If your family drinks a lot of milk, you’re probably getting rid of tons of plastic milk jugs each week. If you’re a gardener, though, these can be put to good use instead of just being thrown in the trash or recycling bin!
From planning to planting to harvest, here are some great ways to reuse milk jugs in the garden…
#1. Start Plants
Cut the bottom off of a milk jug, fill it with potting mix, and start some of your plants indoors. Smaller quart jugs can be used as seed starters, while large gallon milk jugs can be used to repot plants as they get larger. Don’t forget to punch some drainage holes in the bottom so your plants don’t get waterlogged.
#2. Mark Plants
The plastic material of milk jugs is great for making durable plant markers to last the season. Cut the sides of a milk jug into strips and use a permanent marker to write the names of plants. Cut the bottom f each strip into a point and just stick them into the ground.
#3. Protect Plants
When you first transplant your plants, there may still be a few cold nights. Protect your plants with their own mini-greenhouses made from plastic milk jugs. Cut the bottom off of plastic milk jugs and place them over your plants. Make sure you loosen or remove the caps for ventilation.
#4. Water Plants
Make a cheap watering can from a plastic milk jug by poking or drilling holes in the cap. Fill the jug with water, place the cap on, and pour away!
#5. Drip Irrigation
Slow watering is best for most plants. Instead of buying expensive drip irrigation or soaker hoses, use some plastic milk jugs instead. Poke holes in the bottom of one side of a plastic milk jug and place it next to each plant. Then, just fill the milk jug with water and let the water slowly leech into the soil.
#6. Scoop Everything
Plastic milk jugs can easily be turned into cheap and effective scoops. Cut one side of a plastic milk jug off at an angle from the bottom of the handle to the bottom of the jug. Use your new free scoop to scoop up mulch, soil, compost, and fertilizer.
#7. Harvest
Finally, plastic milk jugs come in handy during harvest season as well. Just cut the top and part of the side opposite the handle of. You can carry the jug by the handle and collect your veggies in the milk jug.
Do you reuse milk jugs in the garden?
