The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Smallholding => Techniques and skills => Topic started by: knightquest on June 20, 2010, 01:25:33 am
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Any ideas what to do to recycle 2ltr (or other) pop bottles? We seem to end up with a large number of these and would love to use them in our garden somehow..........
Ian
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I use them as plant pots. Cut the top off and they make a good deep container ideal for rooting cuttings in. I've got about 100 willow cuttings in pop bottles now all growing nicely in the back yard. If I plant them straight out the bloody rabbitrs eat them before they get a chance. Get them going in a pop bottle until they're tall enough to put a spiral guard on then plant them out. Problem solved.
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Flower-pot, cloches, funnel and for your elderflower cordial.
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use the top part upside as a watering funnel - great for courgettes, the middle bits around your beans to keep the slugs off, and bury the bottom part as a beer trap!
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You can make a great fly trap from them.
Cut the top off and put it upside down inside the bottom, punch holes either side, thread string through and hang it up.
In the bottom section, just put a mixture of honey & water
Away pesky flies! ;D
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Well not garden use but bloody good.. Elderflower champagne of course I use them every year for it no problems.
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All my homebrew beer goes into them. The clear/white ones are best so you can see when the beer has cleared. Strong, easy to wash, they are ideal
NN
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You can build a greenhouse! Seriously, one of our local schools did it. They built a frame and fitted the bottles into it.
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You can build a greenhouse! Seriously, one of our local schools did it. They built a frame and fitted the bottles into it.
WOW Do you have details?
Some fantastic ideas here folks. Thanks :)
Ian
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Step by step guide for a plastic bottle green house ;D
http://www.reapscotland.org.uk/reports/greenhouse%20v1.pdf
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Step by step guide for a plastic bottle green house ;D
http://www.reapscotland.org.uk/reports/greenhouse%20v1.pdf
Thank you. That is great!! :)
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Greenhouse idea is excellent.
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Mole deterrents amongst otherthings: Cut them about 1/3 from the top then stick the top of the bottle into the top of mole hill - the wind noise, similar to that produced when blowing over the top of a glass bottle like a drunk pied-piper, drives them crazy apparently. I also use them as useful funnel for weeing into as the moles don't like that either...
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You can build a boat......
http://www.theplastiki.com/
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and you can make a nice hole in the bottom Cut a nice as you can slit vertical 6" then at 90 degrees the top and bottom make another slit(6 in all) bend the flap you have just made out and make a turbine You need three blades Stick a cane up through the bottom and screw on the lid tight It wants to be nice and loose They dont half make a noise in the wind Collard doves do not like them at all Biggest snag they don't work Like these state of the wind mill generators if there is no wind ;D :farmer:
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you can make a wind break with plastic bottles, looks really good when the sun shines on them
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I have found that 6pt milk bottles can be made into effective food scoops just by cutting the bottoms off at an angle
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Get full ones with your bargain own brand fizzy pop. Add mentos. Watch them explode. great fun.
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That greenhouse is amazing- I am sorely tempted to make one. Or I guess you could start on a smaller scale and make cold frames as well.
Beth
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I'm curious about that windbreak, Faith. Can you give more detail or, better still, a picture?
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i cant give a pic as i saw it at a house i viewed, it was really good though, the plastic bottles were threaded on to thin willow whips and then fastened on to a willow frame i suppose any wood would do. it did look really good
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Similar technique to the bottle greenhouse I think
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i had a look at that and yes your probably right, its a good idea, that greenhouse is incredible
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I use them for the waterers for my chickens.
Also I cut them in half and use them as mini greenhouses for my ickle vegetables that are growing (keeps the woodpigeons off them.
Also, get the coke points off them and get free xbox games :)
Next year we'll asve a few for our homemade ciderrrr.
Half fill them with water, poke a few holes round the top, and the dog loves to chase them in the summer.
By the time they go in our recycle bin, they are good for nothing else but melting down to become a fleece!
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:o I had no idea they were so versatile :)
I don't buy 2l pop bottles but I tend to either recycle plastic milk bottles or use them for feed scoops, plantpots or the tops to protect sweet peas and such like mini cloches. I had no idea I was missing so many other opportunities ;D
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my shed is full of empty bottles that il use oneday on vegie patch!! we cud do new thread on use of coffee jars - holds jam,screws, nails, string etc - real recycling lol ::)
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We use them also for
- wasp traps when we can't find the nest (we had four ground nests this summer)
- putting on support canes in the garden so you don't poke your eye out.
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this is a fab thread - particularly at this time of year as no doubt everyone will have far more of these than they usually do. I use a lot in the garde but now have some great ideas to make sure i recycle ALL of them now...might even have to steal some of the neighbours too!!!
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Loved the greenhouse, think it might be fun to suggest to our school.
However, here in Germany we get 25 cents (about 20p) back for each bottle when we take them back to the shop, so that makes it a very expensive little project.
Certainly an incentive to not throw them out of the car window!!!
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Can I send you some - I think I have about 500 ;D
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I don't know where the idea came from and I don't know whether it is feasible, nor how I would tackle it but .......................... as I have a huge area in the back garden that is unusable because it is covered in gravel (guy before me had lorries), I DID wonder about constructing a maze for the grandchildren with all those water bottles I have accumulated. I think it was a Grand Designs programme last night that made me think of it - they had a large area of grass mown so that it was laid out in concentric circles. I'm sure I've seen a grass maze somewhere too - any ideas on whether it's worth trying and how to go about it?