There are many reasons to grow your own food at home, chief among them cost savings and environmental impact. One Redditor shared a home gardening hack with the potential to push these benefits even further, while also saving valuable time. However, the hack raised one issue for which the Redditor turned to the internet for help.
The hack? Instead of spending money on expensive and wasteful single-use seed-starter trays or reusable plastic ones, save your toilet paper rolls and sprout your seeds in those instead.
The scoop
The cost of purchasing store-bought seed-starter trays can really add up over time, diminishing the economic benefits of growing your own food at home. Posting in the r/GardeningUK subreddit, a self-described "newbie gardener" shared a photo of the sweet pea seeds they had sprouted on their windowsill.
Their homemade solution to commercial seed-starter trays or pots was toilet paper rolls.
As the photo shows, using toilet paper rolls as seeding containers is simple: Just place the rolls vertically in some kind of tray or other flat surface, fill them with the appropriate type of soil, and plant the seeds as you would in any other receptacle. Then water the seeds and leave them in a sunny location as you normally would.
When it comes time to plant the seedlings in a larger space, you can simply bury the entire concoction in the new soil, cardboard and all. Over time, the cardboard will naturally deteriorate until it is completely gone.
How it's helping
The benefits of using toilet paper rolls to start your seeds are clear. Instead of spending money on single-use cardboard seed trays or reusable plastic containers, simply collect the cardboard core of your empty toilet paper rolls so that you have them available when it is time for seeding. The empty toilet paper rolls likely would be bound for recycling or composting anyway, so why not put them to good use?
The Redditor did express one concern, however, asking the internet to help identify the "white fluff on the cardboard tubes," suspecting that it was mold.
What everyone's saying
Several commenters agreed that the white fluffy substance was, indeed, mold, but most downplayed any concerns that the mold would cause long-term issues for the original poster's sweet pea plants.
"I wouldn't worry about it," assured one commenter. "The idea is [the cardboard rolls] only last long enough for the seedlings to establish then you plant the whole thing and the cardboard rots away."
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Not enough time ⏳ Another commenter agreed, assuring the OP, "This happened to me last year. Sweet peas were fine!"
However, some commenters did suggest that mold was a common problem with using toilet paper rolls for seed starting, saying that the cardboard absorbed too much water, leaving them susceptible to mold.
"Yes, the white fluffy stuff is mold," wrote one commenter. "To address it and prevent recurrence, increase air circulation, reduce moisture by avoiding overwatering, wipe away the mold, and ensure adequate sunlight for the sweet pea seedlings."
In the event OP wished to avoid these issues altogether, other commenters recommended inexpensive alternatives for seeding, such as coconut core plugs.
Repurposing items like toilet paper rolls is a great way to save time and money while also reducing household waste. To learn about other ways you can help reduce waste while eliminating clutter and potentially making some money in the process, check out The Cool Down's page on making a profit off decluttering.
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