Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Green Thumbs in More Ways Than One

The kids and I are slowly but surely starting to get our garden planted and ready for production all by ourselves this year, and are already reaping the benefits of our lovely strawberry patch. The fruit trees are going crazy, and if I don't get all those little peaches thinned somehow in all my extra time (ha, ha), they're never going to produce properly. But that's another story.

We like to practice reuse in as many aspects of our lives as possible, and gardening is no exception. We have a couple large compost piles, which seems like the most obvious way to practice reuse while gardening. If you're interested in starting your own compost pile or learning more about the process, check out CompostMania.com and the resources provided on traditional and vermicomposting (using worms) from the University of Illinois Extension program.

But beyond the obvious, have you ever considered reusing containers for pots, making your own pots from reused materials, reusing containers to protect your seedlings, or other ideas? Check out this recent post from RecycleBank, written by Diane MacEachern for more ideas, as well as tips on how to recycle gardening materials and eco-friendly gardening products. Also check out these ideas for repurposing materials for pots offered by Better Homes and Gardens.

Do you have a favorite example of reuse in the garden that you'd like to share? Tell me about it in the comments section for this post.