A GARDENING expert has weighed in on hacks that have gone viral on TikTok in a bid to help those green-thumbed Brits flourish in their hobby.
Kate Turner, a gardening guru at Miracle-Gro, shared her thoughts on the new trends gaining millions of views on the popular social media app.
The first video claims that there is a right and wrong way to water plants.
"There is such a thing as watering the wrong way, you want to water around the plant and not overhead," the woman says in the short clip.
And according to The Express, who spoke to the green-thumbed expert, that TikTok was correct.
“You should never water your plants from the top, so this advice is spot on," Kate said.
"By wetting foliage, you encourage fungal disease, and the water evaporates more quickly.
“I would always recommend watering in the morning rather than in the evening.”
Another video on TikTok claimed that planting a bulb of garlic used in cooking will grow a new head of garlic.
Unfortunately, this tip is not completely correct Kate told The Express.
“I would not recommend using shop-bought garlic to propagate as you will not know the variety," she revealed.
“It’s important to know the garlic variety as, generally, shop-bought ones are for cooking only and will have grown in warm weather and therefore needing the same weather to grow new seedlings.
“You should buy garlic plants from UK nurseries or garden centres as they will be specially bred to cope with our cooler temperatures, and they’ll also be more disease resistant."
In a third video, posted by @epicgardening, the TikToker claimed that using a fan to blow air onto new seedlings will strengthen them and help them to grow.
“You see how these seedlings are wiggling in the wind?" they said in the video.
"Well, that’s because I’ve set up a fan to actually blow air on them to strengthen the stems and grow nice and sturdy seedlings.
“This is one of the things I see beginner gardeners mess up the most when starting their seedlings indoors, you have to replicate mother nature!”
But the gardening guru said that although this hack isn't wrong – it isn't perfect.
This is a sound theory as it will help strengthen the stems and foliage ready to be planted outdoors but it tends to be difficult to achieve for most home growers," Kate said.
“Instead of using a fan, I suggest gently stroking the seedlings with your hand a few times a day to replicate a breeze.
“If there’s a slight breeze outside and the weather is warm enough, you could put your seedlings near an open window remembering to close it as soon as the temperature drops.”
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