Don't Throw Out Old Salt And Pepper Shakers — Reuse Them In Your Garden Like This

Salt and pepper shakers are one of those kitchen staples that it's easy to end up with multiples of. If you've got a busy kitchen and a bigger family, it's not impossible to simply lose track of these little items everyone's using all the time. And considering the infinitely varying designs for shakers, you may find yourself getting different sets as gifts, holiday after holiday. So, what do you do when you dig up that old salt shaker you thought you lost, or when you want to replace an old pair with a fresh set that matches your new kitchen decor? 

We always prefer to upcycle kitchen items in creative ways rather than tossing them. This is an eco-friendly approach; it saves you money on buying something new, and sometimes it's even a stylish solution. Salt and pepper shakers are one of the best kitchen items for repurposing in your garden, in particular. They work wonders for easy and efficient seed-sowing.

With a salt shaker, you don't have to use your hands or invest in tools to spread seeds individually, which is downright necessary for tinier seeds. As you sprinkle seeds from a shaker, they distribute evenly so your plants are ready to grow in a well-spaced manner. All you have to do to turn an old salt or pepper shaker into a handy seed-sower is make sure yours has the right-sized holes for the seeds you want to use, and then thoroughly clean it out and let it dry.

You'll want to use salt and pepper shakers for smaller seeds, since bigger ones won't fit through any shaker's holes and are easier to place with your own hands. Some of the best seeds to grow for your own kitchen garden fall under the tiny-seed umbrella, like arugula, lettuce, and carrots. Other smaller seeds yield garden delights like wildflowers and snapdragons.

Whatever you're planting, you'll want to test the seeds with your shaker to make sure you will, in fact, get that nice even spread. Place a small amount of seeds into your shaker and sprinkle them out into a bowl. You want them to actually fit through the holes, naturally, but you also don't want the holes to be so big for the seeds that multiple pour through one hole at once — there goes your even distribution.

To help ensure the right amount of seeds flow through each hole and to make it easier to see where the seeds land in your soil, mix the seeds with clean sand at a ratio of about four parts sand to one part seeds. This small amount of sand can help soil, as an added perk, boosting drainage and aeration. The entire mixture can be dusted over your soil, as small seeds don't need to be planted deep into the earth. After one season, you'll see salt and pepper shakers as a genius kitchen staple to use in your garden.