Used Aluminium Foil Gardening: Don’t throw away used aluminium foil: 7 Smart ways it can benefit indoor and garden plants

Although most people tend to throw used aluminium foil in the trash can right after cooking, there are several ways in which gardeners can find practical uses for clean, reusable foil pieces in their gardening projects. Although aluminium foil will never be able to serve as a fertiliser to make plants grow faster, there are several creative ways in which one could use this type of material to protect the plants and make their work easier. What’s really important is that the used foil needs to be clean and dry. Here are some useful applications that could help indoor and outdoor plants to thrive:

There are many indoor plants that suffer from lack of light. They often cannot survive without enough sunlight, especially in the winter or if they are placed in the room with poor lighting conditions. Using clean foil on the background of potted plants or under them could help reflect the available sunlight to the foliage. In this way, one would increase the chances that each leaf gets at least some amount of indirect sunlight.

Discourage the birds and insects

The reflective properties of aluminium foil could scare away certain pests and insects. Wrapping the garden stakes or placing the small pieces of foil next to the seedlings will create reflections as the foil pieces move in the wind. Even though it cannot scare all types of pests and garden invaders, it could become one of the elements of the protection from the harmful bugs.

In the summer days, dark containers can get overheated, thus making the soil in them too hot as well. You can wrap the outside surface of the containers in aluminium foil to help it reflect the sunlight rather than absorb it. In this way, one would be able to avoid the excess warming of the root system.

Create your own plant markers

Instead of purchasing plastic markers for the plants, you can cut the aluminium foil into thin stripes and wrap them around the stakes or stems of the plants. The markers made of the foil and marked with permanent markers will last for much longer time than the usual paper markers. It can be especially useful when labelling the herb or vegetables garden.

Provide extra support for seedlings

Using the aluminium foil, gardeners can make small pieces to help to support young plants. The foil itself should not squeeze or pinch the stems, but one could use it to reinforce the ties and supports. Thus, it will become one more material that could be used to support the plants.

Help with watering hanging plants

Gardeners can shape the foil into small funnels to help to direct the water during the process of watering hanging containers. After finishing the process, one could flatten it and save for later usage. It will help to reduce the mess during the watering of such plants.

Finally, the main benefit of using the aluminium foil in the garden is that it helps one to reduce the unnecessary waste. If it is still clean and in good condition, one can give it one more usage before throwing it away.