Gardeners are concerned about the state of the environment. After all, gardeners are people who enjoy cultivating all things green, paying particular attention to the quality of the air, water and soil in their communities.
One of the ways in which vegetable gardeners can make an impact on the environment is by setting a good example for those around them by recycling and reusing items in the garden, saving objects intended for landfill by giving them a new purpose.
Bits and pieces such as rubber tires, plastic barrels, plastic water bottles and old pieces of furniture can all be reassigned a purpose in the vegetable garden, while creating an opportunity to discuss the importance of keeping non-biodegradable items from local landfill sites.
Rubber Tires in the Vegetable Garden
Some communities, such as Vancouver, are moving toward banning rubber tires from local landfill sites, which means it will become increasingly important to find new uses for them.
Rubber tires can be stacked in the corner of a yard and used as a compost bin.
Rubber tires can also be stacked and used as a potato planter. Stack two tires, fill with growing medium, and plant seed potatoes inside. As the potato plants grow, stack more tires above the plants and add more soil. When harvest time comes, tip over the stack and pick the potatoes out, instead of digging for them!
Plastic Barrels in the Vegetable Garden
Food grade barrels can be cleaned and adapted for use as rain barrels or rolling composters. Chad Pescod is the owner of Envirosponsible, a business that sells reclaimed building and industrial materials. Mr. Pescod recently told the Oshawa/Whitby This Week, “Thinking about the amount of waste going to the landfill, the amount of quality materials being thrown away, was keeping me up at night.” Gardeners who take advantage of the service he offers help to prevent this from taking place.
Using Old Furniture in the Vegetable Garden
An old wooden chair can gain a second life as a plant stand, sitting prettily on a deck or veranda, displaying a pot of basil or other herbs. A ladder with a broken rung or shaky leg can be reinforced and placed in the garden to serve as a support for climbing vines such as cucumbers or pole beans. Even an old metal bed spring could become a talking point in the vegetable garden, if climbing plants are encouraged to scramble up it.
Recycle Plastic Water Bottles in the Vegetable Garden
Plastic water bottles can create an extraordinary amount of waste, especially when they are not recycled properly. When the bottom is cut from a water bottle, it creates a protective cloche for young, tender vegetable seedlings, acting very much like a miniature greenhouse. Remove the lid to ensure evaporation can take place. A cloche will not only keep young plants warm in early spring, it will also protect it from hungry animals like rabbits and squirrels.
Old Lumber
Rather than throwing scraps of lumber away, use them to build a compost bin, raised bed, garden bench or potting table. Pallets and crates are excellent sources of scrap lumber, often already cut into appropriately sized pieces.
Odds and Ends
Coffee can planters can be made when these large aluminum cans are saved over the winter and painted to create colourful and interesting flower pots.
Broom sticks make excellent stakes for tomatoes and peppers when the old broom head is sawed off.
Bits of brick and other odds and ends can be artfully displayed along the edge of a vegetable garden bed, each piece adding to the interest and distinctiveness of the space.
Even old sinks and toilets left over from a renovation, once cleaned properly, make unique planters in the garden, and will no doubt generate a neighbourhood buzz!
One person’s trash can indeed become a gardener’s treasure!
Amy Urquhart - Amy Urquhart is an editor, freelance writer, wife, mother and gardener living in Bowmanville, Ontario. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts ...
