Garden Delights: Making Something New for Nothing

While composting is a favorite activity of many gardeners and one that is good for the garden and the environment, there are many other useful ways to recycle in and around your garden. Household items that have served their primary purpose can be given new jobs instead of wasting away in a landfill somewhere. Recycling is a great complement to frugal living and can add personality to any space. Here are just a few ideas to think about with Spring on our heals.

Trellises

All gardens need a few trellises, but they can get expensive. Rather than, spending a whole lot of money, consider re-purposing some items destined for the junk yard. Great recycled trellis ideas include old bed headboards, screen doors, old wooden windows, umbrella frames and metal lamp stands. Weather-proof wood with stain or varnish and protect metal with rust-proof paint so that your trellises will last a long time.

Planters

Retired bathtubs, sinks, tires, wheelbarrows and even boots make great conversation pieces and decorative planters. Just about anything that will hold dirt can be used as a planter. Be sure to wash out the container well before using and add a few drainage holes.

Garden Cloths

Garden cloths are great for keeping frost, sun, insects and birds away from tender plants. If you have old ragged sheets, table cloths or even lightweight shower curtains that are no longer useful, turn them into garden cloths. Be sure to add a few holes for drainage.

Mini Blind Plant Labels

Put those old broken mini blinds to work in your garden. The white plastic kind make perfect plant tags because they can be easily cut and tend to withstand the weather well. Write plant names in permanent marker and use the tags for several years.

Newspaper Pots and Paper Compost

The junk mail never seems to stop coming. No matter how hard we try to avoid it, it just keeps arriving in the mailbox day after day. The amount of paper that ends up in the landfill is incredible despite the fact that many people are trying to go paperless. There are several things that can be done with all that paper including newspaper, envelopes, letters, bills etc.... Investing in a cheap paper shredder is one of the best moves any gardener can make. Just shred all that paper and put in it into your compost. Remove any plastic before you shred. Newspapers work well to suppress weeds and can be laid flat between vegetable rows or you can make newspaper pots for seedlings by folding a page in half and wrapping it around a plastic bottle. Use a small piece of tape to hold the recycled pot together. When it is time to plant, the entire pot goes into the ground.

Seed Savers

Collecting and storing seeds is made easy with the help of small containers and tins. Spice jars, pill containers and metal mint tins are perfect homes for next year’s seeds. Wash and dry all containers before using them.

Harvest Bags

When harvest time comes, use mesh vegetable and fruit bags to carry your harvested vegetables from the garden to the kitchen.