How to recycle items in your garden

FindaSkip love anything to do with recycling, today we are giving you some tips on how to recycle items in your garden.

It is fact that most gardeners tend to be hoarders. Even the tidiest gardens have a pile of bits and bobs chucked behind the garage or shed or at the back of the compost heap, because, well, you never know if they might come in handy!.Some of the most innovative ideas come from creative recycling in the garden and more appealing could possibly save you money and not have to spend out on the latest gardening ‘must-haves’.

Here is a list of some inspiring  ideas on how to recycle items in your garden:

Fizzy drink bottles – Use large fizzy drinks bottles as mini cloches! Cut the bottoms off the bottles, about a quarter of the way up and place them over small unestablished plants to protect them from hot or  warm weather days until they are well established. Unscrew the lid to prevent the plants from getting too hot and to provide ventilation.
Lollipop sticks – Lollipop sticks make great garden markers so dont forget to save them from your summer lollipops!.

Toilet roll middles – Any crops that require a deep rooting area, such as  peas, sweet peas, carrots etc, benefit from toilet roll holders thet you would usually throw out with your cardboard recycling! Simply fill them with compost and sow seeds into the top of the tube. When they’re ready to go outside, the tube can then be planted straight into the soil and it will decompose.
Old CD’s – Hang them from strings so that they catch the sun, it will then reflect off the disc and there you have a free bird scarer

Boiled water – Once you have cooked your vegetables, don’t just discard your boiling water down the drain, pour it onto weeds on the patio for example, boiling water can scald the toughest of weeds!

Old tyres – old tyres are great for filling with compost and making raised beds, the tyres can be painted to make them a bit more appealing, alternatively, make them into compost bins!.

Used compost – Don’t disguard old compost bags once you think you’re done with them, they can still be used for growing bulbs or even spreading on your garden as mulch.
Wellington boots – the families old wellies can make creative and fun planters. you can either fill the bottom with rocks or something heavy to keep the upright if the are going to be standing on a patio or screw the to the fence to make a boring garden fence pleasant to look at.

Plastic punnets – The clear plastic punnets that you buy strawberries and tomatoes in make perfect mini propagator lids when turned upside down. Most even have ventilation holes punched in them already! Also, put drainage holes in old takeaway containers to make seed trays.!

Pond silt and Aquarium water – If you have a fish tank indoors,then save your fish tank water whenever you clean them out and water your plants with it, the plants will love the nutrients that your fish have left behind! Pond silt is rich in nutrients too. It turns to black gold once composted  which makes a brilliant soil improver.

Plastic milk cartons -To  make a really handy a soil scoop, cut the bottom off a large plastic milk carton at a 45º angle (ensuring you keep the piece with the handle).

Wooden pallets – If you have any of these laying around, or even if you don’t you can get hold of them fairly easily, they make great shelf planters or garden shelves. They already have a great usable sturdy shape so get creative!

Old compost bags – Old compost bags are super strong and are an excellent alternative to using an orinary household rubbish bag if you need to transport dirt to the tip. . The can also be split open to be used to temporarily suppress weeds or use as a membrane if you are putting stones down on a raised flower bed, dont forget to make some drainage holes first. These strong bags can also be used as an alternative grow bag for plants or even potatoes!

Old carpet – Old carpet is particularly handy in the garden. You can cover compost heaps with carpet to keep the heat in over winter. A large piece of carpet can makes a handy mulch or weed suppressant if you lay it over your plot. Also, If you are building a pond in your garden you can line the bottom of the hole with carpet to protect the pond liner from being cut or split by stones in the soil.

Bubble wrap – Bubble wrap makes excellent insulation in greenhouse for the winter!

Finally….

A Find-a-Skip favourite is the ‘Skip Garden’ looks pretty but please don’t feel the need to create your very own garden in a skip! You’ll be most disappointed when the skips owners come to take it away!!!

Visit FindaSkip today for an affordable quote for skip hire.

Don’t forget to let us  know if you’ve used any of these ideas yourself to recycle items in your garden!