Two Good Ideas

A couple of good ideas I’d like to share with you. Hey, it’s better than moaning about rain and slugs.. or drought and slugs …

Recycling Pots

If we go back in gardening time, one of the biggest differences we’d notice would be with the pots. All would be clay pots, perhaps made in Stoke-on-Trent rather than some province of China.

They were heavy, tended to dry out as the water evaporated through the sides, cracked and broke easily and were actually quite expensive. But they did have charm! Now we have plastic pots, churned out for pennies by the millions. They’re tougher, longer lasting, hold water better and even come in a square shape to use less space on the potting bench.

So what’s the problem? you may ask. Well it’s the cheapness and sheer number of these pots. Every day thousands are just thrown away and dumped in landfill. They’re that cheap, people don’t care.

So along come two enterprising chaps in Gloucestershire, Andrew & Terry, and they see this waste and decide to do something about it. They collect the pots from council recycling centres etc., sort them, clean them up and sterilise them and sell them on. Good as new, but cheaper. Take a look at their web site for more information Re-potted

Recycling Kitchen Waste

The next good idea is about composting. Composting green waste is usual (I hope!) but composting food waste has problems. Throwing cooked food waste into a normal compost bin will result in attracting vermin, flies and unpleasant smells.

In large part this is due to normal composting be slow and cool rather than fast and hot. Here’s a compost bin that keeps the contents hot, which promotes fast conversion from smelly waste to rich garden compost.

The Hotbin is available from Harrod Horticulture. I’ll let you know how I get on with it.