If you dump your pasta water down the plughole without a second thought, you’re committing a terrible crime… at least according to foodies on the internet.
Pasta water, people claim, is ‘liquid gold’, to be poured into sauce, soups, and even used to make bread.
Could pasta water also be good for our houseplants?
The idea of using pasta water for plants is pretty simple. Rather than using plain tap water, you save the water left over when cooking pasta and use this to water plants instead.
Because the water has drawn out loads of starch from the pasta, it’s supposed to help to fertilise plants and stimulate growth.
But is this true? Or just internet urban legend?
Gena Lorraine, a gardening expert at Fantastic Services, is all for this particular hack.
‘Watering plants with pasta water has many benefits and no cons,’ she tells Metro.co.uk.
‘Pasta water is full of starch and plants love starch. Why? Well, because it’s often rich in vitamins and minerals.
‘So not only does pasta water act as a fertiliser for your plants but it also stimulates their growth.
‘Starchy water is good for growing all types of plants, whether they be veggies, flowers, fruits or even weeds.’
Gena says that this trick ‘cannot harm your plants in any way’ and that she can’t think of ‘any plants that wouldn’t benefit from being watered with pasta water’.
But experts at HeyPlants offer some warnings.
‘Unsalted pasta can give a nutrient boost to your plants and is a great sustainable way to save water,’ they explain. ‘However, use it sparingly.
‘If used too often bacteria can build up and lead to mould growth.’
It’s also vital that you do not use your pasta water on your plants if you’ve added salt, as this can wreck your plants over time.
The team at Feather And Nest also issue an important reminder to make sure you leave your pasta water to cool before dumping it in your plant pots. Don’t boil the roots.
Plus, make sure you’re not overwatering your plants by tipping a saucepan of water over them every time you make pasta. Overwatering is one of the top ways people kill their plants, so exercise caution and keep an eye out for the signs you’re overdoing the hydration.
All those warnings heeded, the pasta water for plants trick seems to be a great one.
‘It can be a good idea to use pasta water, as it’s rich in starch, containing healthy nutrients and minerals which benefit your plants,’ say Feather And Nest. ‘It’s also a good environmentally friendly way of re-using water.’
If you’re not a pasta fan (which would be shocking), the same thing applies to water used to boil potatoes.
‘Potato water works amazingly well as a fertiliser for plants,’ Gina adds.
And if you’re steering clear of all carbs, Heyplants has another way to level up your watering technique: ‘Soak banana skins in some water for a boost of nutrients to promote healthy plant growth.’
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