Modern Homesteading: Upcycling – Useful, Environmentally Conscious, Saves Money

Recycling is a big deal right now as we work to save the planet, save money, and reduce waste. By now, everyone knows what recycling is. But what is upcycling, you ask? Is it a new fad? No. Is it another environmental thing that we are now being told to do? Well, yes, and no. So what is it anyway?

Upcycling is using things that you might normally throw away for something else. You know, using glass baby-food jars for nuts, bolts, and screws in your workshop. Remember the jelly-jar drinking glasses at grandma’s house when we were little? How about Grandpa’s cigar boxes, used for storing other items once the cigars were gone? I remember my mom keeping all of the cottage cheese containers for storing food in the fridge or keeping used oil in the metal coffee cans because there was no place else to keep it (I actually still do this, though it’s hard to find the metal coffee cans to keep it in anymore).

Upcycling on the Farm

On our farm, we try to reuse things as much as we possibly can. Pickle jars are used for fermenting sauerkraut or reusing canning jars year after year, just buying new lids and rings. Here I am going to tell you about two bigger upcycles that you can do to help keep larger things from going to the landfill because you have no idea what else to do with them.

Wading Pool Garden Bed

So how many of you out there have kids—toddlers—that love their little wading pools? You know the pools. The reasonable stiff plastic ones that last a year, maybe two, unless someone steps on the side and cracks it. We had three of them under our barn that the ducks and dogs ruined because they loved them so much. So, there they are, living under our shed, with blue and pink stripes because they are stacked together to save space. Well, this year, as I am working to design the garden area near our house and trying to figure out what to do with the pumpkins that need to be planted, the “light bulb” idea went off. I had an idea.

I dragged the stack of broken wading pools out from under the shed and pulled them apart. Two were not cracked on the sides, just at the bottom. That’s perfect for what I’m going to use them for. After drilling holes in the button with a 2” wide drill bit so that the roots of the squash could pass through into the ground beneath, I filled the pool first with a 2” layer of homemade compost and then about 4” of garden soil. We are going to have very happy pumpkins and squash this year.

Now, with that being said, we had a little weather mishap about two weeks ago—a strong wind storm that literally picked up my greenhouse and dumped it on its side, making a big mess of all of my plant starts. So, I now have a wading pool full of what I hope are pumpkins (I am pretty sure I have those plants correct as they were older and larger) and Zucchini planted with their companion plants, I hope, of tomatoes and Marigolds. That is what you see in the picture above. Fingers crossed, we get some really nice pumpkins, massive zucchini, and some juicy red tomatoes out of the used wading pool under our shed.

Water-bottle Planter Watering System (Trickle and Drip)

How many plastic jugs do you send to the landfill each month? Milk jugs, juice bottles—so many bottles. Well, I have a use for them as long as they are BPA-free (you will want to check this information if using non-food plastic jugs). Here’s how you create a watering system that can also fertilize your plants without you having to work with them on a daily basis.

First, you will want to have plastic containers that will fit inside the pot you are planning to use it in. For example, a 20-ounce pop bottle would work well in a planter that is at least 8 inches or larger across. The wider the planter, the larger the bottle you can use. Use a hot soldering iron to melt holes into the sides of the plastic bottle. Remember, the more holes you put into the bottle, the faster the water will drain out. Add holes at varying spots around the bottle, starting at least an inch from the top down the sides to the bottom.

Place the bottle in the center of the pot, filling the pot with potting soil around the bottle until the planter pot is full to keep the soil out of the bottle. Plant your plants or seeds. To fertilize, add leftover vegetable trimmings to the bottle and then fill it with water. The vegetable pieces will help fertilize the plants as the water seeps into the soil. There you go—your own watering and fertilizing system with an upcycled plastic bottle.

Drip System Watering

You can also turn this into a drip system. Rather than putting holes all around the bottle, just poke the holes in the bottom. Have the bottle above your planer and allow the water to drip into the planter, watering in a continuous stream. Fill the bottle as needed.

Another watering system that is similar and uses glass bottles, as glass right now is not consistently being recycled, uses gravity as its watering force. Fill your bottle (wine bottles can look decorative) with water and push the open end down into the pot. Using gravity, it will slowly empty into the planter over the span of a few days, allowing it to slowly keep the soil moist. Yes, you can actually buy watering bulbs for this type of watering, but they are delicate and expensive. Why not use bottles, save money, and reduce waste? The bottles also hold quite a bit more water, as the bulbs are generally pretty small.

Wrapping it Up

Just a few quick notes as we close this week’s Modern Homesteading: for small pots and house plants, you can use plastic cups as watering containers. Use them the same way, poking holes and then filling them with compost fodder and water. Many things can be used as both planters and starter containers for your seed starts, including cut-up bottles and jugs. Again, watch for the material the plastic is made from, especially if you are planning to grow food in it.

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