Gardening expert Ish, known as gardening.with.ish on TikTok, has shared a video explaining why you should never throw away cardboard toilet rolls – and it’s all to do with your garden
With the weather taking a turn for the better, it’s no surprise that many of us are turning our thoughts to our gardens. It’s nearly that time of year when we can start sprucing up our outdoor spaces.
For those seeking advice on how to enhance their garden, you might want to hang onto something you’d typically toss out. Gardening guru Ish, who goes by gardening.with.ish on TikTok, advises against binning cardboard toilet roll tubes as they’re quite beneficial in the garden.
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It might sound odd, but these rolls could be game-changers. In one of his latest videos, Ish reveals three unexpected uses for toilet roll tubes in your garden. He kicks off by demonstrating their use as nifty little seedling pots.
He praises the thin cardboard material, saying it’s “fantastic” because it will break down within months. These can be placed directly into larger pots or the soil itself, Ish suggests.
Ish continues: “Now, if you’re trying to start to make your own compost, these work absolutely fantastic too. Simply just chuck the tubes in, and pile that down with layers of organic material.”
He explains that worms are big fans of the cardboard, which helps produce excellent compost, reports the Express. He shows that slicing up a tube and laying it flat creates an effective weed barrier that will naturally decompose over time.
“But, while it’s been doing that, it’s protecting your plants from any weeds growing up. You can also plant this underneath your plant beds, and that will also protect anything from growing through.
“Another benefit of doing it around now is it also works as a really good thermal layer for things like frost. It seems there’s not really any end of possibilities when it comes to things like cardboard tubes, and I’m sure I’ve missed some.”
Since being posted, the video has clocked up numerous views, with commenters eager to weigh in with their own suggestions. One revealed: “I fill them with kitchen waste (veg, fruit, egg shells etc) then dig into the garden beds when full.”
Someone else said: “I sow runner beans and peas in them as they don’t like root when planting out.” Another enquired: “Can I lay old cardboard boxes down, or is that a bit too thick?”
Ish reassured them: “You can indeed. Just make sure it’s plain cardboard and get the tape off it.”
People are clearly smitten with Ish’s gardening advice and are sharing their own pearls of wisdom. The video sparked quite the discussion among green-fingered enthusiasts.