recycling

[melon]

Seeing as I still can't get out and dig due to weather etc I thought i would share some recycling tips with you all, although having browsed some of the sites I think you will probably know them anyway.
Toilet rolls are great for broad beans, runner beans and sweet pea seeds as they help give a long root run and break down in the soil.
Plastic packaging from meat joints that you get in supermarkets make good little or medium propagators that can be anchored with tent pegs.
Plastic trays from food packaging can also be used for watering containers
and egg trays are super for chitting spuds.
I have also used foil dishes tied with string as bird scarers and yogurt pots as plant pots.
Pain in the bum with all the extra washing up but saves having to go to the tip.

[dexterdoglancashire]

Some good ideas there melon! There is an earlier thread that I titled "101 uses of plastic trays" which has a few ideas on recycling as well. DDL

[Sue]

Hi
I've just found a book on Amazon called Panty hose, Hot Peppers, Tea Bags, and more for the Garden 1001 Ingenious ways to use common household items to control weeds, beat pests, cook compost, solve problems, make tricky jobs easier and save time. It's published by Rodale, can't remember the UK price, around £12ish.
Obviously American (don't have ants on the hummingbird feeder!) so some items are a bit weird but the author manages to find uses for pool queues, plastic forks, pizza cutters, old books, clothing etc etc. It's got a good index so easy to look up any item that might be destined for the bin - which obviously makes a very good flower pot. Its addictive, nothing is safe...
Sue

[melon]

Thanks, sounds like my kind of book, althoung my OH is getting fed up now with all the bits of what he calls junk hanging around.

[OverWyreGrower]

Obviously American (don't have ants on the hummingbird feeder!)

And what is the best solution for this problem? (Just in case I ever get a hummingbird feeder with an ant problem)

[Sue]

Overwyre
If you should suffer with this problem then you can do the following...
make a barrier of scrunched up duct tape sticky side up and attach to the hanger for the ants to get stuck in
or
spray a mixture of vinegar and cloves on the ant trail
or
Do something very complicated with a spray paint cap.

There's also a nice recipe for making homemade hummingbird food in case you need it. Are you on a very tropical allotment site?? Do give me a shout if you are also having problems with raccoons, chipmunks or locusts.
Sue

[roitelet]

Mineral water bottles with the bottom cut off and a small hole drilled in the lid are excellent for watering plants. I sink one beside each plant when planting and when necessary fill them with water which then goes straight to the roots encouraging the roots to go down to find water and also saving on the water and the watering. Although my soil is a sort of clay it drains rather too quickly and keeping it moist can be a pain. I am also going to follow the advice in Charlotte Green in her book Gardening With Out Water (Search Press) of putting a collar of well soaked cardboard round each plant and covering it with mulch to conserve moisture. Saves me taking these bulky items to the Re-cycling

[dexterdoglancashire]

Hi R! what a good idea for keeping your plants watered! I hadn't thought of that. My latest idea with plastic bottles - well, large ones, the largest I can get hold of have cooking oil in them, so I don't use that many, BUT - am going to start using them as large cloches! what does everyone else think? DDL

[Mrs Dobby]

2l plastic soft drink bottles make good cloches too DDL, cut them in half, bottom half becomes a cloche, the top half upended becomes a watering funnel ala one of the earlier posts in this thread!

[dexterdoglancashire]

Yep! just need more bottles! DDL

[Earthbabe]

Or you can use the top half and use the screw top lid to "adjust" the ventilation.

[dexterdoglancashire]

Had an idea! I buy sunflower oil in large 2litre? bottles....I don't use that many of them, but from now on am going to wash them out and use them as cloches/funnels etc! DDL