recycling old joggies
By franl155
8 comments
I’d been using cut-up pillowcases as capillary mats for my “self-watering” troughs, but was never sure if they’d conduct water properly.
Took out the almost-gone pansies and decided to try something else for the matting. Then remembered I had some scruffy old joggies.
Cut the legs off – maybe I’ll find a use for the body later – either as shorts, or sew up the bottom and put a handle on for a shopping bag!
double thickness would be too much, I thought, so cut it open, cut a strip off to stuff down the holes to [hopefully!] conduct water upwards, and put the rest in the trough
Even that was a bit much, so I cut that in half and that just about covered the trough bottom. So I could use one leg for two troughs – which was handy as I had four troughs to plant.
No idea how well this will work, if it does at all, but time will tell.
1 Aug, 2014
5 likes
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Comments
that's what the strip was cut off for, Stera - I cut it in half andd shoved each end down one of the holes. hoping that the strip will get wet and carry the water to the rest of the material. I ddi try cutting tongues - once! - but couldn't place them properly, so ended up with a load of shreds. Of course, I could have cut slots in the mat and led the strips through - just thoguht of that!
1 Aug, 2014
Very clever! If you've put bulbs in the troughs best protect them from heavy rain in the winter.
1 Aug, 2014
I've put a thick layer of bark on top, come colder weather I'll find a more sheltered place for them - or maybe I'll have built one by then!
1 Aug, 2014
Thats a good idea Fran or put them in a charity bag that plops through the letterbox.
4 Aug, 2014
lol doubt if even charity shops would want these, they're so disreputable and scruffy! I had been getting so many bags through the letterbox, mostly I threw them away as i had nothing to put in them - didn't occur to me till much later that I could have used the bags for rubbish! last bag I put out wasn't picked up, so it's in the hall, waiting for the next charity bag - I'll put it inside that and hope to put it out early enough to be picked up this time.
I had thought of cutting the legs off to make long bags for - er, something! and might yet; i've got three or four more pairs.
4 Aug, 2014
Funny how trousers seem to breed in the closet Fran. I only do a charity bag rarely as I pass the hospice shop as I leg it into town. I put stuff in my shopping trolley pretty often and drop it off there. Still very dry here. I hose watered again early this morning, as the butts are once again getting low.
5 Aug, 2014
A lot of the bags I get ask for clothes only, "no toys, bric a brac, games, jewellery" etc. I've usually got more of them to get rid of than I have clothes. Now and then I have a try-on-and-chuck, but did one of those a while ago.
I do'nt really care which charity they go to, so long as someone can make a few bob out of them for a good cause.
5 Aug, 2014
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How does the water get up into the matting Fran? Did you put a little tongue of it to dangle down into the reservoir, it doesn't show in the pic. You are so ingenious!
1 Aug, 2014