Although garden centers and home stores are filled with accessories for indoor gardeners, a look around the home will often result in solutions that are equally decorative or helpful. An added bonus is that reusing such items means less waste for landfills and that helps the environment.
Planters and pots: Almost anything that is deep and has a firm base can be used as a decorative planter. Take a look at wicker baskets, teapots, vases, copper pots, cookie jars, and more. The possibilities are endless! Just remember not to plant anything directly into them since they won’t provide proper drainage. Instead, just set the plant, pot and all, inside, and remove for watering.
To spruce up plain pots, use spray paint. The kind that looks like granite is especially decorative, but you can use any color. For plastic pots, look for the kind especially made for plastics, or lightly sand first.
Water protection: Save CDs and DVDs that have become scratched and unusable and put them under your potted plants to help protect furniture from water rings.
Square things: Instead of throwing out worn towels, save and cut into small squares. At repotting time, place a square or two in the bottom of each pot. It will absorb moisture, which will encourage a deeper, healthier root system, and act as a filter to keep soil in when watering.
Tea time: Use left over brewed or iced tea (let it come to room temperature first) to water African violets. This encourages blooms.
Make it sweet: When rooting cuttings in water, add a pinch of sugar. This will feed the new roots and make them stronger.
Cat repel: To keep cats out of plants, stick toothpicks in the soil, pointed end up. They’ll avoid the now prickly surface. To keep them from munching, lightly spray the leaves with hot pepper oil, or add citrus peels to the soil. The taste of the oil and smell of the peels will keep them far away!
Props: Pencils, chopsticks, and small skewers all work well as stakes for houseplants needing a little extra support.
Water: The water collected in a dehumidifier is excellent for watering plants as it is free of the harmful chemicals found in regular tap water. The water from a fish tank is also very beneficial for plants-in fact it is a great fertilizers! Save it when the tank is cleaned.
Have some home remedies or hints not mentioned? Please leave a comment and share!
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