With the onset of winter, pasta and potatoes seem to be on the menu quite often at our house. If you aren't able to bring in melted snow to water your plants, try saving the water from your dinner prep. Your plants will think it's nutritious and delicious!
The plants will enjoy the drink from a starchy pot of water; the only catch is to make sure it has cooled. One of the easiest, non-toxic ways to kill weeds is boiling water, so if you don't wish to repeat those effects, let your pot cool on the stove until after your meal.
Simply fill your watering cans with what you can and fill any drip trays with the remainder. The used water is like a Vitamin Water for your plants and you'll be able to get a little more use out the water each time you cook!
(Image: Flickr member Hanataro licensed for use by Creative Commons)
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what a great idea. i will have to file this away for the next time i make pasta!
Intrigued, I googled this and saw that some people find pasta water makes the soil grow mold, but that water used to boil or steam veggies works great. They also point out that you definitely should not put pasta water on your plants if it is salted.
I've always been taught since childhood to save the water when I wash rice and use that to water plants. Since a lot of the nutrients are washed away when you wash rice, I'd rather it goes to the plants then down the drain.
it would rot.
i use water from my pond to water the plants - no ill effects so far, and since I'm filling the pond from our rainwater tank, I like to think I'm doubly eco-effective! :)
I do love to save water whenever and wherever I can. That said, this is a rather strange tip as cooking pasta without salting the water would be sacrilege and using salt water on your plants would kill or damage most houseplants.
I use the water from my fish tank when I change it