Gardeners often find ingenious ways to solve problems. Below you’ll find tips from our readers that repurpose common household items to great effect. Get an edge on gardening and peruse all of our past gardening tips here.
When it’s seed-starting time again, I like to power up my cleaning routine with a battery-operated toothbrush. While I look forward to starting seeds, I don’t look forward to cleaning my seed trays. A dish scrubber works well with the trays, but the small size of the seed cells makes cleaning them more challenging. Using an old battery-operated toothbrush gives it a second use and makes cleaning the leftover caked-on compost a lot easier. With the toothbrush I can do a thorough cleanup before I sterilize the seed cells.
—Tom Fisher, Depew, New York
I use all types of gloves for different gardening chores. For heavy-duty digging in the dirt, however, nothing is better than leather work gloves. I find that when they are heavily soiled, they wash up great when I immerse them in soap and water. I blot them dry with a towel and then hang them to dry. When they are still slightly damp, I slather them with a dollop of hand lotion. After they have dried completely, they are soft and supple like a new pair of gloves.
—Mary Schindler, Gainesville, Florida
I attach peony metal circles to old wooden chairs that have had their seats removed. I then paint the chairs to complement whatever color is highlighted in the garden. The chairs are pleasing to look at and provide much sturdier support than the circles by themselves.
—Michaela Zinno, North Kingstown, Rhode Island
When potting rooted African violet leaves, I use two 12-ounce Styrofoam cups per leaf. The inside cup has drainage holes and holds the fresh soil.
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