I toss veggie "trash" under the shrubby plants. It does not smell and it is supposed to be even better than compost...with none of the obvious hard work.

I've wondered about that myself. I've chosen not to compost but feel I could get some use out of leftover veggie scraps when I'm cooking and prepping. So I could toss things like potato peels in my flower bed without having to compost them?

Yes, in fact I was told by an organic gardening guy that it actually can help the plants because it decomposes right there. It was light a green light for me.

Clearing out the thatch by letting Minnie scratch it up is a pretty unique trick! Aren't dogs wonderful?

I'm trying to think of a unique gardening tip to offer, but until I do I'll say that I read about putting your kitchen scrapes in a paper bag and burying it in the garden to compost in place. That works fine, as well as just throwing the scraps under the plants, but I put mine in a gallon size plastic bucket with a lid and every couple of days I dump the contents in a shallow hole dug in garden beds and cover it with soil. If I don't cover it the dogs scatter it around searching for fruit scraps, etc. plus it draws flies and gnats.

The kitchen scaps turn into wonderful dark compost within a couple of weeks. Sometimes I get a surprise plant out of the deal such as the beautiful foliage of a baby Papaya tree.

Oh she loves it! I turn the nozzle to "jet" and everywhere it sprays, she likes to chase the stream. If I do just a quick blast in one spot, she runs to it and scratches at the spot with her paws as if it's some critter that always escapes her!

Well I will DEFINITELY be saving my fresh veggie scraps from now on! I already dump coffee and tea grounds out there. Now that I know full-on composting isn't always necessary, I feel really good knowing the bits of veggies I usually toss can be used to improve my flower beds! I'd love it if something popped up and surprised me like your papaya tree!!

What are some of the kitchen scrapes you put in the garden?
I only do banana peels, egg shells and coffee grounds. And coffee grounds not so much since we got a Keurig.

My teas are usually in bags. Do you put bag and all?
Veggie scrapes, would that be things like the ends cut off of cucumbers, squash, peppers, celery, onion peels?
I usually just turn a pot upside down over the dumped stuff, so our dog will leave it alone.

I put everything from the vegetable kingdom in the compost bucket, including wet paper towels occasionally. Since I cook all things fresh the peels, ends, etc. adds up to quite a lot. Covering with a pot is a good idea. Sometimes I cover the area with a large pot saucer. I've done tea bags and just tear open one end not being sure what the bags are made of. I think they decompose as I've never found any remains when digging.

I have a compost pile that I put all the plant trimmings in. I used to turn it, water it, fertilize it, etc. but that's work so now I just let it set. It goes down by about a third with each hard rain. After about 3 or 4 years I pull the stuff out from the bottom which has turned to 'black gold'.

Still trying to think of something 'unique' that I do. I've mentioned the crushed ice in the king size pillow slip around my neck on a hot day.. Has anybody else tried it? It sure helps keep me going when I want to get a project done instead of waiting for morning. Also have mentioned opening a Vit/ E capsule and putting the contents on my face if I feel that it's gotten too much sun. Amazingly it takes the heat and burning feeling away. Wearing a hat and sun screen to prevent is better, but there are those few times when I don't.

When I see fresh dog poop in my yard whilst watering I just power wash it in. Instant fertilizer. The hard, dry stuff gets tossed though. Too gross of an answer?

I do the same as roselee with my vegetable scraps. One unique thing I do, and it wasn't my original idea, is to staple a zip lock bag around the forming apples on my apple tree. I was doubtful when I first read it, but it works to keep critters from taking a bite, or the whole apple, and keeps fungus and most bugs off. I told my mom and she started putting her eggplants in a ziplock to keep the squirrels from taking them.

Lynnmarie, I do the same thing.

Not sure how unique this is but I have a couple of beach umbrellas to shade newly planted plants and/or things that the west sun just gets too much for in August/September. If you can't anchor them in the dirt you can put the end in a five gallon bucket of rocks. I had a slightly larger piece of PVC pipe that the umbrella pole sticks in with a piece of wood to wedge it.