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

HappySad

Tin cans - remove paper around it, paint with letters or numbers or colours... also remember to sand edge for safety. Then stack or line up. Then get a sock filled with out of date dried beans/rice.. tie the sock at one end. Now you have a throwing game for your children.
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Tin cans - remove paper around it. Sand edge for safety. Now use as pen and stationarey holder.. it will match with your silver,stainless steel lamp or office equipment like in my office.

For dog owners who are toilet training or for toilet training toddlres.. line your room with layers of newpaper and when there is an accident just put the weeed on paper in the compost bin.

Get more out your magazines. Each friend buys one magazine and then they all passes them around.

Reuse your clothes. Have a free reuse and swap party with your girl friends where you bring your clothes that you are no longer interested in and swap them. Our family does this all the time.

Obvious one print of both sides of paper or use other side as scrap paper.

toy swappimg party.

HappySad

Decorate my son's new bedroom. -

green rug - friend living room. will bleach it to make it cream
blue lamp - friend (no longer needed)
blue check curtain - kept in loft and not thrown away because I new I would need it.
Toys - toys from junk - bean bags (beans+sock), tin cans painted, plastic milk bottle + beans as shaker.
Under bed storage - Sainsbury stonge veg boxes
Blue quilt cover - I'll make it from material once used to cover the sofa. Plus use scrap material to make picture/logo on the quilt cover.

Want to make a playground in garden all out of junk for son.. ideas so far are tyres-swing, cans, stuff from building sights, sea-saw from used wood,

brindles01

Don't forget to keep all those fiddly wire ties that childrens toys seem to be knotted up with in the box. They make ideal ties for plants etc.

Jayar

Leaky old wellie boots make great planters: paint them or just leave them green

Cut supermarket carrier bags into strips and tie to string strung across a new lawn to keep the birds off

Keep empty vitamin pill or baby food jars to store seeds from one year to the next

ShirleyPark_2

kempie666 wrote:

Chocolate muffins .. eat the muffins, save the box ... fill with compost, add seeds and spray with water. Close the lid - it's a perfect propogator to sit on the kitchen windowsill. Mine is currently helping some lavender seeds to germinate, whilst alongside, the leeks are coming along nicely in an old croisant box!

Best thing about these two as well? The food was a gift for the office from a departing colleague, so free food and then free growing containers as well!:T :j

Now if ever there was a good reason to buy muffins I need some propogators and I like this idea much better.

tozza

I know many people use digital these days but the old 35mm film canisters are still used at Spital Towers here on the Wirral for popping over the end of canes - could stop you putting your eye out ; storing seeds ; small screws nuts and bolts in the garage .My daughter and her partner have planted a small display of plants in the frame of an old wooden spindle back kitchen chair and even an old leaky watering can will do as a planted feature .

nodwah

Deb_Williams wrote:

I drink a prio-biotic each day. The little bottles are ideal for the tops of pea-canes etc - saves taking someone's eye out!

:T :T :T

Not gardening but these make great turrets on a home made castle: stick them on then cover with newspaper + PVA and paint how's that Blue Peter?

I'm also saving ice lolly sticks as plant labels (good for portcullises too)

sal

I have used a lot of the ideas on this thread already in my garden but the washing machine recycling takes my breath away...because I have one sitting outside my back door right now! I also have a pile of broken fence waiting to be taken to the tip at the same time, when we can be bothered to find a trailer.

Tomorrow I'm taking a hammer to the washer and gonna have myself some fun.

I also use water/pop bottles cut in half over baby lettuces, whole bottles pierced with a couple of pin pricks in the base, buried up to their necks by veg plants that need lots of water, just fill up through the bottle top and let the water soak through slowly.

Net curtains to keep cabbage whites away.

Beer cans on top of canes - don't look pretty but they rattle and make a noise to keep birds away - and saves carrying them back to the house after a post-digging session.

Anything tall and straightish poked into the ground to grow plants up, used ends of curtain poles, kitchen implements etc.

Rubber gloves - as soon as they spring a leak they are relegated to the shed.

Toilet roll and kitchen roll middles - plant sweetcorn in them before planting out to save on root disturbance.

Odd saucers, frying pans etc as bases under plant pots.

Old knives, forks and spoons are useful when pricking out seedlings and other fiddly stuff.

Polystyrene as a drainage layer in pots is a great way to reduce the weight of containers.

Worms left over from an angling session thrown into the compost bin will speed things up quite a bit.

Wooden or plastic knives and spoons from take-aways are interesting plant labels.

I love this thread.

Sal

Caroline2CV

Cardboard Egg Boxes

1. Use these for 'chitting' seed potatoes
2. Add to compost bin (provides air pockets for bacteria to work)

Cardboard Paper Towel tubes ideal for long rooting plants
eg Sweet Peas/Runner Beans

Old Tights Great for clean plastic plant pots (all same size) - cut off the toes & pull out 1 or ?? you need

500gram containers with lids (prev held rice) For Kitchen waste to be temporarily stored/taken to compost bin

Caroline2CV

6 pint milk cartons
1. Cut off the base (allow a bit of height) and place in soil under any plants that likes its roots to 'paddle' in water eg flag irises/houtinnia
2. Use the upper part as cloches
3. Piece a few holes in the base and plant milk carton (leave neck showing so you can fill it up) near the plant that needs a good/gradual watering
4. Cut up the sides into strips that will fit across your seed trays. Then you can sow (a) a variety of seeds in the same tray and (b) share your excess seeds with others