7 THINGS

7

GARDENING HACKS

1 Recycle an empty jug into a watering can.

There’s no need to spend money on a watering can when you can reuse the plastic jug you were planning to throw out anyways. All you need to do is rinse it out and poke a few holes in the lid. After that, you can fill it with water and care for your plants.

2 Reuse those coffee grounds. The coffee

grounds from your morning cup of joe can find a new life in your garden. How you choose to use them will depend on what you are growing. Some gardeners sprinkle a thin layer around their plants as a fertilizer. Others combine them with mulch.

3 Use vinegar to kill weeds. You can turn vine-

gar into a non-toxic weed killer. If you have pesky weeds, a mixture of white vinegar, salt, and dish soap will do the trick. You can find exact measurements online. But be careful with your sprays because vinegar will kill any plant it touches! 4 Grow your leftovers. You can regrow lots of vegetables from leftover end pieces—lettuce, garlic, celery, green onions, and cabbage, to name a few.

5 Crush up eggshells and put them to good

use. If you regularly enjoy eggs, you can save up the shells and use them in your garden. They can make good fertilizer, and some gardeners even use crushed eggshells to keep snails and slugs away.

6 Make a drip irrigation system with plastic

bottles. There are quite a few different ways to do this. One popular method is to cut the bottom off your plastic bottle and put a few holes in the cap. Put the top of the bottle in the ground and fill it up.

7 Use old toilet paper rolls to start your

seeds. You can do this with used-up rolls of paper towels or toilet paper. Cut the tubes a few inches tall and place them on a tray. Fill each roll with soil and add the seeds. Water them as needed. Once they are ready, you can move them to the ground, and the cardboard tubes will decompose over time.