Green Gardening- Making use of Recyclables
Take a good look at this planter- it’s an old chair, rescued from the trash, it’s upholstery removed and replaced with chicken wire, a coir insert, and a terrific combination of bloomers!One of the easiest ways to get started on living a greener life is by creating a compost pile in a backyard area from grass clippings and dry leaves produced from past seasons. Compost piles benefit your garden by providing an organic fertilizer filled with an abundance of minerals and nutrients that will nourish your organic garden and allow you to recycle waste from your kitchen. Used coffee grounds and tea leaves can be added to your damp mulch pile and are the perfect addition to plants that thrive off of acid-based fertilizers. Adding sheets or shreds of old newspaper around your plants will help with weed control as this material decomposes and becomes part of your nutritious garden soil.
If you’re looking to get your garden growing, there are a number of materials that are normally thrown out in the trash but can actually be used to house seedlings for a young garden that is just starting out. Plastic yogurt containers as well as milk and egg cartons provide a great space for transplanting new seeds and plants while you’re getting your soil ready. If your garden is well underway and you’re looking for a way to use recycled materials, try tying old pantyhose or T-shirt strips around metal or wood gardening posts to keep your tomato plants upright and growing strong. Also, add a charming aesthetic by building a small walkway with reused pieces of concrete or stone leading to or through your beautiful garden.
Ellen, we have good luck; planting seeds in toilet paper tubes, standing the tubes in an old cake pan, on a heating pad, with a gro-light- then planting tube and all (protects against cut-worms).
Your little gardens are beautiful.
Paula (from MP)