10 Ways to Reuse and Recycle Materials in the Garden

• Shelley Stonebrook

A major goal of gardening sustainably is to cut off the waste stream, and one great way to do that is to reuse and recycle materials that others may see as trash. Here are a few first-hand ideas shared by gardeners.

1. I use an old plastic mesh bag to round up leftover slivers of soap. I rubber-band the bag so it’s tight and hang it next to the hose. The combo of the slightly abrasive bag and the soap scrubs off garden dirt.

2. I made row covers out of tomato cages, old rebar I got free, and used blankets I got at the local thrift store.

3. Instead of purchasing expensive weed-blocking landscape cloth, I use free old tarps from my local lumber store that they used to cover wood during shipping.

4. I gather pieces of concrete to use as stepping stones in my garden.

5. I recycle drink cups to grow tomatoes from seed. When they’re ready to transplant, I simply remove the bottom inch or so of each cup and plant directly in the ground. This prevents cutworms from making a meal of my transplants.

6. I was given some heavy-duty metal “for sale” sign frames, and I placed them in my raised beds to support bed covers in early spring.

7. Old pantyhose are my friends: They make garden ties, and I use them to “bag” cantaloupes growing on trellises so the melons have extra support.

8. I make all my garden fencing with scrap wood and build my veggie trellises and arbors with fallen branches and saplings.

9. My plant tags are twigs with a shaved-off area to write on.

10. For a cold frame in late winter, we prop old windows against straw bales. When I know we’re in danger of a frost, I take old bean poles and jab them into the ends of my beds, throw old sheets over them, use stones or bricks to hold down the edges, and voilà! I have a makeshift tent in my garden.