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With warmer weather slowly approaching as the days get longer, before you know it, it will be time to grab your palette and head out into the garden.
Gardening equipment can sometimes be expensive; However, you don’t have to spend a fortune to grow plants and vegetables in your backyard.
So those with budding green skills shouldn’t be deterred from getting started in this leafy paradise, as all they might need is an old egg carton.
Gardening expert Amy Chapman from Carmarthen has taken to TikTok to share how you can save items from landfill and use them to get started on your flourishing garden.
Here, FEMAIL takes a look at five items you can repurpose as seed trays to get your food blooming before summer…
UK gardening expert Amy Chapman has taken to TikTok to share the five food packaging items you can save from landfill and use to start your flourishing garden.
1. DRINK BOXES
According to the gardening professional, there are a variety of different items you already have that you can use to sow your seeds, and even drink cartons come in handy.
“You don’t need much to start a garden, you can reuse things you already have to plant your seeds,” the gardener told her 53,100 followers on TikTok.
‘Beverage cartons like this oat milk one make great seed trays. Simply cut a rectangle from one side and save what you removed for later.’
He then instructed the would-be gardeners to create some holes on the opposite side so that water from the seed tray could drain.
As she filled the container with soil, she explained that a cardboard box makes a perfect tray for microgreens seeds, so she opted to fill hers with fenugreek seeds.
Finishing the tray of seeds, he added, “To block the light, I cover them with the rectangle I cut out earlier.”
2. PLASTIC CONTAINERS FOR VEGETABLES
Another common packaging that is often wasted is the plastic containers that vegetables are sold in.
Amy explained that they work well for a wide variety of seeds because of the space that is usually available.
As with the milk carton, the gardener advised making holes in the bottom of the container before filling it with soil, so that water does not become trapped and drown the plant.
“You could sow many different types of seeds in this container, but today I’m only sowing lettuce seeds,” he explained.
Milk cartons are a great item to reuse, especially for microgreens like fenugreek seeds, according to this gardening enthusiast.
3. EGG BOXES
Next on Amy’s list of reusable items that can easily be transformed into seed trays are old egg cartons.
The gardening enthusiast described the packaging as “great” for use as a seed tray because it is compostable.
Unlike previous reusable items, there is no need to cut holes in the bottom of egg cartons due to their compostable properties.
“Herbs like coriander work well for this and once they have reached a good size I can plant each section of the egg carton directly into the garden,” Amy said.
4. TOILET PAPER TUBES
According to Amy, you can also use something as simple as a toilet tube as seed trays in your garden.
Stack six vertically in a tray and then fill each cardboard tube to the brim with compost.
Such a seed tray works well for vegetables like sweet peas, the gardening professional says, as they leave plenty of room for the plant to grow deeply.
So, next time you finish your toilet paper roll, how about saving it as a potential seed tray instead of immediately throwing it in the trash?
The content creator also says that egg cartons are also a great option for seed trays as they are compostable so there is no need to make holes in the bottom for drainage.
5. PLASTIC BOTTLES
Finally, the last item on Amy’s list of alternative seed trays is old plastic bottles.
When you buy a large 2 liter bottle at the store, seed tray are not the words that immediately come to mind.
However, the gardening expert content creator swears by it, adding that this type of seed tray is great for fast-growing plants or for replanting seedlings elsewhere at a later date.
Explaining how to transform the old plastic bottle, Amy advised: ‘Cut the bottle in half, remove the lid and then fill the top half with compost.
“Insert the top half of the bottle into the bottom half to use as a support to catch any drips.”