How can I reuse or recycle pistachio shells?
Oh lovely pistachio nuts. How sweet and salty your squishy insides are. How tough and protective your hard outsides are.
We’ve got a whole bowlful of the pistachio nut shells with no idea what to do with them.
We’re reluctant to just throw them on the compost heap because it seems such a waste to just ask them to rot down again (and they’ll probably take ages anyway) but that’s a last resort I guess.
Any ideas?
Best Suggestions
- Reuse – Practical: Use them at the bottom of plant pots to help drainage.
- Reuse – Creative: They can be made into rattles (in an old tin can or cardboard tube depending on how loud you want it) or instead of seashells wind chimes.
- Recycle: Smash them up a bit and spread them around the garden – to start with, the sharp edges will deter slugs and snails and eventually the shells will break down into compost and feed your soil.
- See the comments below for more suggestions and ideas
yeah, throw them in a wood burning stove or fireplace. they are high in oils that actually react with the creosote in the chimney and will cause it to flake off thus preventing chimney fires while heating your house. due to the oil, they give off a lot more than their weight in wood (celulose). If you put one in a paper clip and light it you will see ‘jets of fire’ branching out of where it is burning; this is the oil vaporizing and igniting when it comes in contact with oxygen.
Pistachio shells are hard! Has anyone ever thought of grinding them down into a powder then reforming them with an adhesive to make an MDF type material?
Pistachio shells prior to the preparation, namely a good rinse and dry. After you sort by size: large to large, small to small, medium to medium. With the help of a coffee saucer using its diameter, cut out a circle of very thick cardboard (in our case, we used the cardboard from a box).
Outline the center circle and begin with an adhesive to form a flower from the small size of pistachios. Getting glue with four shells in the center, then depending on the size of the shell. And as you can spread mosaic!
Great ideas!!
My daughter uses crushed walnut shell substrate in her hermit crab’s tank. I wonder if crushed pistachio shells would work too??
Anyone ever use the shells as a potting medium for growing orchids instaead of fir bark. I would assume they have to be thoughly rinsed to remove and salt.
Thanks in Advance,
John
Can’t you crush them down and make a poutice, for skin exfoliation?
If you like to cook out, use them on your grill or smoker instead of wood chips. It’s very good for smoking meat, better than hickory or mesquite!
Make a wind chime out of them they sound pretty when they move around in your hand so why not out in the wind!!!
I put them in a pot and boil them fora few hours and you get a paste that I mix in with my mashed potatoes it is rather tasty.