27-05-2025
Gardeners urged to keep old milk cartons as seeds start sprouting fast
TikToker and gardening expert Simon Akeroyd shares the most budget-friendly and effective way to grow herbs by using empty cartons of milk - and it also helps the environment.
Gardeners have been urged to repurpose old milk cartons instead of tossing them into the recycling.
After finishing a milk carton or a bottle, a normal thing to do is to put it with the rest of the recycling. However, it can actually be a good helper on gardening tasks, as it can boost seeds and make them sprout much faster.
According to Wales Recycles, the UK uses approximately 60,000 tonnes of milk cartons every year. It has also been revealed that 29.5% are actually recycled, with 70.5% ending up in landfills or incinerated.
Now, instead of throwing away your empty bottle of milk, you might want to keep a hold of them for your future planting tasks. Not only will gardeners save some money, but they will also contribute towards combating climate change.
Using an empty bottle of milk, TikTok user and gardening enthusiast Simon Akeroyd shared the quickest way to grow herbs - and it works like wonders.
In the one-minute video, he shows a step-by-step demonstration. He begins by making holes in the base of a milk carton, cuts around three sides of the bottle and fills it with peat-free compost.
Later on, he grabs some herbs seeds - in this case, parsley - and places them over the moist compost. Finally, he puts it on a sunny windowsill and waters them every few days. Simon compared the milk bottles to be like 'warm mini greenhouses'.
Showing the final results, after two weeks, a beautiful and well-grown parsley is formed by just using an old milk carton.
With a current following of 802.7k on TikTok and 12.5k likes, his videos focus on budget-friendly gardening tasks, encouraging everyone to grow their own produce. Not only has he become quite popular on social media, but he has also written more than 30 gardening books,
Just by using some creativity, not only will gardeners create beautiful blooms for their outdoor spaces, but they will also be contributing to the environment by finding a second purpose to products at home.
Although it might take some time to see the final results, there's no better feeling than seeing your efforts having positive results. And if you're a beginning gardener, don't worry - these tasks are very simple and don't require much expertise.
