Making Planters from Plastic Trash Cans

When the city converted to robot trash and recycle pick-up, I had five extra 32 gallon Rubbermaid trash cans. I have limited space for gardening, so I cut the bottom half of the trash cans off, drilled three holes (about 3/4 inch) on the bottom of the sides for drainage. I am now growing veggies in the large containers I created.

Now I have five top halves left over. Two of them I have started two compost piles (with lids) at the back of my yard. I turn the compost by simply picking up the plastic trash can upper, setting it down next to the pile, and forking the compost into it. I can turn the pile regularly with ease.

If you want to dress them up, you or your artistic kids (or grand-kids) can use some of that new Krylon spray paint that sticks to plastic. Perhaps camouflage them to blend in with the background. Use your imagination.

By Cebtoo from San Antonio, TX

via Making Planters from Plastic Trash Cans.

How to Remove Winter Salt Stains – iVillage

 

 

Take Preventative Measures

“The first line of defense: you have to keep your leather items well waxed, basically waterproofing them,” says Jeff C. May, coauthor of Jeff May’s Healthy Home Tips. For shoes and outer garments, use beeswax, mink oil or the appropriate shielding agent before you hit the streets. For your home, try Scotchguard Upholstery Protector. To test your waterproofing job, put a drop of water on the material (it should bead up like it would on wax paper). Be sure to cover the entire surface of the material, particularly the point where your shoe or jacket will first contact the snow.

via How to Remove Winter Salt Stains – iVillage.

Become self-sufficient in firewood – Telegraph

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    Many of us with largish gardens are already using them for a supply of kindling and firewood for open fires and wood burners. But most gardeners could do a lot more to practise self-sufficiency in home-grown wood. With … Continue reading →

10 Ways to Green Your Home | LiveScience

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    You may not know it, but households across the globe are infested with vampires. Energy vampires, that is. Cleverly disguised as innocuous household appliances (psst, your television is one of them), their nasty pointed teeth plunge deep into … Continue reading →

Nature Activities – Everyday Environmentalist: Raise Your Own Chickens

 

 

Chickens don’t require much room to thrive. I have a postage stamp of a backyard, and that’s plenty of space for my two hens.

I use an old dog house for a coop (where the birds sleep at night), and let the chickens out in my fenced yard during the day. Most chickens don’t fly much, so they never leave the yard. But you might need additional fencing to protect chickens from the dogs and raccoons that will be tempted to prey on them.

Watching the chickens’ interactions and behavior is very entertaining — curious children in my urban neighborhood often drop by my backyard “farm.”

Trading Earwigs for Eggs

Chickens are easy to care for, too. Their principal diet consists of the pests and weeds in my yard. I provide fresh water and feed to supplement their backyard pickings.

Since getting my two chickens, I’ve seen reductions in slugs, snails and earwigs — not to mention dandelions and other weedy plants. I compost the chicken droppings into excellent fertilizer for my garden.

Each hen lays an egg every day-and-a-half. The eggs that my chickens lay are delicious, with bright yolks and strong shells — and they don’t require factory farming, packaging or long-distance trucking.

Raising your own hens lowers your carbon footprint and your slug population — and it’s a whole lot of fun!

via Nature Activities – Everyday Environmentalist: Raise Your Own Chickens.