There are ways you can reuse your egg boxes (Stock Image) (Image: d3sign via Getty Images)
You probably throw away at least one takeaway container, a plastic bottle, and an empty egg carton each week, if not a lot more.
Yet, gardener Ish, who posts advice on TikTok as @gardening.with.ish, has shared an ingenious way to reuse egg boxes and other packaging to benefit your garden.
“Everyday items you normally throw away can easily be repurposed into useful items in the garden,” Ish wrote in his video caption.
He maintains that “with a little bit of imagination,” these objects can transform into practical tools “in the garden”.
Firstly, he showed how a plastic bottle can be converted into an effective mini propagator. Ish recommends slicing it in half while keeping a small section connected.
Afterwards, fill it with compost, “plant in your seeds”, and “chuck the lid on top”. This, he explains, will “create a nice humid environment […] which will get your seedlings started”.
Regarding egg boxes, Ish advises using the lower section as “individual pots” rather than discarding them. He also noted they “decompose very well in the soil”, meaning once you’ve sown seeds in them, you can divide them up and “plant them directly in the ground without any root disturbance”.
The carton will subsequently “start to break down”. Ish praised this as a “great way to start off your seeds” before transplanting them straight into the Earth.
Finally, he showcased how to utilise a salad container from a supermarket or a takeaway carton. He noted that while these aren’t “not deep enough to work as a propagator”, he employs them to assess the “viability of any old or expired seeds”.
Ish started by laying down a “layer of kitchen roll” at the base of the container, which he thoroughly soaked with water. He then added the “extra seeds that have expired”, before covering them with another layer of paper towel.
He described how this arrangement produces a “moist and humid environment” that should “hopefully get these started”. Ish revealed he can subsequently “pick out which ones are doing okay and plant them up”, thus “not wasting any seeds that normally would’ve expired”.
He urged followers to give these household items a second life in their gardens rather than binning them.
Responding to his clip, one woman joked her “kitchen looks like a recycling centre” because she’d been heeding his suggestions and hoarding items instead of chucking them out.
Another grateful viewer remarked: “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.”