Gardening Expert Shares Why You Should Never Throw Away Potato Peels and What to Do Instead

Behind that bag of delicious chips or those mashed potato cutlets, there’s always a potato that had to travel a hazardous journey. While humans are irresistibly indulged in the potatoey goodness, the potato bears a torturous assault just because it cradles a treasure trove of taste within its round, solid body. First, it is blasted vigorously with water. Once the bubble bath is done, its soiled skin is ripped off with violent knifework. After the potato is perfectly groomed for an appetizing snack, the homemaker nonchalantly tosses its flattened spiralling peels into the dumpster, glopping them to rot on top of all things that are trash. But Armen Adamjan (@creative_explained) is that gardener who can spot magic in all things that have been discarded.

Dubbed as the internet’s favorite life hack guy, Adamjan shared how these dumped potato peels are “magic” for plants. As the video opened, Adamjan popped on the screen out of thin air and insisted to the viewers, “When you are done peeling potatoes, don't throw out the peels.” Instead, he suggested, “What you want to do is lay [them] down flat again and bake them in the oven for 15 minutes and 300 degrees.” He laid out the potato peels in a flat black tray and slipped them inside the oven. The plan, he quipped, was not to make chips. The video cut to the scene when Adamjan pulled out the tray from the oven and showed the viewers how the peels were now crumpled, dry, and shriveled.

The next step, he said, was to “turn the potato peels into a powder with a blender or a coffee grinder.” The video showed swizzler-shaped potato peels twirling and pirouetting in a gnashing dance of the grinding appliance. Adamjan turned off the grinder to display the transparent jar filled with potato peels now crushed into a brownish powder. Flashing this jar on the screen, he explained that potato peels contain a rich concoction of “potassium, phosphorus, calcium and magnesium,” becoming a magic food for hungry plants. “Why would you throw out these nutrients?” he said.

Next, the gardening expert mixed one teaspoon of this potato peel powder with some water in a cup, stirring it to make a uniform paste. “Feed it to your plants that love some extra nutrients. You can also sprinkle it on the soil of your plants,” Adamjan said. He shared that he doesn’t buy any fertilizers, which contain toxic chemicals, and instead uses these potato peels. “It’s magic,” he exclaimed. A viewer, @veronicarowland1243, called Adamjan a “Science Genius Guy.”

As always, Adamjan’s gardening hack resonated with thousands of people. “Great tip. I’m kind of sad I’ve been throwing them out all this time,” commented @conniemunroe7203. The video made @ayael recall an instance from childhood: “As a child, my parents always used to tell me to give my potato peels to plants.”

Adding to Adamjan’s hack, @kagancanada1891 said, “Mix some coconut juice with this potato mix to get amazing plant food.” In another hilarious comment, @veloc.raptor9136 attempted to mimic the sentiments of the plants that have been fed with the potato peel water. “Plants be like: man, I f*****g love nutrients! Fried bones and potato skin get me so hard!” Indeed, Adamjan’s plants must be getting high on nutrients after he stopped discarding stuff and started squeezing the magic out of them.

You can follow Armen Adamjan (@creative_explained) on YouTube for life-saving gardening hacks.