Gardening with Waste: Cut an Egg Carton Once, Stick an Old Umbrella in the Pot, and the Flowers Will Shoot Right Up

No flower pots for your plants? Just poke a few holes in pots, pans and bowls.

1. Seed starting

If you want to sow seeds but lack a seedling tray, remember the eggs you bought a few days ago in the fridge. Take out the plastic packaging, cut off the lid, and poke a few drainage holes in the bottom.

The bottom part serves as the seedling tray, the cut-off lid as the saucer, and there are even two pull handles. It's the ultimate seed-starting tool.

Once all the seeds have sprouted, they need a slightly larger container. Grab some disposable paper cups, either paper or plastic, and keep poking holes in the bottom. They're big enough to last until the seedlings are ready to be planted out.

2. Flower pots

Flower pots are even easier to solve! From a rice bowl to a water vat, anything can be used as a pot. Put every unused old item in the house to work.

A batch of old rice bowls has been retired. Drill a few holes in the bottom, plant various succulents in them, and you get what you'd call "meat in a bowl."

You broke the lid of a purple clay teapot, but don't throw away the pot that still has no lid. Snip off an overgrown string of pearls and plant it in, and it fits just perfectly.

No tools for gardening? A dishwashing cloth and a makeup brush will do the trick.

1. A newly bought flower pot has drainage holes that are too big, so soil pours right out when you fill it. They say you can line it with two pieces of broken tile, but where are balcony gardeners supposed to find those?

Don't worry. If you don't have broken tiles, you can use mesh, or take a look in the kitchen. A dishwashing cloth with a mesh layer is just right. Cut a piece to line the bottom of the pot, and it won't let soil through while draining especially well.

2. If you grow too many flowers, you'll gradually forget what all those little potted plants are called. Why not make a little label? All you need is a toothpick and a small slip of paper.

3. Some succulents need to be watered with extreme caution. You worry about getting water on the leaves, and you also worry that you won't be able to hold back and end up overwatering. Why not put those used serum droppers to work? They're especially suited to plants that need little water.

4. Unused makeup brushes can also be put to use, removing dust, soil particles and grime from plants, as well as those scale insects.

5. For some plants that need soil with excellent air permeability, prepare a few plastic straws, poke a number of small holes in them, and stick them directly into the potting soil. The results are great.

6. The dragon fruit planted before the New Year has grown big, and it's time to set up a support! Take out the broken umbrella at home and dismantle it until only the frame remains. Stick it upside down directly into the potting soil, and let the dragon fruit grow vigorously upward!