I'd like to pose a challenge....
I challenge you to create something wonderful, like a garden box or a pallet cushion, anything using recycled materials. You must try something new, create a journal or a plan, gather materials and you must not spend any money outside of the following:
New tools you may need
cushion material
fabric
nails
staples
stain
sand paper
ect.
There are just some things that you have to buy that are unavoidable. But limit the spending, try and find all recycled materials and borrow or re-invent when possible. Why? Well, because our environment needs it, new isn't always best and because screw it...it's free why not?? Producing your own food, make your own glue, building a table from recycled material or even just spray painting a tire can save thousands of pounds of waste from our dumps and for the garden, you can't beat the savings and the diversity of pallets can really blow your mind. Do it because you are worth it. Do it because you need to find yourself somehow..do it just to freakin do! BUT DO IT FOR YOU! Do it to grow food for your family, stock up the pantry, do it to keep chemicals out of your families bodies..do it because our air and water are dying..do it for Mother Earth, do it for the Mother Goddess in you. But do it!
Your best resources for materials are usually things you might otherwise find as just junk!
The only thing this will take is your time, energy and wiliness to challenge yourself. Once your project is complete, upload a picture to our site and tell us about your story..I have prizes for those bold enough to accept!
ANYONE UP FOR IT???
Recycle...Re-Use!
So when you are thinking about putting together a garden, one of the first things you consider is can I afford it? Well..yes you can. There are few things out there that require a small purchase every now and again but if you play your cards right, either the thing will be a one time purchase or it will last you forever. How do you create your own wonderland if you don't have money. You build it your damn self! With Recycled, Reused and re-invented materials. Even if you think you can't afford seeds your first year..think again man. You throw away good seeds everyday that you don't even realize you have. All produce that comes from the store can be reproduced. Tomato, squash, beans, cucumbers...and so many other veggies have seeds in them. You can learn more about what veggies and how to harvest and store seeds in an upcoming blog. Almost everything you need for a garden...you can get free.
I had no idea really where to start and as we have discussed before I had made many plans and notes in my journal. Measured bits of the yard, winged a bunch of stuff and at the end of the day I learned a ton about recycling and re-using things as my #1 resource. I challenged myself from the beginning of this site, along with all of those reading this....I haven't deviated from that idea and it has really payed off...well so to speak. I am actively seeking knowledge and the day I discovered Pinterest was the day I knew I hit gold. Most of you know what I mean, its a idea mecca and one I use often. Not just for idea's but also for the learning curve I seem to still be on.in my opinion it is the perfect companion to your DIY arsenal!
So, this along with a few idea of my own I slowly but surely came up with a few things I could use that I already had around the house or could get off Marketplace. With a few minutes of gas and the first one on the button there is no limit to what you might be able to create.
Take the picture above for instance. I used a pallet, Free. A bunch of old tires...Free and a ton of .89 spray paint I picked up at Wally World and lastly weed guard I got at the Dollar Tree. I spent $3.00 and still had enough material to do one small project. My carbon footprint is looking good and what it has done for my garden is amazing. BTW I got the dirt free too. A dear friend was having work done on the back of their yard and offered up good quality growing soil...FREE all I had to do was pick it up. Well....It looked more like this....
These are my favorite folks in the World! B.Hive Fans, meet the two best girlfriends anyone could ever have...Mandy and Tiffany. And pretty proud to introduce you all to the man that stole my heart, Michael. My support system, both literally and well as you can see metaphorical. These guys give me the strength to keep going, apparently as a team can move mountains and love me without strings attached. I love you guys, thank you for dirty fun and damn good friendships and the love. I honestly...lol I mean for real...could not of done this without you guys! The rewards of these projects keep coming. From the fun we have when we are together to the dinners we share surrounded by these things..this is what life, family and happiness are truly about.
Two old tires and a few pallets, I was able to create a tomato box, and a pretty awesome Buddha station. This is where I planted my Sunflowers, Cilantro and Sweet Banana Peppers. I even used the bag that the garden soil came in for the bottom. Poke whole in the bag and its the perfect support your soil needs and makes it far easier for you to move your tire planters around.
I found the majority of these materials locally and again on Marketplace, Craigslist and even Newspaper Classifieds online can guide you to your next treasure. In the picture to the left I used recycled Newspaper Dummy Plates I got for like .50 a piece. They are aluminum and work perfectly as the accent/ structure for my garden boxes. Corrugated Metal is awesome if you can find it, old gutters work too.
Here you see an old Newspaper box. These things are everywhere. I worked in the industry for some time and most Newspapers are going to mail delivery systems, meaning there are a ton of these boxes laying around or could be picked up super cheap. With a little bit of weed guard and a bit of soil, I have used these to grow Peppers, Pineapple Sage, Cinnamon basil and Spearmint. The holes on the sides are pre-cut so they already allow for drainage. If your really lucky you may even get one with the hardware still attached, makes it easy to attach to just about anything. The box behind it was actually an old mail divider the paper was giving away one day. Almost anything on the planet can be re-invented with a bit of ingenuity.
The trick is to stop looking at ordinary things as what they are, think outside of the box. I have taken an old camping kettle and turned that into a sunflower potter, I have re-purposed old newspaper yard signs and used them as supports for my tomatoes while they were in the early stages. Like everything is my weapon...nothing is out of the question. It's all about what you see in it. you see a basket..its a damned basket! Mold it to what you want it to be....it's after all your idea and soul your putting into it. Your energy...make it as beautiful as you paint your world to be. You say it is so..so shall it be. So mote it be!
I went to the dollar tree ages ago and picked this little basket for $1. I have used this thing a million times and yet I have still find uses for it. This time I used it as a Green Pepper starter. I also now have a few that I use for harvesting. It is amazing what you can do with things you already have. When you re-use things your saving the planet around you, when you re-invent something you find a sense of self in your projects and when you try...there is nothing you can fail at..I mean, WHAT THE HELL...it was free. Or cheap..whatever! It's not a big deal if you screw it up.
It ads a bit of whismey to your garden, a pinch of color..a touch of shiny...a few solar lights...dude, the results are surprising.
For instance, see that fine ass amazing man right here? He is actually over his favorite part of the garden..the Strawberry patch. The container is an old party tray I had sitting around the house for ages. I thought it had seen its last day until I realized that it was galvanized metal and I could punch holes in the bottom...budda bing..budda boom..its a planter. Almost anything can be so long as you see it that way. As above..so below.
The deck is actually just a pallet we placed between the two garden boxes. Its an awesome platform to stand on, makes the ground even but it was the perfect place to support the trellis I was one day hoping to build.
Which...I built!
I think one of my favorite projects, see pictures below, was the trellis. I saw an ad on Marketplace for 10 free tomato cages. It said tomato cages but I saw a garden trellis. I had been shopping around for a horse panel for sometime but really don't want to spend the money if I didn't have too. The moment I saw these bad boy, I saw my material.
They were held together with just a bit of wire and that gave me an idea. I took them all apart, laid them flat in the yard and took a old ball of wire I had from another project and weaved this bad boy together. Even with gloves it was hell on the hands, but it's sturdy. The hardest part of this project was putting it up. I am not a very large person and it had on occasion more fwing power than expected. I supported them on some fence posts I got at our local Hee-Haw store for $1.99 each. I didn't paint them or anything, there was something a bit charming about the rustic color against the dark woods and greens of the garden. I laced up a set of outdoor bush lights I had from Christmas past..I am in heaven.
Screw it...It's Free
What makes these projects so easy to do is...you can't screw it up. If it's free and you only lost the time it took to make it then believe it or not, it's time well spent. I have messed up some of my projects but at the end of the day, screw it...it was free. I just started over. The enormity of what you teach yourself while your busy being pissed over your failures is how you'll gain experience. It will teach you what you did wrong, help you define a new approach and increase your level of overall confidence. Whats the worst that can happen? You may enjoy yourself but at the end of the day you'll have something to really be proud of. I have accomplished these things in my journey and want you to know the same victorious feeling of accomplishing so much..So now it is my turn to challenge you....
Don't be afraid to take something apart and make something new or get your hands dirty. It wasn't like I knew what I was doing when I put the thing together. Winging it has really opened up a new world for me, as I have said time and time again you do not always need a plan, just the desire to try. It was more like I knew what it should look like and tried to make it look that way. Challenge yourself and stick to these rules as I have. You are in control of what your world looks like so why not create something beautiful?
Post your recycled, renewed or reinvented items. Tell others what you did, how you did it and win something cool. Pretty easy rules right?
If it's recycled, re-used, re-invented or just FREE you can't screw it up!
Until next time...Keep the Buzz going!
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