Ideas for Recycling in the Garden
By Tussiemussie
3 comments
Green garden waste, grass, weeds, and vegetable kitchen waste can be recyled in wood or plastic compost bins, layer different materials, as too much grass for example will just make a soggy mess.Chicken and duck soiled straw bedding is layered between grass cuttings and kitchen waste, paper and card next to wetter items.
Save old toilet rolls, filled with compost french and runner beans can be planted in them, harden off and plant in the garden without any root disturbance, roots grow through the card and it rots down in the soil.
Deep plastic containers from the supermarket become seed trays with small holes punched in the bottom. Large yoghurt tubs make acceptable plant pots with a central hole pierced in the bottom, the clear ones have the advantage that you can see root development. Punnets are washed and saved for picking soft fruit.
Large glass jars or old goldfish bowls, glass bowls, can be saved and used as mini-cloches when tender plants are first planted out and act as a barrier to slugs and snails.Old single glazed windows make acceptable cold frames, on a frame of recycled wood.
It’s not deep enough for diving ducks but our dabblerduck pond is a recycled childs plastic shell-shaped sand pit filled with water.We found this and some good large clay pots at a reclamation yard for under a fiver.
Watch out for demolition work going on locally, old fire bricks can make a good barbeque, ordinary house bricks herring-boned an attractive path, even cheaper than a reclamation yard.
Buy a solar shower £7.99 at a camping shop and recycle the sun into hot water, save electricity shower the kids in the garden and save on bathrom mess and cleaning products, also good for washing up after a barbeque, cleaning pets /ducks/ chicken feeders and washing muddy dogs. It will soon pay for itself.
Garden shed/ workshop in the sun? A small solar panel run to a battery, easy diy,recycle sun, into free power.
Finally log in to your local Freecycle, our local one had surplus
plants free, and clay pots, even a greenhouse if the recipient
would collect! Feel free to add your own suggestions under this blog.
4 Jul, 2007
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Comments
Nice idea, when I can find clay orwood altcheap that's what I prefer, but at our local garden centre clay strawberry pots were £39 - that makes early strawberries very expensive!
5 Jul, 2007
great blog, will read more than once! thanks
8 Apr, 2013
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Hi TussieMussie, great ideas. At Hampton Court today one of the show gardens had used old wooden wine crates as plant pots and were growing vegetables in them. I thought they looked really good, better than the plastic ones we have. I just have to empty a couple of boxes now :o)
4 Jul, 2007