have to try this trick though!
Lauren says
A few years ago Australia was in a sever drought, across the country we had strict water restrictions. Mostly relating to gardens, lots of people gave up on lawns and other water needy plants. Those of us with vege gardens did things like using the kitchen water, grey water from the washing machine and even having a bucket in the shower to collect the water while it got to the temp you wanted. I’ve even seen people bucket the water from the bath tub. So Mavis you are not weird at all. ♡
K Finnemore says
I’ve done it too. Sometimes on houseplants too!
Jen Hen says
I do this too except you have to be careful using it on indoor seedlings. I came home one day to a nasty smell in the house and looked everywhere trying to find anything it could be. Finally realized it was my seedlings! I took them outside to harden them off earlier than planned…lol! So I only use veggie water outside. You can also save it for soup.
Preppy Pink Crocodile says
I also let the water cook after canning jams and such and then use that too.
KK
Jessica says
I’ve never thought of this but seems like a good idea. What about pasta water? Good, bad or indifferent?
Julia says
I use cooled veggies and egg water. Pasta water is great so long as there is no salt or oil in it. Plants love the starch in pasta water.!
Christine says
What a great idea! Thanks again Mavis!
Diane Murray says
I only steam veggies but always drink the water afterwards. It’s delicious hot or cold.
Andrea says
I’d actually wondered about watering my plants with veggie water…but I thought it sounded a little crazy. It totally makes sense though, right? I’m going to try it.
Melissa says
Good idea but you should edit the post and point out the water needs to cool before being poured on plants or some newbies will murder their plants not knowing any better. Boiling water & dumping it on the roots if a plant will kill it.
Tammy says
You can also use left over cold tea that has gotten past that “fresh” stage. I always pour left-over tea on my evergreens.
Julie says
Is your tea sweetened or not?
Carina says
Beer water as well house plants ?
Kandy says
When I make a green vegetable smoothie (veggies only) and I rinse out my Vitamix I use it to water my houseplants. They love this treat and it’s great natural fertilizer!
kattmaxx says
We use fish tank water when we change their tank water. My herbs really like it.
Karen at A Glimpse Into My Reveries says
When we do a water change in our small front yard pond (when my hubby cleans out the dead leaves), I use the fish water on my plants and trees!
Renay says
Been doing it for years!
KariJean says
Yep, after I’m done canning,I use the boiling canner to blanch my garden veggies, or any veggies not getting used up in the fridge, then dump that water in the garden when it fools.
KariJean says
cools… dang, I proofread it too.
Catherine says
I save that water from cooking veggies in the freezer. Then, I use it when I make chicken/turkey stock. Adds a little extra flavor and nutrition….at least that’s my assumption!
Leslie says
Yep, I do it too. Not sure if it helps- my garden is so far gone, who knows!
Erin says
Just be careful about what water you use. I boiled some corn one day and poured the cool water on one of my large houseplants. That plant has since gotten a nice fuzzy growth on the surface of the dirt. I’m working hard to get rid of it. But maybe not using water from veggies prone to fungus is a good idea.
Karen at A Glimpse Into My Reveries says
Ya, I’m thinking veggie water probably best for outside plants. I once used fish tank water on my house plants. What a mistake!
I had to repot them in new potting soil after shaking all the stinky, stinky, stinky soil off of the roots!
Cynthia says
I’m not sure what happened with the fish tank water, but my squash, tomato, bellpepper, and cabbage plants love it. I usually water them in the evening when it’s not very hot, and give moderate sunlight and it’s they grow taller overnight.
Leonie says
Yep I recently poured boiled broccoli water on my house plants and now there is a fuzzy mould on the soil but the worse part is they absolutely stink
Susie says
The same thing happened in my window box after pouring cooled corn water in it. White mold was growing on the soil through the whole box. I scraped it off and l may replace all of the soil when the prim roses and pansies are done.
Cynthia Skelton says
I do this too! Especially for container plants or any that are looking sad.
Wendy Steele says
I do this as well-but have to confess I didn’t think of it until we were under watering restrictions due to severe draught conditions. I had made corn on the cob for dinner that night, & when I was cleaning up, glimpsed my droopy hydrangeas out the kitchen window–& it dawned on me to use the water for something useful instead of pouring it down the drain!! Oh well, they say ‘it takes what it takes’!!!
Betty D says
When growing up…we didnt have full house piping..One toliet that went to
a septic tank. The Kitchen sink was piped to the side of the house. So anything
that went down that sink went to one area…. Dad planted garlic/onions there and
talk about the best garlic/onions.. They growed so well. He let some of the
onions grow to seed …for the next yrs growing. Keep in mind this was yrs back
before you werent allowed to do this. Our washing machine was in a shed and
went out into the side yard. We sure had good gardens. Those were days we had to do
yard chores before school home work…..now looking back those were the good days…for sure.
tc says
I too have done this for years and it works I use leftover tea and coffee on my roses, I grind egg shells in the blender and either mix it in with the chickens oatmeal or I put it around my tomato’s. I blend up all citrus peel in the vitamix as it composts much quicker that way and then I rinse out the vitamix and pour that on to any of my potted plants. My husband thinks I am weird but I was bought up with the “waste not want not” mantra. I even give our chickens the shells of shrimp, lobster or crab as I figure it is good calcium for them and they love it. Occasionaly I grind them up for my plants though. When we rinse of the filter in our koi pond I do it over the garden so the plants get the nutrients and I am trying to train the HH to do that too instead of letting it run down the path.
Sandy E. says
Watered indoor plants with dishwater…hope that is helpful!
Kristin says
How about the water that I soak my rice in? Is that okay? It’s not boiled. Thanks!
Sayuri says
Asian peasants have been fertilizing their most cherished planes with water they used to soak vegetables, rice and fruit. My roses and fuscia plants love it!
Elsa says
Has anybody tried using beet water to feed tomatoes? I just boiled some beets and my tomatoes need fertilizing. I was thinking of letting the water cool off and using it on the tomatoes.
Karen says
That is exactly the reason I am here. I boiled up a pot of our beets last nite and the pot of water is still on the counter….
wondering if I should use it in the garden and on which veggies. We have tomatoes, peppers, carrots and radishes!
Nikki says
Just thought about doing this with corn on the cob. Had to consult with Google… nope, you’re not a weirdo! Or at least if you are, it seems you’re in good company. 🙂
linda says
Thanks for your blog. I’d always wondered and kept throwing the liquid down the drain. Not any more. Thanks again.
Mariejoo says
guys, I don’t understand how the kitchen sink water that is full of soap residues can help plants, and washing machine water that’s full of chemicals? are you sure?
Barb says
Dawn dish soap helps remove/repel bad bugs on plants. It also helps clean the leaves, which is where plants get their nutrients.
John Manship says
These are great ideas, I always boil my potato and carrot peelings and onion (and garlic) skins, and save the water for watering. I usually mix 1:5 peel water with regular water and and use about once a month. Great results. Never thought about the egg-boiling water, I’ll try that out, many thanks for the tips!
Liz says
I haven’t done this before because I thought it could cause mildew in the soil. So many of you can’t be wrong so I am going to give it a try.
Betty Norlander says
I also put my dish water in the garden and flower beds, as long as there wasn’t any greasy pans in it!
Sathya says
i drink the water or use it to make gravy/soup.. it’s full of nutrients. I’m surprised that there are people who discard veggie water/pour it down the drain. I boil the peel separately and use it as fertilizer after straining.
Nan says
I don’t think I would use unless the veggies were organic.
Sandra Wilkinson says
I’ve just boiled some chicken meat for my dog (only thing that doesn’t upset his stomach) can I put the leftover water on my many fruit trees? (basically chicken stock, have frozen some but the amount of times I boil the chicken you can only keep so much)
Bill says
Would this work with water that was used to cook legumes (beans, chickpeas etc.)?
Loraine Pross says
Over the winter, I put all my smelly stuff described below in the freezer for use in the Spring. Works wonders against slugs.
• LARGE empty container, water (I use a 4-5 gallon plastic container).
• 5 garlic cloves
• 1+ teaspoon crushed red peppers / cayenne pepper is a good substitute as is tumeric
• Fill container with water
• 1 tablespoon dish soap
• add anything smelly – ends of chives, MINT, lavender, catnip, green onions, leeks, fennel / onion & garlic skins). I use a laundry mesh bag & put this stuff in it – easier to remove the water & leave this in the container for the next batch. Keep adding stuff to the bag. Replace after using water a couple of times.
Fill container with water, add garlic, crushed red peppers and dish soap. STIR; then let it sit in the sun for a day or two to make sure the water is saturated with the flavors and smells. Stir again, then use a watering can to pour on the plants that you don’t want the rabbits to eat.
I also save up all my eggshells (rinse & let dry) and when there are enough, I put in blender. Comes out wonderful – and GREAT for use in the garden.
Ssnow says
I was just wondering how to get rid of slugs ! I had heard of the egg shells but this new method of yours I will have to try it !!
Wieda Karsten says
yes i have also fed my plants water from boiling vegetables; one word of caution, one time i used broccoli water
left from cooking that and you guessed it, the whole room smelled bad, so i had to after the water went into the soil put new soil over the smelly soil. other than that my plants love the leftover water and thrive.
Carol Holmes (comes up Bob on the email) says
I only have a small garden off my patio——- I do lots of eggshells and egg water already (bigger pieces of the eggshells put around the plants keep the slugs away because their soft bodies don’t like the rough edges and they move on)
I just inquired about broccoli water and all this helpful information came up! I was certainly surprised. I’m going to have the best garden!!
Thanks everyone that made a comment or two——- very interesting!
Carol
Penny says
I e used cooled boiled shrimp water. No smell and my house plants love it
Tess says
These comments are a wonderful resource. Thanks everyone!
GVN says
I am new to gardening and just reading the post and the comments itself has given me so much confidence!!! Thank you everyone!!
Bunny says
I save my banana peels , let dry. Put in blender with dried eggshells, old teabag stuffings. When all is dry I give it a whirl in the blender and put it aside to add to water and/or water. Plants haven’t complained!
Bob R says
Has anyone tried using chicken soup? This is no joke.