35 Ways to Reuse Grocery Store Items – Gardening Edition

Spring is here and it’s time to garden!! You don’t need to spend a lot of money to have a successful garden. Most often you can find just what your looking for in your recycling bin.  The majority of my items come from my local grocery store here in Texas, HEB.  This may seem like an ad for HEB but it is not!  Although if you are seeing this HEB I have lots more ideas, reach out to me 😉

The earth and your wallet will thank you this gardening season.  Below are my 35 ways to reuse grocery store items in the garden!

1. Chip bag as a foil reflector. Cut open your bag and give it a good clean. Add the foil side next to you seedings. This will help reflect the most sunlight to your seedlings and help prevent them from becoming to leggy. 

2. Pie container as a saucer for plants. No need to go out and buy saucers for your plants. This is a great alternative plus you get to enjoy a pie as well 😉

3. Grocery Tote as planter. Here is an affordable way to get more use in the garden! Make sure to provide drainage holes at the bottom. This is basically like a grow bag but for a fraction of the price. Plus you probably have an extra tote laying around. The handles even make for easy moving around the garden. 

4. Cayenne pepper to prevent pests. This will help deter bugs, insects or small animals from digging or eating your garden. They often aren’t attracted to spicy smells, so once they smell it they will go else where. Just be sure to reapply after watering your garden. 

5. Produce nets as plant covers. I had a horrible time with squirrels digging in my bulbs and this idea has worked very well! Since the nets are usually smaller, this works best on smaller pots. Cut up your produce net to make it flat. Thread some twine around the edge then tie that tightly to your pot. As your plant grows you can easily cut a small opening in the net to allow for growth. 

6. Produce nets as holders. I grow a lot of things vertically and sometimes heavy things need more support. It’s like a cradle for your produce! 

7. Produce nets to protect in ground seedlings. Keep a few rocks around it so it doesn’t blow off. Since it has holes you can still water easily. This is also help keep little critters from eating the seedling.

8. Bread tags for plant markers. It’s as simple as writing your plants ID on here and attaching to your plants pot or even on the plant itself.

9. Corks as plant markers. I like to attach mine with a sharp skewer then write the name of the plant on he cork and insert into the soil. 

10. Deli bag for starting seedlings. Place over your seeds to act as a mini greenhouse. This helps encourage germination. Be sure to take off the bag once you see your seeds have sprouted. Once the bag becomes unusable, be sure to properly recycle in your grocery stores plastic film drop off.  Check yours here.

11. Pharmacy bag for storing seeds. My pharmacy has these ziplock type bags. I like that they are a solid color to keep light out. They work great for seed storage. For extra organization label the outside so next season you’ll know what’s what. 

12. Olive oil bottle for watering. You can also use any glass bottle for this,  just make sure it has a long neck. An olive oil bottle works best because if you leave the pourer cap on, it will slowly drip inside the soil. A wine bottle is also a good one here, but you’ll need to drill a small hole in the cap or the cork. Remember those fancy watering globes that everyone had awhile back? This basically does the same thing. Fill it up with water and insert it into the soil. It will feed the soil with water on its own. You just need to refill the water as needed. You can always buy terra-cotta plant spikes and then reuse your bottle on those as well.

Vinegar jug for multiple purposes

13 Cut in the middle to have your own planter

14. Cut small pieces out to make plant markers 

15. Cut the top off for a mini greenhouse

16. Cut the bottom off for a plant saucer 

17. Add holes to the top to make your own watering can 

18. Cut out the side handle to have a shovel

19. DIY drip irrigation system. Puncture small holes on the sides of the jug and bury into the soil. Add water from the top and it’s an inground watering system. 

20. Produce ties to secure vines. I like to use on my luffas and tomatoes to help train the vine in grown in a certain direction. 

21. Egg shells for fertilizer. Grind them up into a powder and add to the soil for a slow-release fertilizer. The calcium carbonate in the shells makes the soil alkaline, so use it around plants that love alkaline soil.

22. Carboard packing as an insulator/weed barrier. Similar to use like hay. Place down on the soil and give it a good watering. Eventually it will biodegrade but will still help help weeds at bay for a season. Plus if you live in a cold or hot climate the cardboard helps act as an insulator to the soil. For colder climates you’ll keep your soil temp higher and for hotter climates it will keep your soil moist so you need to water less. If you are worried about the ink in packaging you could opt for just plain cardboard. However the majority of inks on packaging (and newspapers) are from from soybean oil bases now a days. 

23. Any glass bottles as a vase. You can probably find 100’s of choices at the grocery store for this. I’m using an old salsa bottle. Of course you can take the label off if you choose to.  A perfect way to display your garden flowers. 

24. Terra cotta wine cooler as an olla. This may not be sold at all grocery stores. (In fact, I bought mine at a thrift store.)  But those tall unglazed terra cotta wine coolers are a perfect solution for an olla. I’m on my second year of using these and they are amazing. I have more info on this and what ollas are on my Instagram if your not familiar with it.

25. Seeds from any produce. It’s fun to experiment growing your own seeds. In fact I even grown my own tomatoes from a simple grocery store tomato. 

26. Olive oil tins as planters. Make sure to add some drainage at the bottom 

27. Toilet paper rolls for starting seeds. A bonus that they are biodegradable when planting!

28. Tall soup containers for larger seedlings. I love to start my luffa seeds this way. I need extra room for the roots to grow and this work great. Just make to poke a few holes in the bottom for drainage. Even the tops can double as a saucer!

29. Can lids as plant markers. Just be careful of any sharp edges here.  I like the ones with the pull tab because you can insert that end into the soil.

30. Parchment paper to store seeds. A few simple folds and you’ll never misplace a loose seed.

31. Pistachio shells for plant drainage . Great for those planters that don’t have any drainage holes.  Extra eco tip they will eventually biodegrade in the pot!

32. Old gloves as planters.  Just be sure to add some drainage holes in the fingertips.  I have mine attached with some clips in the back.

33. Banana skin fertilizer. Soak your peels in water for a few days then spray on your plants to help prevent aphids. Aphids don’t like the smell of bananas and this might help keep them at bay. An extra tip here is to use a creamer lid in a canning jar and just add any sprayer on top!

34. Regrow Veggies from scraps. Save those ends of green onions, leeks, bok choy, lettuce, and celery.  Simply place in water and watch it grow!  Be sure to replace water every other day and keep it in a sunny spot. You can also transfer to be planted in soil once its larger. 

35. Carton/tetra pack to start seedlings.  Cut the bottom portion off and start your seeds in this. These are often really card to recycle because they have a thin layer of plastic inside.  However that plastic helps keep your soil moist without soaking through the carton.

Thats it for now.  If you enjoyed this list I hope you’ll consider joining my mailing list.  I send email notifications when new posts are up.  I typically post 2-3 tutorials every other month. I only send one newsletter every other month, for only a total of 6 times a year. You can join the mailing list here.  Thank you!

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