A gardener has shared ingenious methods for repurposing everyday household items such as egg boxes and plastic bottles into useful garden tools. Ish, who shares tips on TikTok as @gardening.with.ish, demonstrated how items typically thrown away can be given a second life.
In a video, Ish showed how a plastic bottle can be transformed into a mini propagator. He advised cutting the bottle in half, leaving a small part attached, filling it with soil, planting seeds, and placing the lid on top. This creates a humid environment that helps seedlings start growing.
For egg cartons, Ish recommended using the bottom sections as individual pots. He noted that egg cartons decompose well in soil, so after sowing seeds, gardeners can cut them up and plant them directly in the ground without disturbing the roots. The carton will then break down naturally.
Ish also demonstrated how to test the viability of old or expired seeds using a salad tray or takeaway box. He placed a layer of kitchen roll at the bottom, saturated it with water, added the seeds, and covered them with another layer of paper towel. This creates a moist environment to see which seeds germinate, allowing gardeners to plant only the viable ones and avoid waste.
Viewers responded positively to the tips, with one commenting that her kitchen now looks like a recycling centre, and another thanking Ish for the helpful information about old seeds.
