Aluminum foil in the garden: discover how you can use this resource for your decorative plants and in your veggie patch

It's always worth knowing a few extra tips to take better care of your plants in the garden or veggie patch, and using aluminum foil can be added to this list. Common, kitchen aluminum film can be used to make your plants grow more vigorously and help to keep "unwelcome grazers" away.

Aluminum foil to make plants grow more vigorously

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There are several ways you can take advantage of the properties of aluminum foil to help plants grow more vigorously. But be sure to use new, pristine foil:

• For seedlings: to encourage the germination seeds in a pot, you can wrap the pot (or seed container) with aluminum foil to keep the soil a little warmer and reinforce the container itself (if it's cardboard, for example).
• If, however, you grow plants inside cases or a small greenhouse, you can line the sides of the seedbeds to help with heat retention and better reflect the sunlight (very useful during cold periods!).
• Some put pieces of foil around the base of the plants to reflect the sun's rays better, ensuring the sunlight reaches all parts of the plants!
• If you don't have a greenhouse, we can also use a box with a transparent lid. Inside this, you can place aluminum foil for improved thermal insulation and more refracted light.
• Some line the bottom of their pots with aluminum foil before adding the soil. Holes are punched in the foil to allow drainage, of course, and this is another way to help the plants retain moisture and heat. That said, this can be risky for plants that don't need too much water and humidity, especially around their roots. In short, you can try this technique, but you need to understand the needs of your plants first.

Aluminum foil to protect plants grazing animals

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You can wrap the trunk of young bushes and trees (especially fruit trees) to prevent wild animals from nibbling on them.

• Make balls from crumpled aluminum foil and hang these from the branches of the trees/shrubs/bushes around the garden: these will keep birds away which can be very damaging to fruit trees and veggie patches.
• Similarly, hanging up strips of aluminum foil will reflect light as they move in the wind, frightening away rodents and birds.
• Some also use pieces of aluminum foil around the base of plants to keep snails from getting on their plants. Others, wrap the lower stems of their plants to keep snails and other grazers away.

Have you ever used aluminum foil in your garden?