Ohio gardener Kat (@theunplannedgardener) found a great use for leftover plastic lids in the garden and shared the idea with their TikTok followers.
The scoop
"Don't throw away your lids!" Kat wrote in the video caption.
@theunplannedgardener don't throw away your lids! #ohio #zone6 #gardentok ♬ Take on Me - a-ha
Kat simply took a spare lid and tucked it under a pepper that was touching the ground in their garden.
How it's helping
Kat said in the comments that fruits and veggies touching the soil can rot or be subject to pests. A simple plastic barrier can keep your backyard crops healthy. Some gardeners use whole containers to protect fruit from pests.
Minimizing plastic waste helps avoid the need to manufacture more while delaying the negative effects of it ending up in landfills. In the wild, lids and plastic containers can pose a choking hazard for many animals.
When left to degrade, these items shed microplastics, which filter into waterways and eventually turn up in the food we eat. For some of Kat's commenters, this was risky enough to opt for more natural barriers for garden produce.
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Growing your own food is a great way to save a few bucks at the grocery store, but that's just the start of the benefits.
When food is grown at home using natural pest and weed management, fewer harsh chemicals enter your food and subsequently contaminate the wider ecosystem. The freshness of local produce also translates to healthier food.
Since it's growing so close to home, you're also avoiding the pollution created by transporting grocery produce. Roughly 20% of a food's emissions footprint comes from transportation. Reducing pollution helps curb increasingly destructive weather patterns, which contribute to rising grocery prices.
What everyone's saying
Kat's TikTok followers were keen to protect the peppers in their garden with the same trick.
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What is the biggest reason you don't grow food at home? Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. |
Not enough time ⏳ "That's such a smart idea, thanks you for sharing," said one community member.
"Thanks for the tip!!! I have 1 very tiny yellow straight neck & am so excited!!!" said another.
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