Top 10 Free Vegetable Gardening Hacks

Summary

In this 'Next Level Gardening' video, Brian shares 10 cost-effective garden hacks using everyday household items. He demonstrates using toilet paper rolls for seed starting, especially for legumes, and a slug trap using plywood. Brian also suggests repurposing plastic bottles as mini greenhouses or drip systems, creating plant tags from yogurt containers, and using a spice bottle to evenly disperse small seeds. Additional tips include using dried beans for seeds, supporting pea growth with twigs, and utilizing a sponge to retain moisture in pots. He also highlights natural alternatives to rooting hormone with honey and cinnamon for cuttings, encouraging viewers to try these hacks for a thriving garden.

Takeaways

• 🌱 Use toilet paper rolls as biodegradable seedling pots for legumes and sweet pea flowers.
• 🐌 Combat slugs by placing wet plywood overnight to attract and dispose of them.
• 🌳 Repurpose plastic bottles as mini greenhouses or drip irrigation systems for plants like tomatoes.
• 🏷 Create reusable plant tags from semi-hard plastic containers or old window blinds.
• 🌿 Mix seeds with sand in an old spice bottle to evenly space them for sowing.
• 📦 Utilize dried beans from the kitchen as a free source of seeds for planting.
• 🌿 Use small branches and twigs as natural supports for climbing peas without needing a trellis.
• 💧 Place an old sponge at the bottom of a pot to help retain and distribute water slowly.
• 🌱 Transfer seeds that germinate in the path into actual garden beds instead of weeding them out.
• 🌿 Avoid using rooting hormone by dipping cuttings in honey or cinnamon, which have anti-fungal properties.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of the video?

The main purpose of the video is to demonstrate 10 free garden hacks that can be done using everyday household items to save money and improve gardening efficiency.

How can toilet paper rolls be used as a gardening hack?

Toilet paper rolls can be used as seed starters by stacking them in a container with drainage holes and filling them with seed starting mix. This method is particularly suitable for plants with long root systems, like peas and beans.

What is the advantage of using toilet paper tubes for plants with deep root systems?

The advantage is that when the plants are ready to transplant, the entire toilet paper tube can be buried in the ground with the plant, which will disintegrate quickly, avoiding transplant shock.

How can old plywood be used to deal with slugs in the garden?

By wetting the ground and placing the plywood on it overnight, slugs will gather underneath it. The plywood can then be removed the next day, and the slugs can be disposed of.

What is a creative way to reuse plastic bottles in the garden?

Plastic bottles can be repurposed as mini greenhouses for individual plants or as a personal drip system for plants that require deep watering, such as tomatoes.

How can plant tags be made from recycled materials mentioned in the script?

Plant tags can be made from semi-hard plastic containers like yogurt pots or from old window blinds, which can be cut to the desired size and reused for multiple seasons.

What is a technique to evenly space small seeds like lettuce or carrots when sowing?

An old spice bottle with a shaker top can be used to mix seeds with sand. When the mixture is sprinkled out, the sand helps to naturally space the seeds.

Why might using dried beans from a bag be beneficial for planting?

Using dried beans from a bag can provide a larger number of seeds compared to a seed packet, offering more opportunities for planting without the need for additional purchases.

How can small branches or twigs be used to support climbing plants like peas?

Twigs and small branches from shrubs can be placed in the garden to provide a natural support for climbing plants like peas, eliminating the need for a trellis.

What household items can be used to improve the success rate of plant cuttings?

Honey and cinnamon, both with anti-fungal properties, can be used to dip the ends of plant cuttings before placing them in a pot, which helps to prevent disease and rot, thus improving the success rate of rooting.

What is an alternative method to using a rooting hormone for plant propagation?

Instead of using a rooting hormone, which can be expensive, dipping the ends of cuttings in honey or cinnamon can help prevent fungal diseases and promote successful rooting.

Outlines

00:00

🌱 Creative Garden Hacks for Seed Starting and Slug Control

This paragraph introduces a collection of cost-free gardening tips. Brian from Next Level Gardening demonstrates 10 favorite garden hacks, starting with a method to repurpose toilet paper rolls as seed starters, which is ideal for legumes and sweet pea flowers. The rolls provide a solid base and can be directly planted in the ground, disintegrating without causing transplant shock. Another hack involves using old plywood to trap and manage slugs, a common garden pest, by attracting them overnight with a dampened surface. The paragraph encourages viewers to share their own free garden hacks in the comments.

05:00

🌟 Reusing Plastics and Creative Plant Tag Solutions

The second paragraph focuses on the innovative reuse of common household items in gardening. It suggests using plastic bottles to create mini greenhouses and personal drip systems for plants like tomatoes. The use of semi-hard plastic containers or old window blinds as plant tags is also highlighted, emphasizing their durability and cost-effectiveness. Additionally, an Old Spice bottle with a shaker top is recommended for evenly dispersing small seeds like lettuce or carrots, and the paragraph touches on the idea of using seeds from legume packages or dried beans for planting without needing to purchase additional seeds. The paragraph concludes with a tip on using a damp sponge to cover the drainage hole of a pot, allowing for slow water distribution as the soil dries out.

Keywords

💡Garden Gadgets

Garden gadgets refer to a variety of tools and devices designed to assist with gardening tasks. In the context of the video, these are presented as potentially costly items, but the host suggests that with creativity, similar functions can be achieved without spending money, using items commonly found around the house.

💡Ingeniosity

Ingeniosity is the quality of being clever or original in thought, invention, or design. The video emphasizes the importance of ingeniosity in creating cost-effective solutions for gardening, such as reusing household items for plant care and growth.

💡Garden Hacks

Garden hacks are creative and resourceful methods or shortcuts that simplify gardening tasks or improve plant growth. The video showcases 10 such hacks that utilize everyday items to enhance the gardening experience without additional cost.

💡Toilet Paper Tubes

Toilet paper tubes are the cardboard rolls from toilet paper. In the video, they are repurposed as seed starters for plants with deep root systems, such as peas and beans. The tubes can be directly planted in the ground, where they will disintegrate, avoiding transplant shock.

💡Slugs

Slugs are a type of mollusk that can be harmful to plants by eating holes in leaves and stems. The script describes a method to attract and dispose of slugs using old plywood, which is placed on wet ground to gather the slugs underneath, allowing for their removal.

💡Plastic Bottles

Plastic bottles are common household items that the video suggests can be repurposed for gardening. Examples include using a 2-liter bottle as a mini greenhouse or creating a drip irrigation system for plants like tomatoes by poking holes in the cap and burying the bottle next to the plant.

💡Plant Tags

Plant tags are labels used in gardening to identify different types of plants. The video recommends making homemade plant tags from semi-hard plastic containers like yogurt pots or old window blinds, which are more cost-effective and can be reused over time.

💡Seed Starting Mix

Seed starting mix is a special type of soil blend designed for starting seeds. In the script, it is mentioned as the medium to be used in toilet paper tube seed starters, which helps to hold the tubes in place and provides a nurturing environment for seed germination.

💡Drip System

A drip system is a method of irrigation that delivers water slowly and directly to the root zone of plants. The video describes creating a personal drip system using plastic bottles, which can be beneficial for plants with deep watering needs, such as tomatoes.

💡Old Spice Bottle

The Old Spice bottle with a Shaker top, as mentioned in the script, is used as a tool to evenly disperse small seeds like lettuce or carrots. By adding seeds to the bottle along with sand and shaking, the seeds can be spread out more effectively when sown.

💡Legume Seeds

Legume seeds, such as beans and peas, are seeds of plants belonging to the legume family. The video script suggests that a small number of legume seeds can be taken from a bag of dried beans for planting, providing a free source of seeds without needing to purchase a seed packet.

💡Twigs and Small Branches

Twigs and small branches are parts of a tree or shrub that can be used in gardening as supports for climbing plants like peas. The video mentions using these natural materials as an alternative to a trellis, allowing dwarf peas to grow on them without additional structures.

💡Old Stinky Sponge

An old stinky sponge, as humorously referred to in the script, can be used in a pot to cover the drainage hole and help retain moisture. As the sponge absorbs water when the pot is watered, it slowly releases it as the soil dries, aiding in the even distribution of moisture to the plant.

💡Cutting Propagation

Cutting propagation is a method of plant reproduction where a piece of a plant is cut and rooted to grow a new plant. The video suggests using honey and cinnamon, both with anti-fungal properties, as a natural alternative to rooting hormone to prevent disease and rot in the cuttings.

Highlights

Using paper towel or toilet paper rolls as a free and eco-friendly alternative to store-bought seed starters.

Creating a solid bottom for the rolls is not necessary, just stack them in a container with drainage holes.

This method is particularly suitable for legumes like peas and beans due to their deep root systems.

Transplanting plants with toilet paper tubes can be done without causing transplant shock as the tubes disintegrate easily.

Using old plywood to trap and dispose of slugs that can be a nuisance in the garden.

Reusing plastic bottles to create mini greenhouses and drip irrigation systems for plants.

Making plant tags from semi-hard plastic containers or old window blinds for a reusable and cost-effective solution.

Mixing seeds with sand in an Old Spice bottle to help with even spacing during sowing.

Utilizing dried beans from a bag as an alternative to purchasing seed packets for a cost-free option.

Using twigs and small branches as natural supports for climbing peas, eliminating the need for a trellis.

Placing an old sponge at the bottom of a pot to improve water distribution and retention.

Transplanting seeds that germinate in the path into actual garden beds instead of weeding them out.

Using honey and cinnamon as natural anti-fungal agents for cuttings to improve propagation success.

The importance of keeping fungus off cuttings to prevent disease and rot before they have time to root.

A suggestion to watch another video for tips on getting free plants from the garden center.

The video's aim to provide 10 free garden hacks using items commonly found around the house.

Transcripts

garden centers are full of helpful

Garden gadgetry that can really make a

dce in your wallet however with a little

Ingenuity you can craft these things for

free with things you have laying around

the house I'm Brian with Next Level

gardening welcome in this video I'm

going to show you 10 of my favorite free

Garden hacks let's get right into it

with the inside of paper towel or toilet

paper rolls one popular way of doing it

is cutting four slits and folding in the

bottom so that you have a solid bottom

but you don't really need to do that

just grab a container that has drainage

holes in the bottom and stack the toilet

paper tubes side by

side add your seed starting mix the seed

starting mix that falls around the

outside of the tubes will hold them in

place this method is especially good for

peas beans any legume even sweet pea

flowers because they like long deep root

systems once the plants are ready to

transplant you can stick the entire

toilet paper tube in the the ground and

bury it it will disintegrate in no time

and there will be no transplant shock

slugs can be huge problems in the garden

especially with your spring lettuce if

you have some old plywood laying around

wet the ground with a hose and then lay

the piece of wood right there on the

ground overnight slugs will gather

underneath you can go ahead and dispose

of them in any way you see fit off to a

good start let me know in the comments

what your favorite free Garden hack is

either one you learned from someone else

or came up with on your own plastic is

everywhere nowadays literally everywhere

you can reuse some of your plastic

bottles in many different ways you can

make a small Greenhouse for individual

plants with a 2 L bottle just cut the

bottom off and sit it over your plant

you can go ahead and put a bamboo steak

down through it and that will keep the

bottle from blowing

away for plants that need deep watering

like tomatoes you can make your own own

personal drip system poke a bunch of

holes in the cap that will let the water

flow out slowly cut the bottom off of

the bottle and bury it next to your

tomato fill it up with water and as the

water seeps out the bottom it's going to

water those deep water roots that

tomatoes have you can also put the

bottom of the bottle back on to make

sure that no dirt gets in there and

clogs those holes plant tags are

expensive and let's face it we lose most

of them before before the season's over

take any semi hard plastic container

like yogurt or sour cream and cut them

into plant tags you can also use old

window blinds just cut them or break

them to the desired size and these can

be used over and over for years I used

to have a set of metal ones that I made

hundreds of markers out of that lasted a

really really long time sometimes it's

hard to sew really small seeds like

lettuce or carot carrots without having

to thin out a bunch later take an Old

Spice bottle with a Shaker top put a

couple tablespoons of sand into it along

with the seeds from one seed packet and

Shake It

Up When you sprinkle the contents out it

will naturally space the seeds Out Among

the sand have you ever counted the

number of seeds in any legume package

like beans or peas there's not all that

many have you ever counted a bag of

dried beans there's a lot more you take

out 20 which might be in a seed packet

you're not really going to miss that 20

but you basically have a free 20 seeds

to

plant or use the whole bag who am I to

hold you back while we're continuing the

subject of peas twigs and small branches

from any shrub at this time of year that

you might be cutting back are great to

help peas start to climb dwarf peas can

actually live their entire life on some

branches just like

this no trellis needed anybody have an

old stinky

sponge place it in the bottom of a pot

to cover the drainage hole then fill

with potting soil as you water the pot

the sponge soaks up the water and

distributes it slowly as the soil in the

pot dries out is it just me or do seeds

germinate much better in the path than

in actual beds rather than weeding it

out and tossing it away anything that

sell sewn just go ahead and dig it up

out of the path and transfer it into a

bed when you're taking cuting from

plants for propagation you might be

tempted to use rooting hormone which

isn't cheap and honestly I don't feel

that it's needed for most things what's

more important is keeping fungus off of

your cuting so they don't get disease

and rot away before they have time to

root that's where honey and cinnamon

come in both have anti-fungal properties

dip the ends of your cutting in either

one of these before you put them in the

pot and watch your success rate

Skyrocket I hope you got something out

of these top 10 free Garden hacks I

would venture to bet you probably have

the things laying around the house for 9

out of 10 maybe even 10 out of 10 if you

want to know how to get free plants from

the garden center take a look at this

video right here I'll see you next

time