Key Points
Toilet paper tubes are biodegradable and will not harm your garden or plants.Reuse toilet paper rolls as plant collars to protect seedlings from common garden pests.Add them to your compost pile as brown material.
Don’t throw out your toilet paper tubes just yet. As upcycled tools for the garden, these small round pieces of cardboard punch above their weight, working as easy-to-make seed starters, compost material, plant collars, and more.
Plus, since toilet paper tubes are made from a biodegradable material—flexible cardboard—they are an everyday item you can place in your garden, and you don’t have to worry about them harming your garden or plants as they decompose.
Ahead, two gardening experts listed some imaginative ways to reuse toilet paper rolls in the garden.
Meet the Expert
Chrissie Handley is a gardening expert and lawn care specialist at Online Turf.
Lisa Whittlesey is a gardening expert and the program specialist at the Texas A&M AgriLife Senior Extension Program.
Seed Starters
You can easily turn empty toilet paper tubes into simple seed starters for germinating plants indoors.
“Made from cardboard, they degrade into the soil over time and provide seeds with stability and protection as they begin to germinate,” Chrissie Handley, a gardening expert and lawn care specialist at Online Turf, says.
To make the seed starters, start by cutting 1 inch slits on one end of the toilet paper tube and then fold these together, creating the base of the starter, she says.
Fill the tubes with soil until you have about 1 inch of space left at the top. Next, plant the seeds inside the tubes.
Finally, once they are ready to live outside, transfer the plants into the garden.
Plant Collar
Or, you can turn your toilet paper tubes into a plant shield to protect seeds as they germinate.
When planting your seeds, all you have to do is place the toilet paper tube over the top of the seeds to protect them, Lisa Whittlesey, a gardening expert and the program specialist of the Texas A&M AgriLife Senior Extension Program, says.
Just remember to bury the tubes at least half an inch into the soil to make sure they remain stable. The tube will then act as a protective barrier over seeds, preventing common garden pests like snails and slugs from reaching them.
Compost Material
Toilet paper tubes can work as ‘a brown’ material in your compost pile, providing the carbon that fuels the microorganisms in your compost, Handley says.
In fact, adding brown material like toilet paper tubes will even speed up the decomposition process and balance out your green kitchen waste.
“[Toilet paper tubes] easily compost down, but you may want to rip them up into smaller pieces for faster and easier composting,” she says.
Insulate Your Compost
Toilet paper rolls can also help insulate your compost pile over winter. Cut them lengthwise and layer them on top of the compost pile to trap heat.
Mass Seed Planter
If you’re looking to plant a larger quantity of seeds all at once, you can also convert the toilet paper tubes into a mass seed planter, Handley says.
To make the planter, simply place multiple toilet paper tubes in a plant container with all the tubes standing next to each other. Then fill the tubes with soil.
“The container will provide structure for the tubes as the plants germinate,” she says.
Comments are closed.