Did you know that toilet paper tubes can help your plant? If you didn’t know, it’s about time you started recycling those tubes. It turns out they’re actually tools to improve your compost, and with time it becomes the humus that feeds your whole garden. When you use them correctly, they potentiate the soil fertility, and let’s not forget sustainable gardening. With time you will need less and less synthetic fertilizers because the dependency decreases.
It’s an entire circular economy process.
These toilet paper tubes also work for mulching (covering the soil); they attract worms, which in this case is something you actually want because they are good for any living soil.
In other words, it’s a small gesture, but it has a lot of benefits for your plants (and the planet).
How does it work?
The toilet paper tubes’ cardboard gives the compost the “brown” carbon it needs to balance all the nitrogen that comes from the kitchen leftovers or grass. This balance accelerates the decomposition, and it’s what avoids it getting smelly or sticky. So basically when they disintegrate, they help the whole structure because they absorb extra humidity, but they also release it if there’s not enough.
The microorganism loves this! They transform to the residues in humus.
After a while, when the process has advanced, that’s when you get the “black gold” that’s going to nourish your plants and retain the water in the soil (which is a great help in summer).
There’s another plus, and this one is biological: they call earthworms because it’s comfy for them and gives them food. So while they’re eating the cardboard and organic matter, they’re generating ‘castings” (their waste), and that’s a very rich nutrient for soil fertility. They also make little holes when they move, and this is a good infiltration system for water and air to get in.
This cycle is very powerful as it is, so the need for fertilizers is going to drop.
How to use your toilet paper tubes
Before you start, check that they’re clean, with no rest of paper or adhesive on them, and then choose the technique that’s better for your situation:
- Cut in little pieces, and to the compost it goes! Cut it in pieces or shred it, this makes the disintegration faster, and it’s easier to mix with the rest of the compost.
- In layers, yes, just like a compost lasagna. You can do one layer of paper, one layer of greens, one layer of kitchen waste, etc.
- Underground, close to the plant. If you bury them near the plants, you can put them as they come or in pieces around the plants. They will slowly disintegrate and release the nutrients little by little.
- Mulching rings. What is this, you ask? For this one you take cut cardboard rings and put them around the stems, then you cover them with dry leaves. This reduces evaporation and keeps the roots fresh.
- Sheet mulching. What again? Make a mix of fallen leaves and pieces of the toilet paper tube and make a blanket over the surface; with time it will transform into humus. This one you can also use in interior plants.
Be patient; decomposition takes months, depending on the temperature and humidity. If you see it gets too dry, put some water in, and if it’s too wet, then add more cardboard.
Small waste making a big difference
There’s no bad side to adding toilet paper tubes to your gardening routine: it pushes recycling, supports the circular economy, and really helps sustainable gardening, but most importantly, soil loves it!
What is usually garbage can now be a big upgrade to your soil; are you going to give it a try?