Gardener’s ‘fantastic’ tip to re-use egg boxes – never throw them away

Every week, you probably throw away at least one takeaway carton, one plastic bottle, and an empty box that once contained eggs.

But gardener Ish, who posts on TikTok as @gardening.with.ish has shared a genius way that you can reuse every single one of these things and use them to your advantage in the garden.

“Everyday items you normally throw away can easily be repurposed into useful items in the garden,” Ish wrote as part of the caption on his video.

He said “with a little bit of imagination” you can turn these things into items that will be helpful “in the garden”.

First off, he showed what a plastic bottle can be used for, saying “they can make amazing mini propagators”. He urged people to cut it in half first, leaving a small bit attached. Then you can add soil, and then “plant in your seeds” and “chuck the lid on top”. Ish said it will “create a nice humid environment […] which will get your seedlings started”.

“The next thing is the humble egg carton,” he said, saying that using the bottom bit as “individual pots” is the way you can prevent the box from just going into the bin.

He also said that they “decompose very well in the soil” so you can cut them up after you’ve put seeds in and “plant them directly in the ground without any root disturbance” and the egg box will just “start to break down”.

He said it’s a “great way to start off your seeds” and then you can “transfer them directly to the soil”.

Finally, he used a salad tray from a supermarket or a takeaway box, noting that it’s “not deep enough to work as a propagator” so he uses them to check the “viability of any old or expired seeds”.

First, Ish took a “layer of kitchen roll” and placed it in the bottom of the tray. He then soaked it with water. He then put in the “extra seeds that have expired” and then covered it over with the extra paper towel.

He said that this creates a “moist and humid environment” that should “hopefully get these started”.

Ish said that he can “pick out which ones are doing okay and plant them up” so he’s “not wasting any seeds that normally would’ve expired”.

He said that you should try to use these to your benefit in the garden rather than just chucking them away.

In the comments, a woman joked that her “kitchen looks like a recycling centre” because she’d been “doing this” and saving her items rather than binning them.

Another 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”.