Page 33 - Simply Vegetables Winter 2021/22

Saved From the Skip
Recycling is an activity which is at the very heart of gardening, even if it’s only putting grass cuttings on the compost heap. Gardeners by their nature are inventors and innovators. Even photographs from 100 years ago of allotments and gardens have recognisable early examples of recycling with homemade scarecrows, branches and other items used to delineate plots, support and protect plants.
Reduce, Reuse and Recycle is a slogan which frequently features nowadays in print media, television and the internet. It’s not a new phrase it first appeared as far
back as 1970 in connection with the environmental consciousness Earth Day event in the United States organised by a Senator Nelson from Wisconsin.
At around the same time this was going on American engineer Nathaniel Wyeth (1911- 1990) was working on a plastic bottle capable of withstanding the pressure of
carbonated liquids. He patented polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles in 1973, they were a much cheaper alternative to glass bottles and they didn’t break. Up to this point soft drinks had been only sold in glass bottles up to
26 fl. oz (0.78 L) in size. In 1979 the big international soft drinks companies began selling in 2 litre bottles. Water in plastic bottles sold from vending machines
in airports as an alternative to drinking fountains caught on and by the mid-1990s water in plastic bottles were a common part of the weekly supermarket trolley. Bottled water requires up to 2,000 times the energy used to produce tap water.
The disposal and recycling of empty plastic bottles is a massive environmental problem, but with a bit of ingenuity a few of them could get a new lease of life down on
the garden plot as cloches, water sprinklers or other uses depending on the ingenuity of the plot holder.
The building industry provides
a rich source of materials
for the garden or allotment recycler. Stricter health and
safety regulations mean builders scaffolding planks to be discarded more quickly and these are handy for raised beds, people upgrading their windows provide plenty of material for cold frames. In my own garden this year I used a short leftover piece of plastic guttering by filling it with soil and starting off early peas indoors then easily transplanting outdoors later.
Items which have finished their original use can get a new lease of
life down on the vegetable plot, just look at them again and think what they could be reincarnated as a bird scarer, item to protect plants, item used to support plants, weed suppressant, cold frames, border fence. If they don’t work out, it’s not much of a loss as they were only rubbish to begin with. We might
be able to run a Saved from the Skip feature in every issue if people send in their ideas.
The above photo looks a bit like the Stig from Top Gear when he retires and takes up gardening! Michael Gordon, FNVS
I would be very keen on receiving ideas on recycling or reusing materials or items in the garden, we all need to do more of this if we are to do our part in reducing the effects of climate change. If you have any ideas please send them as a short letter or even an article and a photo if you have one – Ed
To start off I will include some of mine below:
Using old meat trays from the supermarkets for half seed trays, yogurt containers for plant pots, drinks bottles for watering devices, margarine tubs for microgreens (such as mustard and cress).
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• Improve soil condition with minerals & trace elements • Boost soil’s natural capacity to capture & store carbon
• Encourage beneficial soil-living organisms
• Grow healthier plants, vegetables & lawns
“Autumn is ideal season to add REMIN!”
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