Thriving Garden: Translating Annoying TikToker’s Amazing Planting Hacks So Anybody Can Have a Green Thumb in Peace

• 01

  Chicken Bone Hack

  
  via www.tiktok.com

  Had some chicken wings for dinner? Use the left over bones to create bone powder to fertilize your plants (AND/OR make a DIY dog treat). Boil the bones, strain them, wash in cold water to rid of any leftover meat on them. Then bake them for 20 minutes at 350 degrees to sterilize them. Then grind them up into a powder in a blender or grinder. Use a teaspoon of that power with a cup of water and use to fertilize those plants. (Or sprinkle it on your dog's food for a 'lil treat for your pups.)

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• 02

  Dog Hair Hack

  
  via www.tiktok.com

  If you have a dog, keep the fur after you brush. Use that fur by burying it in the soil to fertilize your plants and improve nutrients. Or scatter it around your plants to keep vermin away like squirrels, raccoons, and rabbits. You can even keep away deer by putting your dog's hair in a breathable pouch and hanging it from a deer-height branch.

• 03

  Cucumber Hack

  
  via www.tiktok.com
  1. Basically, take the peels of a cucumber, leave them in water for 5 days, then use that murky green water to water your plants once every three weeks to give them an extra boost of potassium and phosphorus. 
  2. Peel your cucumber, put the peels on foil, let them dry out. Light those babies on fire and turn them into ash. Then sprinkle that ash directly onto the soil to fertilize your plants. 
  3. Or just place some cucumber peels onto the soil of your plants to keep away ants and mites.
• 04

  The CORRECT Way to Plant an Avocado

  
  via www.tiktok.com

  Take the seed out gently and let it soak in water for an hour so you can easily peel off the outer layer of the seed. Then use a shower curtain ring to hold the seed and let the flat edge sit in water with the pointed edge pointing up. Change the water daily with filtered water only. Once the stem grows 6-inches, cut it back down to 3-inches, that will encourage it to grow more. Once the new set of leaves grow, you can plant it into soil. Make sure to cut it back every 12-inches or it will stop growing. 

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• 05

  Teabag Hacks

  
  via www.tiktok.com

  Don't  throw your used teabags away!  Six hacks:

  1. Poke a small hole in the damp bag, plant seeds in the tea, leave inside a closed ziplock bag, and your seeds will sprout! 
  2. Drop a few used tea bags in the soil of your plant that you're potting to increase soil quality. 
  3. Mist your seedlings with tea—promotes healthy growth and keeps pests away. 
  4. Soak your seeds in chamomile before planting. It helps soften the outer layer which makes them sprout faster. 
  5. Sprinkle tea leaves directly onto the soil of plants to increase soil's oxygen level and keeps cats away. 
  6. Add nutrients to your plants by watering with tea. 
• 06

  Succulents Hack

  
  via www.tiktok.com

  Have a favorite succulent you want more of? Clone it by grabbing a plastic water bottle, poke some holes in it, take some leaves from the succulent, stick them in the holes, fill the bottle with some water, cap the bottle, and leave it by a sunny window. After a couple of weeks roots will start to form, once the roots are more than an inch, take them out and plant them in soil. 

• 07

  Fix a Snapped Plant Stem

  
  via www.tiktok.com

  If you snapped your plant stem a big and want it to grow back straight, drop some water on the injured area, dab some ground cinnamon on it with a Q-tip, then tie that Q-tip on it like a split to keep it straight. 

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• 08

  Banana Water Hack

  
  via www.tiktok.com

  Use your banana peels to make banana water. Put the peels in water and let it soak for about an hour. Then water your plants with it—the banana peel adds potassium, phosphorus, calcium, and magnesium, which are all nutrients plants need to thrive. (You can also do this with potato skins, but let them soak in hot water.)

• 09

  Grow Strawberries from a Strawberry

  
  via www.tiktok.com

  Cut a thin slice from a strawberry, place that slice in a pot with soil, lightly cover it with the soil, then water it. Place a glass over it to keep it in a humid environment and a strawberry plant will start to grow. Once it reaches 6-inches tall, you can plant them outdoors and they return yearly. 

• 10

  DIY Self-Watering System

  
  via www.tiktok.com

  Self-watering systems can be very pricey. Make your own with a plastic bottle. Simply one hole in the cap and stick a Q-tip into it with half sticking out and half in the bottle. Then tape a stick to the bottle with most of the stick sticking passed the cap. Then fill the bottle with water, place the Q-tip cap back on, and stake it into water with the Q-tip facing the soil and slowly dripping water into your plant. 

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