Don't Toss That Jar Lid — Use It For This Handy Garden Hack

Most people treat jar lids as useless once the jar's empty. However, if you have a garden, these little lids are surprisingly useful. They make sturdy garden markers that will help keep things organized and add a little flair to your planting space. Jar lids work especially well for this because they're built tough. They've endured boiling water, freezing temperatures, and long stints in the pantry. It won't matter if they are placed out in the garden and exposed to the sun and rain.

Unlike paper or cardboard tags that droop, tear, or fade, these should stay strong through the entire season. All you need is a paint marker or a permanent pen, a lid, and a stick (anything from a bamboo skewer to a leftover chopstick will work). Stick the lid on top or glue it to the side, and you've got a custom and reusable plant label ready to go. Have you ever planted seeds, then forgotten what went where two weeks later? Now, you can label as you plant and skip the guessing game entirely. And this hack works even if you're low on garden space and growing veggies in a pot. You could also color code for all the easy herbs you can grow in your garden: green for mint, purple for catnip, pink for chives. Even a scrawled label in block letters will save you the headache of playing "Guess That Sprout" three weeks later. 

This jar lid hack is easily one of the best vegetable gardening tips for beginners and experts alike. Say you're growing multiple varieties of veggies — you can create distinct markers for each one with printed labels and tape them inside the lid's face before sealing it with clear tape or waterproof Mod Podge. Another great use for lid markers is rotating crops. With this setup, you don't need to remake your markers from scratch every season. Just wipe off the writing and relabel the lid, or swap it out for a new one while reusing the same stick. The whole thing hardly takes up any storage space, and it is super easy to stack and organize lids in the off-season.

Parents and teachers can also take this project even further. If you are gardening with children, have them decorate the lids with some paint, stickers, or drawings of plants. This will make the garden feel more like their space, and they'll be a lot more excited to care for the plants they "tagged." 

And if you're not into decorating? No problem. Even the simplest version of this hack still does the job. Just remember: sealing your marker is key. Use a waterproof sealant, laminate a label, or apply clear tape. It'll keep the marker from washing off and extend the life of your work. The bottom line is that this lid marker trick is a good way to reuse what would, under normal circumstances, end up in the trash bin.