Garden Uses for Plastic Bottles
Plastic milk jugs and water and soda bottles never degrade, according to the EPA. In 2009, they made up 12.3 percent of the municipal solid waste stream or 13 million tons of plastics. Instead of throwing them away, recycle and put them to use in your garden. Use milk jugs as bird feeders to attract helpful birds for pest control and bottles as mini-greenhouses or as planters for those tender shoots. Alternatively, cut milk jugs into strips and thread them onto craft sticks by cutting a slit at the top and bottom of the strip. Mark them with waterproof markers to identify new seedlings. Does this Spark an idea?
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Mini-Greenhouse
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Begin by transplanting starter plants into the garden. Ensure enough space between plantings according to growth requirements. Cut one-third from the bottom of a 2-liter soda or juice bottle with a pair of scissors or a utility knife and rinse it out thoroughly. Don't throw away the bottom; use that for seed starters after filling them with dirt. After rinsing out the bottle, leave the lid on and place the plastic bottle over the starter plant, turning it slowly so that it grinds into the dirt a bit. Ensure that the dirt is moist but not too wet. If it gets too hot in the mini-greenhouse, simply unthread the bottle top to allow the moisture to escape and replace the top before the evening fades.
Milk Jug Berry Picker
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Picking wild berries or berries from the garden in the late summer usually requires lugging around a bucket or container. Instead, use a 1/2 or 1 gallon milk jug to act as the berry container. Cut a hole opposite the handle on the top corner of the milk container. Slip your belt through the handle and buckle the belt. Move the container to the side opposite your dominant hand and then pick berries and place them in the hole in the container. With the container attached to your belt, there's no more lugging around a heavy bucket. Easily pick berries until the container is full.
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Easy Bird Feeder
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Take a gallon milk jug and cut a square access hole approximately 3 inches up from the bottom in the middle of opposite sides of the jug. Make the access hole rectangular or square 2 to 4 inches, depending upon the type of birds you want in your garden. Below the access holes, cut smaller round holes for the insertion of wooden dowels. The dowel needs to be 2 inches longer on either side of the jug to serve as a bird perch. Thread the dowel through one side of the jug through the other in the small holes. Fill the feeder with the appropriate birdseed and hang it from a tree or gatepost with a wire through the handle. Add a few holes in the bottom to allow for drainage.
New Indoor Plant Starters
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Using milk jug containers, leave the handle intact, but cut away the plastic in front of the handle with a pair of scissors or a utility knife. Pierce the bottom as necessary for drainage. Add growing medium for starters, throw in some seeds, add a little water and wait for the new plants. When it comes time to plant in the garden, grab the starter pots by the handle and take them outside to the garden. Reuse as needed.
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References
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