This Instagram gardening hack offers an easy way to support your most fragile plants.
The popular video comes from a user named Anna (@azzengarden). In the clip, the home gardener fastens plant stems to a wire trellis using binder clips from her office.
"I learned this trick from Stephanie at @the_potters_bench," Anna writes in the post's caption, "And now I use it for EVERYTHING."
The scoop
The video shows a cucumber vine with a new cucumber growing on it — one that will need extra support as it grows to keep the plant from bending or breaking.
To make sure the plant is secured to the trellis without damaging it, Anna slides the lower stem and the trellis wire into the triangular space inside the clip before closing it. The rigid metal of the clip ensures there's space on all sides of the stem.
How it's helping
A trellis in the garden is nothing new, but using binder clips to attach the plants is much faster than the traditional way. Gardeners will sometimes tie vines on with twine.
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There's no hurrying that process — going too fast would risk damaging the plants, potentially killing the fruits that a gardener is trying to protect. And removing or adjusting the ties takes just as long.
But binder clips take only a few seconds to add or remove, saving smart gardeners hours in the process. The width of the clip also helps prevent too much weight from resting on any one part of the stem, and the clips themselves are durable and reusable.
Meanwhile, supporting plants with a trellis is an effective way to increase a garden's yield, which is great for saving money and protecting the environment at the same time.
The more produce each homeowner grows in their yard, the less they need to buy at the store, which means less air pollution from the trucks and other vehicles used to transport fruits and vegetables long distances.
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What everyone's saying
Anna's video has received more than 17,000 views since it was posted two years ago. Many commenters are delighted by the hack.
"Smart! I do use those in the garden but I didn't think to use them for that!!!" one commenter wrote.
Other users echo the praise, calling the trick "smart," "clever," and "cool."
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