I had read that the water you use to wash your dishes in, often referred to as dirty water, is good to throw on your flower beds.

Also, I think it was coffee mixed w/ water was good for violets.

Well, it's off to work! Have a good one!!!

Ajpa--I'd any any of those to compost.

I put any---and all---kitchen waste liquids into my pile, but if your pile tends to be too wet, you'll want to dump the liquid somewhere else in your yard.

i try to keep anything out of my septic system that i can, sometimes, if i left a pan soak, i fling the water out into the backyard. last night i drained some cooked pasta, saved that water, and even the water i used to rinse that pasta w/.
if i'm in a hurry cooking, it's ok to throw this stuff out into the lawn. i need to get less lazy though, cuz even in the winter i'm starting to notice that the area around my backdoor is turning much greener than the rest, so if that partly answers your question.....

All of those sound good so far. If you normally use bleach to sterilize dishes then I would let that go down the drain.

The only kitchen liquid I would not put into the compost pile is spoiled (or fresh) milk. And the reason is that milk is far too valuable as a protein based fertilizer to waste in a compost pile. You can dilute milk to spray as little as 3 ounces of milk per gallon of water and really feed your soil and plant microbes.

I guess if the milk had clotted I would put it in the pile.

dc:

does the 3 oz/gl ratio change with the fet % of the milk?

Otis.

The 3 ounces per gallon has to do with protein content, not fat. Spray it on everything trying to cover the leaves and stems of plants. The milk feeds the microbes living outside the plants and the microbes living in the soil.

Thanks dc
Otis

So, if milk protein is good for the plants and coffee nitrogen is good for soil, does that mean left-over coffee with cream would be good for watering houseplants with?

I know from experience that 'watering' house plants with milky drinks (in my case tea - of course) is not a good idea. The milk goes sour and your plant soil pongs.

Thanks. I did google after I posted that (should have done it the other way around) and I realize that I misunderstood dchall.

Spent brewers yeast from beer and wine making can go on the pile or straight on bare/mulched soil. I mean that slosh at the bottom of the bucket or carboy. It's high in nitrogen and trace elements.

My wife dyes wool with plant dyes - dandelion root, onion skin, golden marguerite - the leftover liquids go on the soil.

Water from washing raw chicken/meat - I wouldn't. The idea of salmonella, listeria..

All my tea, coffee & coffee grounds go into their own little container behind the sink (to pour directly onto grass/bed) - that container is separate from the kitchen scraps container that gets carried out to the compost bin.

All the Best, Tree

PS last year I did a bit of "saving" kitchen water (mainly from cooking b/c I just can't get my head around "antibacterial soap" residue on my plants/compost) - but it got too out of control, time mgmt/logistics wise. In the process though, I did notice how much fertile water would otherwise be going down the drain, ughh! However, I've learned to prioritize my activities, and my composting/gardening at some point has to get woven around my other priorities (don't tell the others or they won't let me stay in the compost-wacko club anymore. ;)