Working in your garden in the current climate isn’t something many people relish – but those that do could reap the rewards.
Katie-Ann Gupwell and Ewan Mowat Deputy Lifestyle, Trends, & Showbiz Editor
12:30, 16 Jan 2026
There are several uses for toilet roll in your garden this month(Image: Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
With the current wild weather we’ve been dealing with, and the threat of a 10-day Beast from the East later this month, you could be forgiven for avoiding garden-based chores. No one really wants to be tending to the outside areas when it’s blowing a gale or the mercury is below freezing.
But January is a month where there are some crucial jobs that shouldn’t be avoided. And one, perhaps strangely, involves using your cardboard toilet rolls, reports The Mirror.
It turns out that these little cardboard tubes have a number of handy uses in the garden. And if you brave the elements and get started this January then you’ll soon reap the rewards.
The tips were shared on TikTok by gardening expert Ish, who posts on the video platform as @gardening.with.ish. The green-fingered guru says it’s worth getting started during the colder months and shared his advice for getting started.
To begin with, stop chucking out your old toilet roll tubes and start putting them to work. Ish says: “Today in the garden, I’m going to show you three nifty ideas [how] you can use cardboard loo rolls in your garden.
“Now, if you’re trying to start to make your own compost, these work absolutely fantastic too. You can simply just chuck the tubes in, and pile that down with layers of organic material. The worms absolutely love this stuff. It will break away, and give you some pretty good compost.”
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Beyond compost, Ish says the rolls can also make “absolutely fantastic” seedling pots. He adds: “Because they are a thin cardboard, they will naturally decompose over the next couple of months.
“Start your seedlings off in the first three or four weeks and, once they’ve started to grow, instead of taking them out and potting them up, simply put these in a bigger pot or in the ground.
“These will slowly decompose in the ground causing very little root disturbance. Cut up one of these tubes, and lay it flat on the ground, and all of a sudden you’ve got yourself a really good weed membrane.
“That, over the next few months, will slowly break down. But, while it’s been doing that, it’s protecting your plants from any weeds growing up.”
Ish shares his gardening tips on TikTok(Image: TikTok/gardening.with.ish)
The third tip he offers is using the toilet roll as a barrier against weeds and frost. He says: “You can also plant this underneath your plant beds, and that will also protect anything from growing through. Another benefit of doing it around about now is it also works as a really good thermal layer for things like frost.”
Since Ish posted the video, several people commented that they had tried these methods, with some keen to share their own insights with others.
One person wrote: “I use them for runner beans and peas avoids root disturbance.”
While someone else eager to attempt using their old toilet rolls, commented: “Going to try them for my sweet peas this year.”
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