Practical recycling tips

[skegblade]

Thanks for the tip Paulottie, I hadn't thought of that happening

Phil

[skegblade]

I'm taking delivery of two old baths. One of the guys on our site lives in some flats that are having new bathroom suites and he's claimed the baths.
Two instant raised beds for next years carrots

[Sue]

I got given an old water tank - instant raised bed and ideal for cut and come again lettuce.
The grass collector from an old lawnmower makes an excellent container for watercress as it's nice and deep and with no drainage holes keeps the soil moist.
I found some really heavy pipes when I took over my allotment, these make ideal weights for raised bed covers.
Plastic dustbins are great for extra rainwater catchment
Got an old picnic table that I use to carry seed trays - out of reach of the slugs.
Orange and lemon nets can be used to suspend squashes and pumpkins to dry.
Old nets curtains - without lacy holes - are good to cover produce.
Use cardboard to "carpet" the shed, keeps the floor dry in the winter and when soggy and muddy can go in the compost heap.
Look out for abandoned For Sale signs, a nice bit of wood there for a stake.
Use bits of polystyrene to keep squashes off the earth.
You pet shop will have unwanted heavy paper sacks (birdseed etc) these are great for storing potatoes.
Keep any aluminium pie plates, great for open freezing and can be used over and over again.
Any broken china, smash it into small pieces and mix with stones, bits of pot etc to make a shed path.

And poke around in any skips you come across, I don't have a car so am restricted to small portable things but even so have got loads of plant pots, bricks, buckets and my best find, a 25litre potato planter.
Sue

[Winged one]

A friend takes the old coffee jars for his screws, nuts etc. He screws the lids to the underside of a shelf in his shed, and then can screw the jars up into them. Takes up less space on his shelves, and he can easily see what's in everything.

MIL's "glasshouse" is made of the old windows from the house when they were replaced, on a small concrete block wall (that I think she built herself). And some corrugated plastic on the roof (suspect that was also recycled).

On our site, one guy uses old display racks from a boutique to support his plants and hang plastic, netting etc over (the long side arms give good draping for any protection he is using).

[Two_Sheds]

some more ideas on here:
http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/

[HeyWayne]

On GW a few weeks they were using coffee grinds as slug repellants - apparently the slugs crawl halfway accross before realising "ooh, I'm getting really de-hydrated" then head back, but it's too late!

I use coffee machine vending cups as seed pots.

Someone else had the idea of re-using old divan bed bases although they used theirs as mini-greenhouses, I used mine (this weekend) to make ready made cloches/cold frames. Just need to add the plastic from the new bed...

Use old bits (short) of bamboo tied in a bundle and you've got ladybird/bee homes.

I have a book at home "Saving the Planet Without Costing the Earth" and to be honest, being "green" could become a full time job, but I think as long as you're doing something....

[diggerdelaney]

Large plastic watter bottle make good large propagator cover got mine from burger van at boot fair save them carring them home also very large water bottle(those used upside down on water coolers) make good bell cloches

[angie a]

Yet another use for milk containers - any size. partially fill with gravel or small stones & put in pond during winter. About a third submerged. If the pond freezes, remove cap & pour in hot water.It will melt quite a large area. Remember to empty water before the pond re freezes. With all these uses for milk containers, are there any left for landfill?