Recycled Items for Gardening Purposes

Dahlia

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Recycling for gardening and storage gets to be an addiction. Here are some of mine:
-Plastic bag (almost kitchen sized) around recent gift (a cooler) now stores gallon ziplock bags of cherries in my freezer
-cardboard box that shipped four 60 oz 8 o clock coffee now stores broth in the basement
-used up plastic tablecloths cover garden areas to suppress weeds
-metal flattish cigar tins hold jewelry sets in my armoire
-paper grocery sacks are used around plants like asparagus that don't like weeds
-cardboard in between planting rows to suppress weeds
-old leaky plastic garbage container w/wheels contains seasonal hoses (right now my 2 heated hoses are being stored in it
Got lots more...when I have time to write.
We reuse our ziplock bags and grocery bags. Also, we mostly walk or bike instead of driving. We reuse materials whenever possible! Scraps of materials are valuable.
 

ducks4you

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I have been saving paper grocery sacks for my 2023 gardening, mostly bc nobody prints newspapers anymore, so really, no more free newsprint.
I have to buy my paper sacks at ALDI, less than 10 cents/bag.
I can also use paper lawn and leaf bags.
First paper bag project will be my leek bed, 3' x 6' bc I don't wanna weed it.
It's pretty much weed free at the moment, but those pesky seeds could fly in on the wind, or be deposited by a bird.
Still, there is eNOUGH weeding to be done, and leeks needs a LOOOONNNNGGG growing season.
Just like cardboard, the paper will decompose and feed the garden bed.
 
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Branching Out

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My folks still get the newspaper delivered to their home, and I am having them save them for garden projects. I can't see print newspaper delivery continuing for much longer, especially given that hardly anyone subscribes to it. It will be a sad day if/when the newspaper disappears.
 

flowerbug

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It will. Until this move, we've always paid for a daily paper. I just read that the Medford OR paper went out of biz, even their on line version. Sooooo sad.....

the small local papers around here have largely been bought out and consolidated into one on-line site. i'm surprised nobody would buy them out but perhaps they were asking too high a price?

on-line is much cheaper to run and distribute so if you can get ahold of the advertiser's list then you have a chance of pulling it off.
 

Finnie

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I cancelled my newspaper subscription because I was tired of it being thrown on top of my flowers around my mailbox. Or else thrown in the middle of the muddy driveway for us (or delivery trucks) to try not to drive on.

And because the price kept going up, ridiculous jumps at a time. I really don’t see printed papers being able to compete with on line. By the time you get it, it’s yesterday’s news. But I miss the coupons, games and comics.
 

ducks4you

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Here's a hijack BUT, the technology exists to make paper from bamboo. We KNOW that bamboo grows just like they want timber to do, quick and not dense.
Shame that the print industry doesn't change over to a better product.
 

ducks4you

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I understand that most clear cutting occurs in timber for sale from countries OTHER than the USA, including Canada.
 

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