Watching new seedlings grow can be a fun and rewarding part of gardening, but it's not always the easiest to accomplish. By repurposing a common household item, one TikToker has found a great hack to help you grow.
The scoop
Gardener and TikToker Hannah Leavins (@rockyhillfarmsfl) shared a helpful hack for successfully growing new seeds.
@rockyhillfarmsfl My favorite #seed starting #hack! Using your fruit containers is a great way to #repurpose for your seeds! These containers act as a mini greenhouse and allow the heat to stay in while having built-in drain holes. It's the perfect way to get more plants going in one container! If you plan to start a garden, save this hack and come back later for tips and tricks on seed starting for your #spring #garden! #homestead #homesteading #homesteadinglife #skills #gardening #floridagardening #fyp #foryou #foryoupage ♬ Happy Mood - AShamaluevMusic
By repurposing old fruit containers, Hannah shows how to plant seeds in a nurturing little environment. She posted, "These containers act as a mini greenhouse and allow the heat to stay in while having built-in drain holes."
She starts the video by showing an empty plastic strawberry container. Filling the bottom with soil, she then plants three rows of seeds and covers them with a thin layer of soil. After gently pouring water over all the dirt, she closes the container, and it's ready to go — and grow.
How it's helping
Repurposing and reusing household items, including waste, can save consumers a lot of money. A mini greenhouse kit can cost about $30, making using something you've already paid for much cheaper. If you're like many consumers, there are multiple empty fruit and vegetable containers in your garbage every week — a treasure trove of gardening supplies.
Reusing items you have lying around also saves time. In our busy lives, having yet another errand to run can seem daunting. If you've already got what you need at home, that chore can be checked off the to-do list.
Reducing our consumption and reusing what we've already purchased also helps the environment. Our World in Data estimates that around 1.7 million tonnes (over 3.7 billion pounds) of plastic end up in our oceans each year.
Consumers can take simple individual actions that make a big impact on the environment, like reusing and repurposing items. Every bit of plastic that gets reused in your home is that much less methane-emitting waste in a landfill and fewer dangerous contaminants floating in our oceans.
When we cut back on waste, our food supply is more secure, and our communities are less likely to experience extreme weather events caused by warming temperatures. With so many ways to recycle different products, there are a lot of options for consumers to explore, including ways to profit from unwanted belongings.
GotSneakers offers cash in exchange for your old sneakers, and companies like Microsoft and Apple offer cash or store credit when you turn in your e-waste.
What people are saying
Commenters on Hannah's TikTok video loved the hack she shared using fruit containers. One user said, "Digging mine out of the trash now."
Another commented: "It's ventilated plus retains heat?! And almost free?! This is great."
Many users seemed excited to try the idea, and one TikToker said: "Very smart! What a great idea. Thanks for sharing."
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