Recycled Items for Gardening Purposes

[ducks4you]

WhatEVER it is, if we can recycle it to grow things...
WE
WILL!!!

 

[Phaedra]

Today, we took out one freezer (that was here for decades) and called the electric device collecting service. However, the drawers are still very robust. Have you ever recycle those drawers as planters or mini cold frames?

As these drawers didn't have any holes for drainage (they should not have), I might use them for pre-sprout some bulbs/tuners under cover, so I can personally manage the watering. Considering that they served all their life in a freezer, they should be "Frost-resistant" planters.

 

[ducks4you]

Finally, a great article to puts into words what I have suspected for a long time.

Digging In: Food’s Big, Plastic Problem - Modern Farmer

“Does anyone realize we’re headed toward plastic armageddon?” That’s how Bradley Aiken of Portland, OR began his response to our call for reader questions

modernfarmer.com

 

[digitS']

Mr. McGuire: I just want to say one word to you. Just one word.
Benjamin: Yes, sir.
Mr. McGuire: Are you listening?
Benjamin: Yes, I am.
Mr. McGuire: Plastics.
Benjamin: Exactly how do you mean?
Mr. McGuire: There's a great future in plastics. Think about it. Will you think about it?
"The Graduate"

Your article is about food and it isn't surprising that polyester isn't mentioned. I recently read this : "...how plastic seduced America."

Mrs Robinson, Benjamin?

It seems odd that fabrics are hardly mentioned and the word polyester, not at all.

 

[SPedigrees]

After the sixth extinction takes us down, we will become the plastic layer in the archaeological crust.

Good point about polyester. I'm not happy about the fact that a mix of polyester and cotton is my preferred fabric for clothing. Cotton shrinks and wool makes me itch to death, but my chosen solution has been adding to the plastic layer for decades. I bag my groceries in reusable bags, but that is a drop in the bucket since virtually everything I buy online arrives wrapped in plastic armor that requires heavy tools to remove.

Lots of things used to be made of metal and could be again, a substance that is more recyclable than plastic, but no one is interested in reviving the steel industry.

I think we are doomed, and I am complicit. At least I use almost nothing made of plastic in gardening. My tools and fences are steel, and garden decorations and containers mostly metal, wood, and glass.

 

[ducks4you]

True.

 

[akroberts]

I have little tins that my inhaler came in and plan on putting some drain holes in them and using them for seed starting. I took many plastic containers for planting seeds and I decided I have too many coffee mugs so I am going to buy some fence stuff that will secure them to the fence and then I can put some plants in them as well. Most of my mugs are Christmas themed but they will at least add nice little touch of joy when sitting around the fire pit.

 

[akroberts]

I'm also saving some small cans from the store for planting seeds. I'm trying to do more recycling and repurposing stuff that I have always seen as useful but haven't ever thought enough about it to do it.

 

[Phaedra]

This year, I am doing so as an insulation layer for the chicken coops and hoop tunnels. As they are not under direct sunlight, I believe it can be useful instead of going to the landfill somewhere. I am also a bit pessimistic about the future, there are really endless plastic packaging materials.

Well, we still can do whatever we can do.

 

[ducks4you]

I have been trying to buy powdered, in cardboard packaging, ALL Free and Clear (no fragrance) detergent. Last time I had to buy liquid. When I find it again, I will stock up and store.
I think that the more we talk about these things, the more people pay attention.
I believe that even a little bit makes a difference.
I DIDN'T post the story to guilt trip ANYBODY here!!
ALL of us make a effort to garden in a pro environmental manner, as much as possible.
I am 66yo and I REMEMBER when the "Indian" littering ad came out. Americans used to toss trash out of the windows of their cars. I Still will toss an apple core out my window when I am driving through the country, but I know that some critter will eat it, but there was trash everywhere on our roads and streets.
The ad I mention made a BIG difference in awareness.
THAT's what WE will do, make a big difference in awareness.
There is SOMETHING you can do, instead of nothing I do makes a difference.
Glass 1/2 full, so to speak.