| One of the pleasurable spin-offs in organic | | | | excellent for storing seeds, beans and peas for |
| gardening is finding alternative ways of coming up | | | | planting next year. (Safe from mice as well) After |
| with the same, if not better, end result..... | | | | washing the jars, dry in the oven to remove all |
| Household throwaways can be valuable to the | | | | traces of moisture before storing your seeds. |
| alternate enthusiast. Here are ten recyclable ideas | | | | Collect dark glass jars, or wrap paper round clear |
| to make gardening a little less hard on the pocket! | | | | jars to prevent seeds being damaged by light. |
| 1. Hedge clippings: Instead of burning or direct | | | | 7. Ice Lolly sticks: Make perfect row markers in |
| composting, beg, borrow or even buy, if the | | | | your seed trays or greenhouse beds. The |
| quantity justifies the price, an electric garden | | | | wooden ones won't last for ever but you can at |
| muncher. Branches up to an inch in diameter are | | | | least write on them with pen, pencil or crayons! |
| posted into a slot and the machine munches them | | | | 8. Wire coat hangers: Make mini-cloches with |
| up into small chips. Spread these chips thickly | | | | discarded or broken wire coat hangers. Pull into a |
| around shrubs or fruit trees to help keep | | | | square shape. Place the hook in the soil and push |
| moisture in, and control the temperature of the | | | | down gently until the natural bend in the wire |
| soil. | | | | rests on top of the soil. Place another a short |
| 2. Food Waste: All food waste must be | | | | distance away in your seed bed to create two |
| composted. Composting is becoming quite an art | | | | ends of a cloche. Now throw over a sheet of |
| form, and special composting bins can be bought, | | | | plastic and hold down with logs or stones. Note: |
| or very simply made. There are many different | | | | this will work only when creating very small |
| theories and each gardener will find his or her | | | | cloches. |
| preferred way. Keeping the compost fairly warm | | | | 9. Clear plastic: Keep any clear plastic containers |
| is the overall key to a good result. Or, if you're in | | | | that could be placed upside down over a plant. |
| no hurry, simply keep adding to a heap, and dig | | | | Cut a mineral water bottle in half to make two |
| out the bottom when required. Sieve before using | | | | handy individual cloches. Large sheets of clear |
| and the compost will be ready for planting small | | | | plastic from packaged household items are fine |
| plants and even seeds. | | | | for throwing over mini coat hanger cloches. |
| 3. Old carpets, large damaged cardboard boxes: | | | | 10. Aluminium bottle tops: Keep aluminium tops |
| and similar materials can be laid over the | | | | from milk or juice bottles, and also coloured foil |
| vegetable plot in autumn to help prevent those | | | | around beer or wine bottles. Thread together to |
| early spring weeds appearing. Spread over a | | | | make a bird scarer. Simply thread with thick |
| whole patch and weigh down with stones or logs. | | | | cotton and hang on your fruit bushes before the |
| Lift off on a sunny day in early spring a few days | | | | birds find the new fruits. |
| before digging. | | | | Look out for other tools for the garden from |
| 4. Paint trays: Keep old roller painting trays and | | | | kitchen throwaways such as:old kitchen spoons |
| similar containers for seed trays. Punch a few | | | | and forks for transplanting tiny plants in the |
| holes in the bottom for drainage. Add a little fine | | | | greenhouse. |
| gravel before filling with seed compost. Seed | | | | Leaky buckets for harvesting small quantities of |
| trays shouldn't be deeper than 15cm. | | | | potatoes, carrots etc;light wooden boxes for |
| 5. Yoghurt pots: All plastic yoghurt or dessert pots | | | | harvesting salads through the summer, and |
| can be washed and saved for re-potting seedlings. | | | | transporting pots etc; |
| Make a hole in the bottom of each and add a little | | | | Keep an eye on that rubbish bag and turn today's |
| fine gravel before filling with compost or soil.. | | | | throwaways into tomorrow's tools! |
| 6. Glass jars: Glass jars with sealable lids are | | | | |