The Great 'Re-use from the house into the garden' Hunt

full-time-mum

yram_slim wrote:

Does anyone have any ideas for watering greenhouses whilst away on holiday and no neighbours available to help?

Depends on how long you are away for and how hot it is likely to be but for a short break, I put all the pots on capillary matting, fill an old washing up bowl with water and hope that it doesn't run out. Cover the bowl with an old tray or a block of wood to reduce evaporation.

You can buy automated systems but they aren't cheap although, if you holiday a lot, it might be worth the investment.

full-time-mum

Wiggly_Worm wrote:

Washing machine drum into brazier: Um, you just take it out and it's a brazier! Very simple - you'll see. We couldn't get the back off ours (the frame bit that holds it onto the back of the machine), so our brazier is on a stand Looks very posh :rotfl:

Sorry to be a bit dense, but what is a brazier?

My washing machine is on its last legs so will have a drum shortly.]

Gardeners world mag used a drum as a hanging basket. They hung it from chains and planted it up. Will post a picture if I can find said mag.

penny.wright

Use old plastic cereal box and half fill with bran or porridge oats, then pour in some slug pellets and shake to mix. Make sure this is labelled as SLUG PELLETS and kept away from children.

Sprinkle mixture around vulnerable plants - the bran or oats attract the slugs so they don't get to your plant. You can have fun on damp evenings picking up any active slugs and putting them into an old jam jar with some salt in it.

Caroline2CV

yram_slim wrote:

Does anyone have any ideas for watering greenhouses whilst away on holiday and no neighbours available to help?

Look at the link http://www.ferndale-lodge.co.uk/pl_Watering_Systems.htm
and see if there is anything you can re-cycle from indoors or try http://www.freecycle.org/

Caroline2CV

Some other household items to recycle & put plants into

1. Wooden toolboxes) Need to waterproof them 1st? or Paint them to match
2. Pigeonhole rack ) the dominant colour of flower in them?
3. Colourful tins from your local deli (may take a while to collect a set)
4. Metal shopping baskets
5. Milk cartons - those with letter O (organic) can add an extra graphic feature
6. Teapots or Watering Cans
7. Ceramic Jelly/pudding moulds

Check any skips outside buildings being renovated

• Concrete or brieze blocks that have hollows
• Chimney pots
• Terracotta wine storage sleeves
• A partitioned shelf from an old shop

Remember to add a mulch ONLY when the compost is already moist

Shredded bark (if homemade from green wood then leave it for 18 months before using)
1. Pebbles
2. Pine Cones
3. Sea shells
4. Glass chippings
5. Marbles

exlibris

keith234 wrote:

great stuff all round but I have an old fridge freezer which I intend to take to the local dump....any one got any ideas of anything I could use it for instead?

Hope this isn't too late Keith.

We had an old freezer for ages in the garage which OH used for his tools and other "vital pieces of equipment" The baskets could be taken to the job with all the tools together. He didn't loose as many either!

This worked well until one Christmas when I asked him to put the frozen turkey in the garage to defrost. Yes you've guessed it - he put in in the freezer and it was still solid 4 days later. We had Christmas dinner for New Year that year!

Georgiabay

Sagar_Fuzz wrote:

Dry out your used coffee grounds and use them as fertiliser - they are a good source of nitrogen. Acid loving plants particularly like this, such as blueberries.

You can also use crushed eggshells to add calcium if you need it.

This saves you on expensive fertiliser, and works REALLY well!

You can get free coffee grounds from Starbucks -they generally have them bagged up on the counter for anyone to take.

I find used teabags are handy for putting in the bottom of plantpots; stops the compost washing out and maybe gives the plants some food.

margaretfeb

Iv'e read most of these money-saving tips, but I just couldn't believe that anyone would cut off their "name and address labels" and save them as
Kate682 does. How tight is that?

margaretfeb

caliston wrote:

When we had a new kitchen fitted, we moved the old one into the garage. Lots of cupboards and drawers for storing plant pots, tools, odd bits and pieces. We plumbed in the sink too, so there's water for washing and watering.

You should have sold it, we did and got £300 for ours.

lotstolearn

I've used old and damaged terracotta roof slates to make paths. I just loosened the soil a little laid them on top and stood on them to settle them in. Occasionally they crack and move with the soil but they look good and I always keep dry feet when going down the garden (so do the cats if they keep to the path). They have been in use now nearly 20 years, 12 years at my last house and then easily picked up (buyer of house informed when viewing!) and brought with me to my new home which had just a mud patch when I moved in and a path within a very short time. As they settle into the soil they are flat with the surrounding land and there have been no 'tripping' or 'slipping' problems. They were also free and, for a weakling, easy to lay.