A gardener on Instagram has shared a clever hack for creating your own seed-starting containers. All it takes is some toilet paper and a pair of scissors.
The scoop
In a recent Instagram post, gardener Laurelle (@laurelle_the_plant_momma) shares her strategy for making DIY seed starters. If you already have your seeds, the process won't cost you a penny — all it requires are a few items you should have in your home, including toilet paper rolls and scissors.
The first step is to find toilet paper rolls or paper towel rolls made of cardboard. Next, cut the rolls into three to four-inch tubes. After that, cut four or five slits into one end of the tube and fold them together to form a stable bottom.
Once the tube has a bottom, fill it with soil and place it on a tray or container that can support it, and then plant your seeds in the soil-filled tube. All that's left is to water the tubes and place them in a brightly-lit area where the seeds can soak up lots of sunlight.
How it's helping
Making these DIY seed starters can help you save money on gardening. It also helps reduce your wastefulness by finding a new use for paper towel rolls and toilet paper rolls that you'd throw out otherwise.
Since cardboard is biodegradable — it completely degrades within one year, according to DS Smith — you can easily place the seed-filled tubes into the ground when the time is right, and the tubes themselves will disappear without a trace.
What everyone's saying
Users expressed their excitement in the comment section of the post.
"I've been saving all my toilet rolls for months and couldn't remember why I needed to do that- now I remember!!! 😆," writes one user.
"I have done this for the last two years, and it works great!" another user comments. "And when the seedlings are ready to plant out, the cardboard is about ready to dissolve, so there is no danger of disturbing the new roots."
"Yes, I'll be using this in the spring!!!😍," another user writes.
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