Using compost to nourish your lawn or flowers feeds them today and improves soil quality in the long run.
Buying bags of fertilizer from garden centers adds up. With this gardening trick using Dollar Tree plastic pitchers, you can start composting at home inexpensively. Just drill holes in the pitcher, bury it in the soil, and add compostable scraps.
This method isn’t just a clever way to create your compost system on a budget; it’s also ideal for small spaces. If you have a tiny garden, there might not be room for a large compost heap, but burying a pitcher or two directly into your garden beds or containers can fit.
Besides saving space and money, it’s convenient. The lid design is easy to open without snapping or twisting, making it simple to toss in scraps while keeping them covered.
The holes allow water to drain, pulling nutrient-rich leachate from the compost to benefit the surrounding soil. It’s an effortless way to nourish your plants without brewing compost tea.
How to Use Dollar Tree Pitchers for Composting
This gardening hack is both simple and affordable. Start by drilling holes all over the pitcher, including the lid. In her YouTube tutorial, Robbie uses a soldering iron to melt holes in the plastic. If you don’t have one, a power drill works too.
The goal is to create enough perforations for water drainage. After adding holes, bury the pitchers in your garden, partially submerged in soil. To kickstart composting, add a handful of garden soil to each pitcher.
Once in place, add typical compost materials like kitchen scraps, grass clippings, and leaves. Shred or chop scraps for faster decomposition. When a pitcher fills up, remove the finished compost to mix into your soil.
Maintenance is minimal; occasional watering keeps the organic matter inside moist. Since the pitchers are buried, watering them along with your plants is convenient.
As the organic matter breaks down, it transforms into nutrient-rich compost that seeps through the drainage holes as compost tea, nourishing your plants effectively.