The Dairy Aisle

Hi all! For me, the only thing better than recycling and gardening, is recycling in the garden. I've stated many ways in previous posts how this can be done, but this post is a special highlight of a certain section in the grocery store. The Dairy Aisle. It's not just for making strong bones or breakfast anymore! 

When incorporating recycling into your garden, look no further than the dairy aisle. It is chock full of great items you can reuse.

My Projects:

1.   Drain contents from an egg through a small pinhole, carefully rinse, and allow to dry. Now use for decorations. They can be painted, speckled, and more!

2.   Cut a milk jug into a scoop. Use your new scoop for potting soil, feed, etc.

3.   Compost your spent egg shells. They are great for putting calcium into the soil.

4.   Use empty egg cartons for starting seeds. 

5.   Using a large gauge needle heated by a flame (don't burn yourself) carefully poke holes into a milk jug lid. Now you have a watering can!

Projects to Try:

1.   Use broken egg shells to start seeds in.

2.   Cut a milk jug not quite completely in half, fill with soil, and use as a mini greenhouse.

3.   Cut the bottom off of a jug and use as a cloche to keep your seedlings and transplants protected from the elements.

Be creative! What have you tried? 

Thanks for reading!

Growing in Small Spaces and Containers

Hi all! Spring is winding up and winter is winding down. Since writing this blog and charting my own personal experiences, I've begun to wonder about the gardens of my readers. Some may be like my own, but for many others space may be limited. Some may only have the desire to plant a few things instead of a huge garden. At any rate,  this blog post is for you.

Just wanted to share these pretty little flowers I found in our yard. They're only about 2 inches tall! So cute!

The key to successful gardening, especially in a small area, is to maximize and utilize what you do have. Below you can find what I've come up with after scouring the world wide web in search for answers.

Get vertical! This is really great for using that space.  You plant vertically instead of horizontally.  It may sound a little challenging, but it's not too bad. This feat can be accomplished a number of ways including using pallets, gutters, and raised tiers to name a few. Trellising is the most common way to accomplish this.

Source: Easy Homesteading

Use Containers. Don't limit yourself to traditional gardening methods. You can plant many things successfully in a container. Lettuces, herbs, greens, peppers, and dwarf vaieties of plants are just some of the things out there to grow. Your container can be anything. You can use butter bowls, buckets, coffee cans, etc. Just be sure there are some drainage holes poked into the bottom.

Dwarf Tophat Blueberry-perfect for containers. Only gets 1 1/2 ft tall!

Think Outside the Box. Plants can be grown in a variety of ways. Plants want to grow, and if given the proper care, they will! I've seen tomatoes and strawberries grow upside down in hanging pots. I've seen potatoes grown in a leaf bag.

Reuse and Recycle.  Before you throw something away think about it's potential for your garden. Your water bottle could be used as a mini-greenhouse. That milk jug could be modified as a gentle watering can. The parmesan cheese container can be filled with naural bug killers/deterents to sprinkle on. 

Have fun! Most of all, enjoy yourself. That's what it's all about. Don't get bogged down in the details. Just grow!

Thanks for reading!

"You're using that for what??"

I love upcycling. You ever seen that person with a tire flowerbed or a bracelet made from magazines.  Yup, that's me! While I'm not admittedly too creative with my ideas (that's why I love pinterest) I love the idea of making trash into treasure. This year I'll be trying to incorporate this with my gardening.  How the heck to do this, you may ask. Well, the beautiful world wide web is abundant with ideas, I will answer.  Let me tell you, I'm excited!

So here are some great ideas!

* Make newspaper or toilet paper roll pots. Check out my how to here

* Turn milk jugs, 2 liters, and juice jugs into cloches. My friend Mary has a very informative blog post on this very thing. It's really great and I highly recommend it. Check it out here Homegrown on the Hill

Photo courtesy of nwfoodandfarm.com

* I'm using an old (clean) litter box and disposable cake pans to put my pots in for starting seeds.

* Use cardboard and newspaper for lasagna bed gardening

* You can also use milk jugs to put bigger plants in

Upcycling is really fun and it's wonderful to do.  You can minimize your impact on the earth and maximize your gardening potential at the same time!

What have you upcycled? Got ideas?  I'd love to hear your own experinces and ideas.


Thanks for reading!