We’ve had an email from Natasha:

It seems a good number of my terracotta plant pots cracked in the cold over winter. What can I reuse them for?

Holding your horses, you may be able to repair them if it’s just a relatively clean crack – this Instructable fixes a broken-in-half pot with epoxy resin, this how-to uses silicone sealant and wire, and this eHow also uses wire. Anyone got any fixing/mending advice?

Even it’s beyond repair, don’t discount it as still being useful as a planter – some people make very effective use of broken pots to create a shabby chic/Roman ruins feel for the garden.

If it’s even beyond that though, broken up, it could still be useful in the garden – providing interesting/useful shade for aquatic life in a pond or as water draining crocks at the bottom of the new replacement plant pots.

(And don’t forget to stop history repeating itself by protecting terracotta and the like over winter. From what I’ve read, pots fired to a higher temperature are more frost resistant too, so look out for “frost proof” pots too.)

Any other repair or reuse suggestions?

We’ve had an email from Simone:

My hubby and I have been homebrewing for a couple of years but our last batch was not nice at all! We’ve got 40 bottles of it but don’t want to drink it ourselves and don’t think it would be fair to force it on others either! Is there anything to be done with it other than pouring it away?

Since I’m obsessed with gardening these days, the first idea that springs to mind is slug traps – they’re not fussy about the quality or taste of the beer. (We’ve not had to use slug traps this year because it’s been too hot and dry for the critters but I’ve used some five years out of date four-for-80p lager for my beer traps in the past and they’ve dived in as if it’s the finest ale of the gods.)

Other ideas may depend on why it’s “not nice at all”. If it’s a problem with the mouthfeel or strength of flavour, you might be able to reuse it for making something like beer bread or in pies/stews.

And if there is a possibility it’s just a matter of taste, perhaps you should try it on some less discerning friends — or if it’s really vile, use it to teach kids not to drink (“this is what all beer tastes like, you should stick to lemonade” “yes mum, it’s horrible” – perhaps an unwise idea from the “smoke a whole box of cigars” school of parenting ;) )

Anyone else got any other ideas?

Sorry that there have been fewer posts than normal recently – I’ve been taking full advantage of both of the long weekends to have time in the garden and not on my computer. Normal programming should return from now on!

Anyway, at least I’ve been busy reusing/recycling in our garden. Last week, I turned our old bathroom cupboard doors into raised bed for foot square gardening then on Monday, my not-in-law’s neighbours were throwing away a solid curtain pelmet and I made that into a herb trough/window box style planter. And both are now filled with produced-here compost – so that’s more recycling ;)

Back to the pelmet though, while I was doing the minimal work required for its transformation, I was thinking what else it could be used for. It was still in pretty decent condition so a sand down and repaint could easily continue being used for its original purpose – sitting on top of the curtains to hide the rail. It could be given away via Freecycle/Freegle if the original owners didn’t want it any more. (Pelmets are seen as a bit fussy and old fashioned by some but they are supposed to help keep rooms warmer by cutting down convection currents around the window.)

When I first saw the pelmet, I thought it was a mantlepiece – it could easily be turned into a decorative fire surround (for a small gas/electric fireplace or not used real one) by adding legs, which could be made quite easily from cheap planking. Or simply used as a floating shelf.

As for actual recycling, it was mostly wood — but wood that had been frequently painted over the years so wouldn’t be suitable for burning. If it had been less sturdy, I’d probably still have taken it to just use for the lengths of lumber – I’m all about scrap wood at the moment.

Any other ideas? How would you reuse it?

It’s been a few weeks since I shared some links so here are some of my favourite sightings and emails from the last month:

• First up, it has to be Scott’s coke can and chopsticks bird feeder – as always, a fab recycled item with very fun how-to instructions. Unfortunately (for us in the UK) the full instructions will be in Make magazine – but if you’re crafty, you can kinda get the idea from the pictures/preview ;)
• And sticking with gorgeous things in the Make/Craft universe, I love these denim storage bags – easy to make from the legs of old jeans — a perfect companion project if you’re turning some jeans into cut-offs this summer :)
• I also love these sweet packet purses/pouches. I wonder if clear plastic bags could be fused onto the packets rather than having to use iron on vinyl…
• As a fan of both buttons and nature, I think these buttons from twigs are great too. As the how-to explains, it’s a little tedious to cut them all with a handsaw but if you just want a few and don’t have a table saw, then it’s still a viable project.
• And speaking of the great outdoors, I’m planting out a lot of stuff at the moment. I’ve been using sliced up plastic bottles, drinks cans and other packaging for plant markers but these labels – made from skewers and wine corks – are very cute too.
• Roo has turned an old nightstand/chest of drawers into a unique and fun doll house – just a little handy work is needed before the fun decorating starts!
• Shopping lists save money & food waste but our lists and pens tend to wander from our kitchen noticeboard — they wouldn’t if we had one of these. The similar pretty wood backing/bulldog clip/elastic band idea would work well with reclaimed scrap paper as well as a new roll.
• And finally, I had an email from Jackie: “I recycled this awning frame by making it a pot rack. A little bit of chain and I hooks and s hooks bring it all together” — looks great and super practical, great work.

We’ve had an email from Melissa:

I’m Melissa from Argentina. I love recycling but there are not many things I can do here.

That’s why I’ve got to ask you… Is there any way of recycling more stuff on my own??? I recycle paper, bottle caps and cardboard.

In my country there aren’t a lot of places where I can recycle and I think that’s because people (not everyone) don’t care about that.. That’s very sad!

It is very sad – but an interesting question: these days so much recycling in the UK etc relies on local council provision (or in some areas, on supermarkets/other businesses) – how would we recycle if those systems weren’t in place?

I think we’d reuse more – a plastic bottle repurposed as a plant cloche doesn’t need recycling, neither does a glass jar reused for homemade preserves, a t-shirt upcycled into a shopping bag or scrap paper clipped together to make a notebook. We know that we should reuse before recycling – but I think that would be even more apparent if there wasn’t an option to recycle. Despite the name, this site is more about reusing than recycling – because it should come first and is easier to do on an individual level.

What we think of as proper recycling – breaking something down and making something new from the base material – is a lot harder to do at home, especially without specialist skills or equipment. It would probably be easier (but not exactly easy) to work with local authorities/community groups to set up recycling schemes working with local recycling/reclamation companies. Does anyone have any experience/advice about doing that sort of thing? Or are there any things that can easily be recycled (not just reused) at home?

Any other thoughts/advice for Melissa?

(Photo by septober)