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Gardener shares clever hack using old takeout food containers: 'What a beautiful thing'

"I need to try this!!"

"I need to try this!!"

Photo Credit: TikTok

The next time you have leftover takeout containers, think twice before tossing them into the trash. One gardener recently shared their awesome hack for repurposing plastic Tupperware as a propagation station. 

The scoop

Gardener hennessy (@hennydx) revealed her secret for growing healthy, green pothos at home. The trick? Growing them in plastic takeout containers.

@hennydx such a cool such!! #pothos #ecosystem #terrarium #plantsoftiktok #plants #plantgrowth #nodes #tupperware #plantlover #planttok ♬ Deep Understanding - Dominic DiTanna

Hennessy explains how she cleaned out her takeout containers and filled them with a mix of soil, perlite, and orchid bark. She then adds the nodes, which are a part of the plant's stem where new growth forms, into the soil.

After spraying the nodes and soil with a "generous amount of water," she seals the takeout containers and leaves them on her windowsill for an entire year.

"Watch me open this tupperware of pothos nodes I potted over a year ago and haven't opened until now," wrote Hennessy in a caption. "What a beautiful thing science is."

The result? After a year, the container was filled with vibrant, green leaves. 

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How it's helping

Using containers you already have sitting in your kitchen declutters your cabinets and prevents you from wasting money on new planters.

Hennessy's hack is not only helping gardeners save money on planters and propagation stations but also helping them reduce their waste. By repurposing takeout containers, gardeners can prevent those food boxes from ending up in landfills, where they emit harmful, planet-warming gases into the atmosphere.

What's worse, most takeout containers are made of plastic, which takes hundreds of years to degrade and release toxic microplastics into the soil. 

What everyone's saying

TikTokers were impressed with the simple yet effective hack and eager to give it a try at home.

What is the biggest reason you don't grow food at home?

Not enough time ⏳

Not enough space 🤏

It seems too hard 😬

I have a garden already 😎

Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

"Whattt that's so cool," commented one user. "I need to try this!!"

"The leaves look so clean and perfect," added another TikToker.

"I want to do this in my office!" responded one user.

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