What to do with Food Packages
MILLIONS OF LITTLE GREENHOUSES
I hate modern packaging. There is so much of it, it is hard to get open and it is predominately plastics which don’t compost!
Ever the frugal daughter of a depression era mama, I am always looking for ways to re-use these many plastic containers as I am sure your are too. Since growing stuff is my passion I started using the lidded muffin and berry containers as little greenhouses for seed starts. This is working out quite well!
Easy to move around and fully self contained they are fun to have as a little project and I am happy to be getting the extra use of them. Pictured here are an old cake package with Cat Grass grown from seed- very easy to grow- and a freshly started muffin package with seeds of Giant Marigolds just planted. The moisture from the lid drips down onto the soil and gives them some extra water. Be sure and poke holes in the bottoms of the containers, keep them damp but not soggy and give morning light afternoon shade. To help keep them moist use a piece of cloth, old towel or several sheets of newspaper between the saucer and container. I like to use old plastic lids as saucers or disposable plates.
I thought I would use a plastic tub from some cookies and it was a perfect fit for my terra cotta pot. When I want to replace the annuals in the pot I can just lift out the inner liner and bend the plastic on the sides to pop out the plants easily.
Another use of the containers could be for cuttings. Easy plants to grow from cuttings are succulents and pelargoniums or geraniums. They root easily just from the cut stem. If you want to try other plants make the cutting just below a leaf on about a 3-4″ stem, remove the lower leaves and trim the other leaves in half to cut down water loss. Dip the tip of the stem in ‘Root-Tone’- a growing hormone available in nurseries as a powder- and bury stem 1/2″-1″ in your potting soil. As the root develop and fill the disposable container re-pot them in a bigger pot or plant in the garden.
Starting your own plants from seed or cuttings saves some money but moreover it is just plain fun and a great project for kids. Useful plants to start in containers are small herbs like parsley, basil, cilantro or dill. Yum.
In the drought I used the gallon milk jugs to feed water slowly to the plants in the garden. To do this I used a utility knife to cut the top 3-4″ off the jug. This makes an easy, wide opening to fill the jug with water. I used an electric drill to put 1/8″ approx. holes in the bottom of the jug- 3-4 holes.
I placed the jugs in large pots and next to plants that needed extra water and filled them as I watered the garden or where the sprinklers could help fill them. Some of them I had to stake upright with thin bamboo stakes driven through one of the holes in the bottom of the jug. The animals in the garden like to tip them over- especially the racoons. This tip helped us get through some very hot summers.
Early Spring or late winter is a good time to start seeds indoors and try out this project. Happy growing!
