The Bathroom Essential You Can Use To Hand-Pollinate Your Struggling Tomato Plants

Whether it's from a lack of pollinators in your area or maybe some unpredictable weather, sometimes those little yellow flowers on your tomato plant can end up looking pretty but fruitless. And this is where an unlikely hero from your bathroom (of all places) could save the day — your electric toothbrush. You read that right: The same tool you use to clean your teeth can also be used to shake the pollen loose from tomato blooms, giving them a better shot at getting pollinated and growing tomatoes.

Tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants are all plants whose flowers need vibration to release pollen. Bees and other flying pollinating insects provide this service naturally with their wings, but a toothbrush pressed gently against the stem of a tomato plant may be enough to mimic that buzz. It's basically the simple tomato tickle trick (achieved by shaking the stems or tickling them with a toothbrush), but on a bigger scale. While it may sound strange, the results will speak for themselves.

To really make this method work, timing matters. The best pollination window for fully open tomato flowers is from late morning to early evening on a dry day, as this is when pollen is loosest. By creating a gentle vibration, the toothbrush helps the pollen transfer from a flower's male parts to the female parts.  This increases the chances of fruit setting and, unlike relying on the weather or flying helpers like bees, you can rest assured the job was done.

Now, before you run to the bathroom and take your electric toothbrush out to the garden, we need to turn it into a garden tool. First, give it a rinse in fresh water to clean off any toothpaste residue. Once it's clean and dry, you're ready to go. Just hold the flat side of the toothbrush head (not the side with bristles) against the back of the flower or the stem behind the flower cluster, switch it on, and let the vibration do the work.

If you're still wondering why you should try hand pollination in the first place, it's simply helping nature along when conditions aren't ideal. It's a great technique for tomato plants growing indoors where they may not be exposed to pollinators or wind. But even when growing outdoors, not everyone has the space for a full-on pollinator garden. Hand pollination is a good backup that ensures your tomato flowers turn into fruit. Plus, compared to the tried-and-tested options of shaking the plant or taping the flower, the gentle buzz of an electric toothbrush, is less likely to cause damage — especially if you hold it to the stem rather than a flower.

So next time you're growing tomatoes and not seeing the fruits of your labor, don't wait for the bees. Head to the bathroom and give your plants the buzz they've been waiting for. If you notice tiny green tomatoes forming within a few weeks to a month, it's a sure sign your efforts have all paid off.