How to Craft Melon Protectors From Plastic Milk Jugs

Protect the environment while you protect your melons by reusing plastic milk jugs. Crafting melon protectors from used milk jugs is an easy project that is economical and environmentally friendly. It can even be a fun task to involve the children with as they work the family melon patch. Milk jugs never degrade in landfills so the more we reuse them the better off our planet will be. Plastic milk jugs are versatile and easy to work with. Creating melon protectors from them takes only a few minutes per jug and can keep your melons from being stolen by raccoons and other animals.

Things You'll Need

• Gallon plastic milk jug
• Utility scissors
• Wire clothes hanger
• Wire cutters
• Permanent marker

Instructions

Make the Milk Jug Protector

1. Remove the lid from the plastic milk jug. Wash the gallon milk jug out completely.

2. Cut the bottom out of the milk jug using the utility scissors. Cut below the curve of the bottom for a neater appearance in the melon patch.

3. Mark a 1/2 inch area to notch in one of the jug's corners. A triangle shape or semicircle shape will be fine.

4. Cut the notch mark out with the utility scissors.

5. Rewash the jug, to make certain it is free of dried milk and bacteria. You have better access to scrub the jug now that the bottom is out. Do not use chemical cleaners on the jugs because the residue can harm your melons.

6. Place the jug over the melon you wish to protect from animals. Be careful to place the notched area over the stem of the melon plant. This prevents your stem from being cut with the flat edge of the jug.

7. Untwist the wire clothes hanger. Straighten the hanger. Cut about 12 inches from the hanger. Reshape the 12 inch hanger wire by bending it in half.

8. Place one end of the wire clothes hanger through the handle of the milk jug until the bend of the hanger is inside the loop of the handle.

9. Insert both ends of the wire into the ground. This secures the jug in place to prevent animals from pushing it over or the wind from blowing it away.

10. Mark the jug with the permanent marker to indicate the type of melon underneath. You may also write other information such as the date the jug was placed, or the date you last fertilized it.

Tips & Warnings

• Find additional ways to re-purpose your plastic milk jugs and help your garden grow.

• Do not replace the lid. The lid can be placed in a container to take to the recycle center separate from your other plastics.

References

• Plantea