Stop throwing your egg boxes into the recycling bin. Instead, they can be extremely useful in one unlikely area of your home: the garden. Lifestyle expert Danielle Kate Wroe shares a savvy gardener's tip that will transform how you think about everyday waste.
Transform Egg Boxes into Seed Pots
Each week, households typically discard takeaway containers, plastic bottles, and at least one empty egg carton. But gardener Ish, in a viral TikTok video, demonstrates how these items can be repurposed to benefit your garden. He explains: 'Everyday items you normally throw away can easily be repurposed into useful items in the garden.' With a little imagination, these items become handy tools that help the environment.
Plastic Bottle Propagator
Ish shows how a plastic bottle can serve as a mini propagator. He recommends slicing it in half while keeping a small section joined together. Then, fill it with compost, plant seeds, and put the lid on top. This creates 'a nice humid environment' to get seedlings started.
Egg Carton Seed Starters
Moving to egg cartons, Ish suggests using the bottom section as 'individual pots' instead of throwing them away. He notes they 'decompose very well in the soil,' so after planting seeds, you can cut them up and 'add them directly in the ground without any root disturbance.' The carton will then 'start to break down,' making it a great way to start seeds before transferring them straight into the ground.
Salad Tray Seed Viability Test
Finally, Ish demonstrates how to use a salad tray or takeaway container. Since these are 'not deep enough to work as a propagator,' he uses them to check the 'viability of any old or expired seeds.' He places a layer of kitchen roll at the bottom, soaks it with water, adds expired seeds, and covers them with another layer of paper towel. This creates a 'moist and humid environment' that should 'hopefully get these started.' He can then 'pick out which ones are doing okay and plant them up,' thus 'not wasting any seeds that normally would've expired.'
Viewer Reactions
Ish encourages viewers to repurpose these items rather than throw them away. One woman joked her 'kitchen looks like a recycling centre' after following his tips. Another viewer wrote: 'Ish, this is such good helpful information as I have a lot of old seeds, but I was going to throw them out now I'm going to try what you said. Thank you once again.'
