A lot of gardening tips can come with excessive expenses and the use of chemicals. But if someone chooses to avoid using chemicals in their plot, pests can become prevalent overnight.
One TikToker offered a quick and easy tip to help protect strawberries simply by using some leftover vegetables from your fridge.
The scoop
SmoothPivot (@smoothpivot) — a dairy farmer and gardener — received a comment that asked, “Are you interplanting garlic with your strawberries?”
@smoothpivot Replying to @user7871027810644 ♬ original sound – smoothpivot
She confirmed the user’s suspicion and demonstrated the companion planting hack.
“Planting garlic with strawberries can be a beneficial companion planting strategy. Garlic’s pungent odor and root liquids can deter pests and diseases that will harm strawberries,” she wrote in captions over her video.
In the video, she shows herself planting just-sprouted garlic cloves directly into the soil. The garlic is a few inches away from each other and the strawberry plants.
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How it’s helping
Companion planting is the ultimate hack for gardeners of all skill levels. It allows you to plant multiple crops in a small space, utilizing the depth of the soil while controlling weeds and deterring pests without chemicals.
By choosing to avoid chemicals, you can improve the growth of your crops, increase their yields, and improve soil health. All these results increase the likelihood that a gardener will continue to garden year after year, lowering their household’s demand for mass-produced produce and lowering their carbon footprint.
Mass-produced produce creates 3 billion tons of carbon dioxide every year from global food miles and generates 20% of all global food pollution, according to a study published in the journal Nature Food.
Encouraging gardeners to keep food production local can drastically improve the carbon footprint of the industry.
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Gardening also improves the quality of life for the gardener — from adding more fiber into their diet, to improving mental and physical health as well as increasing movement.
Growing your own food also improves the quality of your produce and can save you hundreds of dollars every year.
What everyone’s saying
The creator’s followers were grateful for the ingenious tip.
“I’m going to try this!” one user commented.
“Thank you. I had no clue!” another responded.
“Put some in today!” someone else wrote.
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