Discounted tomato plants at Rural King are drawing interest from gardeners for more than just the chance of squeezing out a few more tomatoes before the season ends. For plenty of shoppers, the excitement comes from reusing the trays and leftover soil instead of letting useful materials go to waste.
What happened?
A user on Reddit's r/gardening posted a photo showing tomato six-packs marked down to about 10 cents each at a Rural King location.
"No joke I'd buy those just for the plant starting cells," the poster wrote. "Those by themselves at the garden center are way more expensive."
In the comments, the focus quickly shifted away from rescuing the struggling plants and toward the value of the materials that came with them. One commenter wrote, "Sixty cents per entire cell tray … Yeah, them thangs coming home with me. All of em."
Other users echoed the same idea with comments such as, "Same, cells and trays," and "Worth it for the trays!" Another commenter noted that the markdown may have been even better than it first looked: "It's better than that! The sign says '6 pack, 10¢.'"
Some Redditors also offered the small chance that some may actually be worth a shot at reviving. One user commented, "I'd still buy them, anything with a green stem I'd cut the dead stuff back—then plant them in some super dank, moist soil, and baby the heck out of them for a wee bit."
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Why does it matter?
Basic gardening supplies can get expensive. Seed-starting cells, trays, and potting mix may seem minor when bought one at a time, but those costs can pile up quickly as you add more plants to your collection.
Too often, usable plastic trays and soil are thrown away once plants are past their prime.
Reusing those materials can help gardeners save money while also keeping more plastic and organic matter in circulation instead of sending it to a landfill.
Commenters pointed out that even a clearance tomato plant that is too far gone to produce fruit may still offer something useful, including the soil, the trays, and even stems that could be used for mulch.
That kind of resourcefulness can help stretch a household budget while reducing unnecessary waste at the same time.
What can I do?
End-of-season clearance racks can sometimes be a good source of pots, trays, and starter cells that can be cleaned and reused for seeds, cuttings, or transplants the following season.
It may also be worth asking your local garden center what happens to used containers. Commenters said some big-box stores in their areas leave trays or pots out for customers to take, though practices can vary by location.
If a store allows it, that can be an easier and more sustainable way to avoid buying new plastic supplies.
Old trays should be washed and sanitized before reuse, and if plants show signs of disease, the affected material should not be composted, since doing so could spread problems into next year's garden.
Healthy leftover soil can often be refreshed with compost and reused with more hardy plants.
As one Redditor put it: "Plus free compost, seems like a good deal idk."
That same frugal mindset showed up throughout the thread. One commenter wrote, "Best ten cents you ever spent!"
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