Change of Use

[kethry]

Yogurt pots have been mentioned, but if you go to lidl you can get very large yoghurt pots of around 1 litre, with a little handle (like a bucket) with a lid.. while they can also be used for storing things, they're also great for plants: put holes in the bottom, then if you like, you can paint them. I did that with the herbs i sowed in the kitchen, i painted them with blackboard paint then used one of those blackboard pens to write the herb and the sowing date on them, they look great. would make a lovely present i think. could be done outside too.





i've also reused the poles from one of those plastic greenhouses in the garden to prop up the edges of a raised bed in the garden:



very rough and ready, i know, but i don't have a lot of spare cash to throw at making it look all nice.. the wood all came from freecycle!

keth
xx

[palborn]

Yoghurt pots as modules for seedlings.
Pop bottle as a mini watering can.
Halved pop bottles as mini cloches.
Old roof tiles as edging for beds.

[blue411]

Recycling - A new level???

Ok, so i recycle my wine bottles and my oh beer cans and my tins, but ive noticed ive started to look at things in a whole new light, is it just me or are other grapes constantly on the lookout for recycling things for the garden???
For instance - trays that mince etc... (sorry if anyones a vegetarian) come in, washed and used for seedlings, the trays that garlic bread come in - used to put my pots on my windowsill, the wooden stirers that you get in places like starbucks and ikea for stirring your coffee etc..- excellent stakes for the smaller plants and best of all the plastic boxes that muffins come in can be used as propergators, is this just me????

[gemlady]

No it's not just you! I look at everything these days with a view to potentially recycling it, and if you read some of the threads its amazing what people use things for. Well someone's got to look after the planet, we can't leave it to the politicians

[Capsid]

I cut up plastic milk bottles for plant labels and use the clear plastic containers with lids that Sainsburys use for their biscuits/cakes as mini propagators.

STA: and of courrse, loo rolls to grow parsnips in.

[Jardiniere]

we now only have a tiny bin in the kitchen (Like the kind you might out in your bathroom)and this only gets filled up twice a week...even less in the winter when the wood burner is on cos almost everything gets burnt...so much can be used ...BUT they eventually fall apart and then have to be thrown - i use the polystyrene meat trays for seed trays etc in the garden but they do get worse for wear after a while and these cant go in the recycling bin - anybody know if they can be used for anything else once they get really tacky?

[mapcr77]

You can put polyestirene (sp???) in bits to aid drainage in the bottom of pots, and it makes them lighter than using stones.

[Jardiniere]

has anybody got a good idea for using stones? I've got trillions.........

[ClayGarden]

has anybody got a good idea for using stones? I've got trillions.........

You and me both

[Capsid]

has anybody got a good idea for using stones? I've got trillions.........

You and me both

I use them to make paths.

[Shortie]

Hi Blue, I've merged your thread with this older one. Iit should help give lots of hints...

Yup, many of us seem to have the 'dual use' bug when it comes to the garden

[Becca]

margerine tubs well washed and chopped up to make plant labels for seedlings anything vaguely traylike (readymeal dishes, prepacked veg dishes, if it;s shallowish and flatish I'll use it ) for under pots, and anything vaguely potlike (including old tins) as pots my windowsils are currently bursting with a wid array of containers all with seedings in

[Mikey]

Glass fronted wooden book case, against a wall in the garden is my plant creche, on hot days its easy to open the doors and let some air in. Painted up it looks half decent too. I plan to start my cabbage seedlings off under cover this year, a 2L pop bottle cover to keep the slugs at bay.

[marialittlebzz]

has anybody got a good idea for using stones? I've got trillions.........

what about creating a rocky garden?
I started to put all the stones in a sunny corner, against a south wall, and now its a nice pile....I then add a bit of topsoil to fill the gaps and I will grow thyme together with rocky flowers...

[quark1]

Its great to see peeps recycling either for reuse within own home or to the bins for industrial recycling etc.

I do almost all of the usual stuff including reusing anything for other purposes.

There is one exception.....I SELL all my aluminium cans and foils. I'm lucky enough to live quite close to a scrap merchant who will pay CASH - yes, that luverly mucky stuff we hand over for our garden and other household bits. Last time I sold I was getting around 50p per kilo cans and 35p for foil - approx per carrier bag - crammed and crushed. look on internet for nearest dealer. I store and sell around once a year but there is no official minimum amount for selling unless the scrap merchant dictates. Even steel drinks cans often have an alu centre and ring-pull - this Scrooge removes them for sale!

If you have somewhere to store bags of alu-can or foil I think you'd be quite surprised how quickly you could pay for a few seeds or a special piece of equipment - in fact it is a great way of reinforcing to the kids that recycling DOES and can pay - immediate dividends if they wish!