Tomato seedlings: Sustainable uses post-harvest season

Your tomato seedlings allow you to enjoy these vegetables without worrying about preservatives. But what should you do with the plants that are out of season? Don’t throw away the cut stems! There’s still plenty of good you can do with them.

Tomatoes are one of the most popular vegetables. To get abundant and healthy yields, it's good to know a few basic principles regarding their care. When fall arrives and the tomato harvest ends, it's worth knowing that the stems don't necessarily have to be in green waste bags. The leftover plants can be successfully used for other purposes in an eco-friendly way. This way, you won’t waste even a single leaf!

After harvesting all your tomatoes, cut the remaining green parts into smaller pieces and add them to the compost bin. The vitamins and minerals in the seedlings will supplement your homemade fertilizer. However, it's important to note that you should not throw diseased, infected plants into the compost bin—otherwise, the diseases could spread to the other ingredients in the container.

Another use is creating mulch for other garden plants. Cut healthy tomato branches into small pieces and sprinkle them around selected seedlings. This way, you will maintain proper soil moisture and inhibit the growth of weeds. Such prepared mulch will make you spend considerably less time weeding flower beds or garden plots. Additionally, decomposing tomato mulch will provide the soil with nutrients helpful for plants.

Always assess the condition of the branches and leaves carefully to avoid transferring, for instance, potato blight to other plants. What should you do with infected stems? It’s best to burn them immediately. Burning the infected seedlings will kill pests and prevent the blight from spreading to other flowers or shrubs.