25 May Philips OneBlade – Hairy Harvest – 80 per cent of gardeners weren’t actually aware that body hair is nutrient rich and can be used as a natural plant fertiliser.
Gen Z are getting green fingered and adopting a ‘grow your own’ approach – thanks to social media.
Research of 2,000 adults found almost half (47 per cent) of 18 to 27-year-olds have caught the gardening bug in the last 12 months.
Of those, over two thirds (69 per cent) saw their newfound hobby blossom thanks to social networking, with Instagram (47 per cent), TikTok (37 per cent) and Facebook (22 per cent) the most popular platforms for advice.
But with hashtags like #allotmentuk and #growyourownfood on the rise, 34 per cent of all adults have also found unusual hacks to help their produce thrive.
These include using old teabags (35 per cent) and egg shells (32 per cent), while one in 10 even use their body hair as a natural plant fertiliser.
And 11 per cent have even gone as far as using hair from their nether regions to grow their fruit and veg.
But 80 per cent weren’t actually aware that body hair is nutrient rich and could be used as a natural plant fertiliser.
Fiona Atkins, male grooming expert for Philips OneBlade, which has partnered with gardening and topiary experts to launch the ‘Hairy Harvest’ – a pop-up where passers-by can get a quick shave and take their trimmings home to help their own plants grow, said: “It’s no secret that the cost of food shopping keeps rising.
“More and more people are looking at how they can start growing their own produce at home – particularly the younger generations.
“So, we wanted to highlight the little-known fact that body hair is the perfect nutrient-rich DIY fertiliser to help brits in their gardening endeavours.
“As the nation trim, edge and shave their hair, we want to empower them to stop letting their discarded hairs go down the drain and put them to good use so they can start their very own hairy harvest in their back garden.”
The research also revealed reasons Gen-Z’s are picking up their trowels, with saving money (22 per cent), fighting the cost of living crisis (39 per cent) and improving their mental health (39 per cent) among the most popular motivations.
While 43 per cent simply wanted to get outside more, with 35 per cent wanting to grow their own produce.
The study also revealed 21 per cent of men have picked up gardening in the last year, compared to just 17 per cent of women.
With three in 10 males preferring to spend time outside on their veggie patch as much as watching Match of the Day (33 per cent) or playing video games (27 per cent).
Of all respondents, 57 per cent have a keen interest in pruning their shrubbery, with 21 per cent inspired by TV shows they’ve watched.
With 63 per cent of garden growers serving up dishes made up partly or entirely of produce from their own backyard.
It also found more than half (51 per cent) of all adults agreed you can’t beat the fresh taste of homegrown food.
The research, carried out for the grooming tool via OnePoll, found 39 per cent think gardening is trendier now than it was two years ago.
King of the jungle and Philips OneBlade ambassador, Sam Thompson, who appeared at the opening of the event taking place in London Fields between the 24th and 25th May, added: “If I’d known all along how valuable my hair was to help plants grow, I would have saved my shavings more often.
“Zara gets so fed up with my beard and body hairs all over the bathroom so maybe now I can collect it and throw it on the flowerbeds.”
UNUSUAL GARDENING HACKS BRITS HAVE TRIED TO IMPROVE THEIR GARDENS:
Throwing used teabags onto the soil
Using egg shells as fertiliser
Using banana peels as fertiliser
Sprinkling cayenne pepper to ward off pests
Using used coffee grounds as a fertislier
Growing new fruit/vegetables from leftovers vegetable roots/seeds
Using potato water to water plants
Singing to my plants
Sprinkling cinnamon on the ground to deter cats
Talking to my plants
Using baking soda to make the soil more alkaline
Destroying fungus with cinnamon
Using white vinegar as a plant feed
Using coconut powder as a fertiliser
Making beer traps for slugs
Using fish from the fireplace as fertiliser
‘Plant’ plastic forks to keep animals away
Using bones as a fertiliser
Using pubic hair as fertiliser
Using hair as a fertiliser
