K is for Keurig

When we got our first single serve coffee maker - in our case a Keurig - everyone was thrilled as they all had different preferences and waking times. Dark roast, medium roast, decaf. 8 am, 11 am, 4 pm (shift work ruled our family at the time). So everyone got exactly the coffee they wanted at exactly the right time. Except me, the only member of the household who wasn't a coffee drinker. All I got was annoyed by a garbage can crammed full of tiny white single serve pods. Finally I decided to have the coffee drinkers "save" the used pods. Then I would tear out the inside, adding the liner and the spent coffee grounds to the compost pile. But I was still throwing away the white cups.

Until I noticed the drip holes at the bottom

of each cup.

Suddenly, instead of a pile of useless garbage I had a pile of pods repurposed into seedling cups. Happy (early) Earth Day!

I find my Keurig pods are perfect for propogating small, slow growing plants like cacti and succulents. I'm always picking up the branches of a bunny tails cactus clumsily knocked tot he kitchen floor by some clumsy human and popping them into a pod with a soil/sand mix. If you're new to propogating, find yourself a friend with a donkey tails succulent. They lose their

leaves if you even look at them so there's always plenty to share. Try my simple steps:

1. Get yourself some donkey tail leaves and air dry them for 5-7 days. I just leave mine on my kitchen sink windowsill. They might begin to grow tiny white roots on one end.

2. Place them on the top of soil in a reused pod. No need to bury them, place the end in the dirt, give them room. I put as many in as I can fit, so the soil is no longer visible. See photo above.

3. Water with about 2 tablespoons of water.

4. Place on a sunny windowsill and water once a week.