Gardeners urged to place washing up sponges in gardens by the end of July

Gardening is a task many find tricky to get to grips with, especially maintaining the health of their plants. Being in the midst of summer, garden plants require more attention. However, using something as little as a dishwashing sponge could greatly help.

Taking to YouTube, a gardening enthusiast on the page Simple & Fast has shared a video urging gardeners to “never” throw away washing up sponges as they are “worth pure gild on your plants”.

Talking about every time someone throws them away, the gardening pro said: “We don’t know that what we are doing is wasting a powerful ally for our plants, our garden and our pots.”

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Gardeners should aim to carry out this task before the end of July so plants can thrive in August and for the rest of summer.

The first step is to let the sponge rest in water with a “little bit of soap” for one hour. The gardening pro added: “These sponges are incredibly useful for all kinds of plants."

Next, with a pair of scissors, cut the sponge into very small pieces. The gardening pro added: “Once we have all our sponge cut, we are going to start using it to benefit the soil of our pots and plants."

Mix the small pieces of sponge into the soil of the plant pot. The gardening pro said: “What happens is that they have already begun to absorb the nutrients from the soil itself and the moisture from the soil that I have added to the bucket."

The gardening professional explained that sponges will help keep the plants moist and the water will last much longer.

They explained that it is perfect for plants that dry out quickly, or if you have to go away on a trip and want to make sure they are kept well watered.

The gardening professional even claims that the fertiliser will last much longer as the sponge will be in “charge of dosing the fertiliser little by little”. 

They added: “We will not have to worry because the earth will always have the right amount of moisture and adequate water and that’s thanks to the sponge.” 

The sponges act as water retention, feeding your plant, until being composted over time, breaking down and turning into plant food.

Simple & Fast has over 526,000 subscribers, with thousands often tuning in to watch their life hacks and this video has attracted over 21,000 likes, and over three million views.

Over a thousand people also rushed to the comments section to share their thoughts. One wrote: “I love tips like this, have always been a recycle nut.”Another added: “Genius idea! Why on earth didn't I know this before?”

However, some were concerned with the advice, especially for plants that people were planning to eat. One warned: “I would be very careful not to use this in anything you plan to eat, like herbs and things because of the plastic from the sponges getting into the food. 

“That's usually why people grow their veg/fruit/herbs is to avoid the nasties like microplastics and pesticides. But it looks like a good idea for normal plants.

“I think it works well for drainage, as well as stopping the soil coming out the holes in the bottom of the pot.”

Others gave their gardening tricks too. One wrote: “A trick I use when potting a plant is to use the original pot to make a space in the new pot. 

“Put a layer of soil in the new pot. Take the plant and root ball out of the original pot. 

“Place the old pot inside the new pot and fill it with soil. Take out the old pot and you now have a perfect space to replant the root ball, after a bit of teasing. Firm in the plant and water.”