The Affordable, Eco-Friendly Hack To Never Over-Water Your Garden Plants Again

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If you've ever found yourself overwatering your plants, you're not alone. It's something that can easily happen, especially if their container doesn't have proper drainage, or if you're watering on a schedule without checking the actual moisture levels of your plants. Luckily, there is an affordable and unique hack that will stop this from happening, using an eco-friendly kitchen product you should already own: a toothpick. The toothpick method is as simple as taking a non-coated, natural wood toothpick and sticking it into the soil of your plant or flower for a few minutes to determine how much water is present.

This particular hack is not only easy, but it's also sustainable — depending on the material of your toothpick. Wheat straw, birch wood, and bamboo toothpicks are biodegradable. This means that even if you leave your toothpicks in the ground after checking them, they will eventually break down. Just make sure that before you plant your toothpicks in the dirt, you're checking that they are made of a natural material.

Once you decide to try the toothpick method in your garden to never overwater your plants again, you'll want to make sure you have enough on hand. It's pretty easy to find wooden toothpicks, as you can find a box of 1000 on Amazon for around $4, such as these Damuzhi bamboo toothpicks. You can also find boxes of wooden toothpicks at stores like Dollar Tree, Walmart, and the regular grocery store. Of course, you might already have some toothpicks (or even chopsticks) on hand; just make sure that they are not plastic, as that will not work for this particular garden hack.

With toothpicks in hand, it's time to actually put them to work in either your potted plants or in the garden itself. Check seedlings, full-grown flowers, and succulents and cacti by placing a toothpick in the soil next to the plant, avoiding its stems and roots to prevent damaging them. Now that the toothpick is in the dirt, you'll need to leave it there to allow the moisture time to absorb into the wood.

After a few minutes, pull the toothpick out of the soil to check if the wood has changed color and if moist soil is sticking to it. If the toothpick has darkened, that means that there is enough moisture in the dirt for your plant to thrive. If the wood is still the same color or has only changed color slightly and comes out clean, then it's likely time to water. It's an easy and affordable trick to use on any of your plants or flowers to make sure you never overwater them again.