Can nail clippers be used in the garden? Are there any ways in which they can help in germination or plant growth? Let’s find out!
Nail clipper, a common household tool, can surprisingly play an important role in successful germination of seeds along with helping plants to grow better. Sounds impossible? Keep reading!
Nail Clippers for Successful Germination
1. Seed Scarification
As we all know, there are seeds that with a hard outer shell (morning glory or nasturtiums), which can prevent water and nutrient absorption at the time of planting – without which, it would be hard for them to germinate effectively.
What you can do is – use the sharp section of the nail clippers to nick the hard outer coat, which will lessen its thickness, enhancing water absorption. This will ultimately increase the chances of germination by miles!
2. Thinning Seedlings
If you have grown multiple seeds together, it becomes important to thin out weaker seedlings to ensure the healthier ones grow proper. This is a crucial step to provide adequate space for growth.
You can use nail clippers to snip off weaker and thin seedlings around the base line – as the cutter is small, its narrow outer section helps minimizes the chances of root disturbance or leaf damage to the remaining plants.
Nail Clippers for Bushier Plants
3. Pinching Out Tips
While you can always use your fingers for pinching, using these cutters to remove the growing tip of a plant, to encourage lateral growth, will help you do it more cleanly.
Their small size also makes it very easy to position them where you want to pinch out the young plants to stimulate growth of side shoots.
4. Pruning
Use it to snip away leggy stems, which will encourage the plant to develop more growth at the base – making it bushier in no time!
5. Deadheading
Removing spent flowers from the plant is the best way to help it focus its energy for growing new blooms and growth – a cutter will help you take them off cleanly without damaging the stems or leaves.
6. Snipping Out Overcrowded Areas
Thinning an overgrown and crowded plant is essential to maximize air circulation and light penetration. Use the clippers to get rid of the excess growth cleanly!
While doing this, you can also use it to snip away pest and disease affected stems and leaves to prevent the spread further.
Using a nail clipper to perform these tasks in place of shears or scissors is a good idea because – (1) – It is cheap and easy to handle and (2) – it can easily be pushed in small sections to cut tiny stems!
Bonus – Taking Cuttings for Propagation
Nail clippers can be a great tool to snip away sections of stem to propagate new plants! As they are small, you can clip away the healthier stem section even from the innermost part of the growth without any difficulty!
