Recycling Ideas for Your Garden
Here are a few ideas of everyday items we can recycle and use for gardening.
Cds
Years ago when the milkman was the main supplier of milk and there was a plentiful supply of foil milk bottle tops. These could be tied together to make a bird scarer which you could hang on berry bushes, and other plants that you wanted to keep the birds away from. They would move with the wind and reflect the sunlight as they twirled round scaring the birds away.
Now when we purchase milk it is usually in the form of a plastic or cardboard container but there is another throw away item we can use to give the same effect.
Lots of magazines we buy usually include a free CD on the covers. Most of these have ended up in the drawer or discarded but they can be turned into a bird scarer quickly and easily.
Keeping both of the silver side’s outward, tie two CDs together by feeding the string through the centre hole and tying off on the outer edge. Allow approximately twelve inches or 300mm of excess string for hanging.
Tie onto the bush or plant in suitable area that will let the CDs move and rotate as the wind blows.
Envelopes from junk mail and Xmas
Despite trying to stop it, we receive probably 15-20 pieces of junk mail through our letterbox every month. Luckily most of this can be put into the weekly recycling collection.
We have found a good use for junk mail with windowless envelopes. These can be used for storing the seeds over the winter that we have collected from plants in the autumn. Another chance of recycling is the envelopes from Christmas cards we receive.
Open the small end with a letter opener or cut a small piece of the end off with scissors, take out the junk mail put your seeds in and fold over the end a couple of times. To seal the end just use a peg or small piece of sticky tape and put the name of the plant you have taken them from on the outside.
Yoghurt and dessert pots
We end up with quite a few of yoghurt and desserts pots each week. Once they are washed up, pierce a few holes in the bottom to let excess water drain away and you have a pot for growing seedlings in.
Plastic cherry tomato and fruit trays
These plastic trays can be washed and used for putting your yoghurt pots in. We usually find they can hold between 4 to 6 pots and this makes it much easier if you need to move them around the greenhouse.
Some trays already have holes in the bottom which helps drain any excess water. Others may need a few holes which can be easily made with a bradawl or something similar.
