Gardener shares the 'genius' reason he never throws away old silica gel packets: 'It's a win-win'

Silica gel pouches are often found in shoeboxes and hardware packaging, where they absorb excess humidity and keep products dry. But did you know that they can also be used as a gardening tool? 

Patrick Vernuccio, otherwise known as The Frenchie Gardener (@thefrenchiegardener), shared a simple way to reuse silica gel pouches for your seeds. 

Seeds need to be kept dry for long-term storage, which is exactly where the silica pouches come in. 

"Keeping seeds dry helps preserve their germination potential for much longer," Patrick wrote in the video caption. 

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A post shared by Patrick Vernuccio (@thefrenchiegardener)

Patrick explained that he stores his seeds in shoeboxes, hermetic bags, or glass jars, along with the pouches. 

"Simply place the silica pouch in there to make it extra dry," Patrick said, before saying that seeds need to be stored in the dark at a cool, stable temperature of around 59 degrees Fahrenheit (15 degrees Celsius). This keeps your seeds ready for the next season. 

This simple hack helps prolong the life of your seeds for free, saving you money on new plants that can bring beauty to your garden year after year. 

Silica gel packs have a surprising number of uses. They are more effective than rice at rescuing a wet phone and can be used to help preserve books, especially in humid environments. The best thing is that silica gel pouches can be used multiple times, and when they stop being effective, you can restore them by baking them in the oven, as Stream Peak explained. 

These uses for gel packets can help people save a lot of money while keeping the pouches out of landfills, which is great news for the environment. 

Commenters were thankful for this gardener's useful trick, with one calling it "genius."

Another added, "It's a win-win as also saves them going to landfill."

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