Don't Throw Out Onion Sacks – Use Them For Your Garden Instead

Upon returning from the grocery store, many folks find themselves with plenty of packaging material that often has no place to go but the trash. Cardboard containers and aluminum cans are easily recycled, but plastic items can be challenging. That's in part because plastics aren't all alike and while some can be tossed into the recycling bin, other varieties can cause more harm than good for the environment. The plastic mesh bags that accompany onions are generally a member of the latter group but don't throw out those sacks just yet. Just as empty wine bottles can be used in your garden, those breathable bags can be repurposed into a beneficial garden accessory.

Anyone with a garden knows that when plants start to bear fruit, pests want to get their share. There are several ways to keep them at bay, but one free method is to use that mesh onion sack as a sort of canopy around your plants. Simply put a stake next to the plants (such as basil and tomatoes that are planted together) and drape the mesh bag over it and the growing produce. You can set more stakes through the excess part of the bag touching the ground to hold it in place.

The spaces between the mesh won't necessarily prevent smaller insects from dining on your bounty, but it will keep birds and larger bugs away while your plant matures. It shouldn't hinder the plants from receiving light and you can water them without having to move the protective mesh.

Not everyone has the space or interest to grow a garden, but don't throw out those onion sacks before considering other ways they can prove to be advantageous. Even if you have a garden but don't need to use them as protective barriers against pests, they can be scrunched up and tied together to make an abrasive scrubby that will help you get into all the nooks and crannies of your harvested vegetables when you wash off the dirt. By the same token, they can be fashioned into a durable scrubber for all those pots and pans that get caked in grime, saving your store-bought sponges for lighter tasks (though you may wish to skip this when working with nonstick pans).

Some people use an eye-catching hack to keep herbs fresh longer, but if you want to dry them out for use in your next culinary undertaking, mesh onion sacks can help with that, too. Wrap the mesh around the herbs and hang them upside down in a dry area in your home. The material should be tightly secured around the stems as they will shrink a bit when they start to lose moisture, but it will provide enough airflow for your herbs to dry out within one to two weeks.