As home gardeners, we’re constantly on the prowl for ways to add nutrients to our soil. The really great thing, though, is that we can often do just that, using household waste — and we’re not just talking about food scraps you can turn into DIY fertilizer. As it turns out, burying your cardboard toilet paper rolls is a great way to revitalize your garden. That’s because they’ll attract earthworms to your garden, which we assure you is something you want to do.
Toilet paper rolls are a favorite for earthworms because they’re made of cardboard, something they’re drawn to for a number of reasons. For starters, cardboard tends to hold water pretty well, and since earthworms need a moist environment to live in, they become the perfect go-to for shelter. Earthworms are also said to eat cardboard as it decomposes. There’s also the perk of it aerating the soil, which, on top of being a necessity for the worms, is also vital for your plants’ roots.
In other words, if you’re trying to get earthworms into your garden, toilet rolls are a great go-to. Plus, as yet another bonus, you won’t need to run out to buy anything you don’t already need to try this at home. All you’ll need to do is start saving those rolls, rather than toss them out.
Bury the toilet tubes directly or through composting
Once you’ve amassed a collection of the toilet paper tubes, the really good news is you won’t have to do much to see the benefits in your garden. After all, burying toilet tubes isn’t rocket science. Double check for any kind of plastic on the tube, remove if need be, then stick them in the ground. Cover them up with dirt, water your garden as you normally would, and nature will take care of the rest.
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After burying the toilet paper tubes, you can expect a yard with more nutrients and richer soil for a quality yield. And don’t worry about finding any bits of decomposing toilet rolls lying around — your super grateful earthworms will handle that on your behalf.
If you’re already a fan of using household waste in your garden, you may even want to add the cardboard tubes to your DIY compost. This will aerate the pile and give it some structure before it’s tossed into the soil for the microbes to feast on. No matter how you decide to bury the tubes, the effect is worth it, and you’ll never want to throw out your used toilet tubes again.
