Greenhouses, raised beds, pots and polytunnels. It can all seem a bit pricey for the new gardener, especially if you’re trying to bring your food costs down. While they may look appealing on Instagram, and definitely have their benefits, it doesn’t have to be pretty, it just has to do the job! It makes you no less a grower because you’ve got a cabbage growing in a cracked old bucket, than Johnny Allotment with perfectly weeded wood chip walkways between his custom built raised beds.
We are all aware of the growing issues surrounding the use of plastic and recycling it efficiently. With so much plastic in our homes, it makes sense for the environment to reuse your unwanted plastic items, and could save you some money in the meantime. Let’s take a look at some of my favourite household items to reuse in the garden and my golden rule for saving money on your garden.
As most of these items are plastic, please be careful not to let any loose bits of plastic get mixed in with your soil, just pick them out and put them in the recycling.
Old food packaging
Whilst we are taking steps towards reducing the amount of food packaging we use, there are still an awful lot of products that come in plastic packaging. Plastic trays used for things like mushrooms or chicken thighs are great for seedling trays and can be reused again and again; just poke some holes in the bottoms for drainage and you’re good to go!
Juice bottles can be cut in half and put over new seedlings to protect them from the wind, slugs and snails. You can use both ends, so keep the lid.
Keep hold of takeaway boxes and old lunch boxes too, the little dip pots are great for storing seeds. The bigger boxes can be used for planting things like cress or microgreens on your windowsill. Make sure you keep the lids; you can place them underneath the boxes as drainage trays to keep your windowsill soil free!
Bags
Yes, bags. Do you have a cupboard bursting with bags for life, because even though you already own thousands of them, you always find yourself at the shop without one?* Give them a new purpose as planters! They are great for things like beetroot, carrots, parsnips and potatoes, as they are deep enough to give you some decent sized veg, and they are easy to label. Use the heavy duty bags for life and poke a few holes in the bottom to help with drainage (but not so many that the bottom falls out!). Line it with cardboard to give it a bit of structure and fill it with compost mix and get planting!
While we’re talking about bags, rice or potato sacks that are made from woven plastic or hessian also make perfect planters, or any large packaging similar to these at all. I even use my old dog food bags from tails.com for potatoes; I’ve used the same ones for about two years now and they are still holding strong!
*No judgement here, I am also guilty.
Broken Appliances
Important note: Please be careful when dismantling old tech or any other electrical appliance, it may still carry a charge, you can find lots of advice online about how to do this safely, BUT if you’re not sure, you’re not safe so please don’t attempt anything without seeking sound advice or getting some one experienced to help you.
My TV grows radishes. I’ve not lost my mind, I (actually, my partner) gutted our big, old-fashioned TV, leaving only the plastic casing behind. It’s deep enough to do root vegetables, but we decided to make it into a keyhole bed and use it for lettuce, beetroot leaves and radishes. The same can be achieved with those giant old computer monitors, the box part of old shredders, even fridges and chest freezers, please just take precaution and seek advice for dismantling the specific model.
Washing machines can have a number of uses in the garden when taken apart, but they are difficult to get into and dismantle. That being said, the shell can be used as a table or a planting bed, and you can use the drum as a fire pit or a big planter.
These options are definitely not the easiest, but if you have the time, the tools and the know-how, old appliances can be worth upcycling for the garden.
Bits and bobs
I’ve repurposed an old dinner trolley as an outside shelf for seedlings, grown peas in wooden CD racks (yes, I’m old), and even turned a broken clothes horse into frames for tomatoes and gherkins. If it can hold soil or hold something up, it’s fair game for the garden.
Broken drawers or laundry baskets can be used as planting beds, as can storage boxes that have seen better days. It’s best to line them with cardboard to stop soil falling out any cracks or holes, and as with everything, make sure excess water can drain easily.
Keep hold of your holey old tights, cut them to the size and put them over vegetables like tomatoes, squashes or cucumbers, and tie a knot in both ends to secure. This will help prevent them from being nibbled by pests before you get to them.
Plastic coated wire food ties, like the ones that come on bread, can be kept and used to secure the stems of plants to bamboos or frames as they grow, instead of buying plant clips or garden wire. Start looking at things from the angle of ‘What can I use this for before I throw it away?’. Your family might start to think you are a hoarder, but they won’t be complaining when they’re eating all the goodies from your garden.
And so to my golden rule for saving money in your vegetable garden: before you buy anything new, have a good look around the house and see what you already have that could be repurposed. The solution might be right under your nose, waiting to save you time and money! See how inventive you can get, there are no doubt countless more household items that I haven’t seen the potential in yet, so let me know what you’ve upcycled in the comments below!