Gardener Simon (@simonakeroydgardener) found a great way to stock up on watering cans while saving a few bucks. He took to TikTok to share the hack.
The scoop
Simon showed how he simply punched holes through the lids of various plastic containers, allowing him to apply a gentle sprinkle of water to his younger plants. Squeezing the containers allowed him to control the flow.
@simonakeroydgardener Repurpose a milk carton to make a free watering can #recycle #reuse #repurpose #gardening #gardentok #gardeningtok #growyourown #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #gardeninghack #costoflivingcrisis #mentalhealth #mentalwellbeing #biro ♬ We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome) - Tina Turner
Spare plastic containers are great for lots of gardening uses, including propagating plants, providing a mulch buffer, and easy irrigation.
How it's helping
Making your own watering cans out of containers saves a few bucks by avoiding the need to buy new gardening hardware. Used items of all sorts can generate surprising economic value, but that's only the start of the benefits.
Since new watering cans don't need to be made, that means avoiding all sorts of ecological costs in plastic manufacturing, too. That includes sourcing the oil needed to make plastic in the first place.
Homemade watering cans also have downstream benefits. Since you're using old plastic containers for longer, it delays putting them into waste streams. When plastic bottles end up in landfills, they shed particles. These microplastics can filter through to waterways and eventually into the fish we eat.
When people ingest microplastics, they can suffer all sorts of health issues, including endocrine, immune, and reproductive problems. Plastic recycling isn't an especially efficient process, so knowing your options can help mitigate these costs.
Reusing plastic bottles helps avoid all of those, plus gardening itself has lots of benefits, including being great for mental and physical health.
What everyone's saying
Users were keen to try Simon's gardening hack.
"This is brilliant. I've made loads," one said.
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"As a student you've helped me so much with growing my plants for free !!" another wrote.
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