Waste not, want not and being green

A title my mother would have approved of. Well, the first bit anyway. She never spent much on any of her gardens, growing nearly everything from seed, using yogurt cartons and toilet rolls and any other suitable container. She always had a compost bin and saved water whenever she could. Buying a plant was a rare event and something to be mulled over for some time before any commitment was made.


The push lawnmower (no fancy electrical machine in her day) was given an annual service by an odd-job man who came door-to-door. Secateurs were sharpened and cleaned at a local shop. Her Felco secateurs which I inherited are still working well although they are now cleaned and sharpened at home.


I do wish she had seen the light about the cleaning and sharpening of spades and other tools. That this might have made life easier didn't seem to occur to my mother. It certainly blighted my formative gardening years (see my post:  http://planticrunotes.blogspot.com/2011/03/blunt-spades-and-pink-phlox.html)
That and the pink phlox of course. But it was a small thing and didn't really put me off gardening once I got the bug.


In the light of my mother's example here are some of the tips that  I use to be a bit greener (and save money)


• Making paper pots for seeds (It's a bit fiddly but works well for seeds and seedlings)

• Putting all our food scraps and garden waste into the compost bin. The bedding from the hens is also added. This is made from shredded paper (a great use for bank statements and begging letters).

• Using second hand watering cans and garden tools from local sales and salvage yards

 

• Using lollipop sticks as plant labels. These are harder to come by than when I was a child. I need a steady supply of lollipop eating children.

 

• Keeping attractive tins for planting in. Cleaned with holes punched in the bottom they look good with herbs. I usually plant them up with basil. It must be the whole Italian thing.... Sorry about the advertising.

I wonder if my mother would have approved?