Gardening comes with an abundance of benefits and nonstop education. There's always something new to discover. For example, did you know that you can grow poisonous plants in your garden?
The scoop
That is exactly what The Cottage Peach (@thecottagepeach) does when she plants rhubarb — a plant with highly toxic leaves. Her post shares several ideas on what to do with the leaves instead of tossing them.
@thecottagepeach Growing your own rhubarb is easy - edible perennials make the best lazy gardening hack 🙌 but what to do with all the leaves? Here's some ideas 💚 #growyourown #growingfood #gardeningtips #gardenideas #gardenersoftiktok ♬ Instrumental - Vibe - pedrin cria
Many gardeners, including The Cottage Peach, harvest rhubarb for their stalks, which — in case you're looking for inspiration — can be used to bake phenomenal pies and tarts.
Rhubarb leaves are inedible because they're high in oxalic acid. However, they can still be useful, and The Cottage Peach has all the tips.
The leaves can be used to shine pots and pans, create pest repellants for non-edible plants, as slug traps, or to make your own natural dye.
The Cottage Peach makes sure to point out that "oxalic acid is not absorbed by plant roots and breaks down fast," meaning they won't poison your compost.
How it's helping
Knowing how to use anything to its fullest potential reduces waste and saves money. Especially in the gardening world, it allows your labor of love to give you everything it's got.
Understanding that you can use rhubarb to make dessert and as a cleaning tool is savvy on so many levels. The ability to repurpose something most people would consider trash makes this plant versatile and far less intimidating than a poisonous plant should be. Knowledge is power.
Gardening is a great way to supply your own produce and save money on groceries, which means fewer trips to the store, less packaging, and reduced demand for globally shipped products. This is all a huge breath of fresh air, literally, for the planet.
Gardening also has positive effects on mental and physical health by reducing anxiety and helping people increase their fiber intake.
The best thing about gardening is that it can be done in any type of space. So whether you live on several acres or own a tiny studio in the city, it is always a possibility.
What everyone's saying
The Cottage Peach's rhubarb leaves tips were well received.
One commenter said, "You learn something new everyday."
"I love rhubarb and strawberry jam, it's a great combo!" one TikToker wrote.
"This is awesome!!" said a third.
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