Those red Solo cups left over from the night before offer a surprising second life that’s more valuable than their party fame. For gardeners, new and old, can use these as the perfect starter home for peppers. Moreover, this upcycling hack is easy and only requires seeds, red Solo cups or other similar party cups, and a pair of scissors.
To start this off, begin by taking one Solo cup and flipping it upside down. With the bottom of the cup facing you, hold the cup in place while you pierce several holes into the round edge or the flat bottom. There’s no required amount, but three to five holes should work just fine. Now, take a new Solo party cup and fill it with about 2 ounces of water and a small handful of rocks to prop up the inside cup a couple of inches. Take your cup with the holes and fill it with soil; then bury your pepper seed in it. Finish this off by placing the soil-filled cup inside the cup with the rocks and water.
Alternatively, that plastic takeout container you’re about to toss can be used for this garden hack as well. However, the red Solo cup method not only offers the perfect size, since it’s big enough for the peppers to grow throughout the three-month growth cycle, it also affords you the opportunity to reuse an item you may have in bulk after a party. Even better, with the addition of a McDonald’s cup, you can make the perfect DIY greenhouse with this party cup staple.
Red Solo cup plus a McDonald’s cup makes a greenhouse
Red Solo cups are great for planting and growing seedlings. Aside from peppers, you can easily grow other species, like tomatoes, in your makeshift seed tray. However, if you need to add humidity to your seedlings, there’s an easy hack that will only cost as much as a large 30-ounce soda cup at McDonald’s. These fit perfectly over the rim of a Solo party cup. If you’re trying to avoid McDonald’s sugary sweet tea or other sodas, it’s worth asking if they’ll sell you a few empty cups. You could try another cup of the same size, but make sure it’s clear so that it can amplify and capture humidity.
With your seedling sitting in its red Solo home, take your empty McDonald’s cup and flip it upside down, so that the bottom of it is facing the ceiling, and put it right on top of the Solo party cup. You should feel it click into place.
Over the next couple of days, pop your makeshift greenhouse open to check for any mold. Alternatively, you can poke a hole through the top to alleviate some of the humidity. And that’s all that’s needed for this secondary hack for using DIY solo cups for planting, a great use for those leftover cups that once facilitated your favorite beer drinking games.
