A man has gone viral for sharing a simple but effective way to cut down on food waste and start making your own food – and all you need to start is an almost empty tube of toilet roll
You might want to think again before you chuck another empty bog roll in the bin…
With the cost of living crisis still hitting cash-strapped Brits hard, many of us are making a conscious effort to reduce waste and save on our weekly food shop. A great way to do this is by growing your own food in your garden – and giving life back to the food we’ve bought.
However, you don’t need a fancy greenhouse, costly tools, and expensive fertiliser to give this a try. In fact, all you need is some soil and an almost-finished roll of toilet paper.
TikTok account Creative Explained has racked up an impressive 6.3 million followers thanks to his easy life hacks and tutorials on how to grow your own food. In a now-viral video, the star takes a nearly empty toilet roll where the tissue is still attached to the cardboard and places it flat.
“Then, grab any seed, I’m going to use lemon. Place the seed on top of the toilet paper and spray it with water. Sprinkle some cinnamon on top,” he said. “Cinnamon is anti-fungal [so it] prevents mould.”
He then folded the toilet paper over the seed before rolling the paper over the tube and placing the ‘whole thing’ into a ziplock bag. “Place it somewhere dark and in a few days check back on it,” he added, revealing the seed had started to sprout.
The TikToker left the seed and folded the toilet paper back over the tube before ripping it off. Then, he folded the bottom part of the tube to form a base and filled the tube with soil so it was around three-quarters full.
“Place the toilet paper with the seed on top of the soil and sprinkle some more on top,” he added. “Water it and boom – when it grows into a seedling you can transplant it directly into the soil.”
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Hundreds of viewers flocked to the comments section to praise the hack – with many vowing to try it out for themselves. “Last year my lemon had at least a dozen seeds. They all germinated. Now all my friends have lemon trees,” one user raved.
Another agreed, commenting: “Thanks, friend! Because of you, many seeds in my home are now plants instead of garbage.” A third added: “What a good idea for a school project, thank you.” While a fourth wrote: “Excellent. Loving the tips.”
You can grab some soil from your local garden centre or online. For example, Amazon is currently selling a 30-litre bag of PEAT Free garden soil for £6.99.
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