Saturday, May 24, 2014

Upcycled Burlap Container Gardens, Part 1

Repurposed papasan chair container garden.  I stumbled upon a perfectly stable bamboo papasan chair while walking my puppy the day after seeing suggestions for its reuse as a container garden on Pinterest. Hoping for a more organized garden, I flipped the basket though my image search (albeit with aesthetic concave examples) suggests no one else has publicized such an innovation. I staple-gunned burlap and plastic mesh over the former chair seat opening and stabilized this since dirt is heavy with a Z of scrap wood nailed into the bamboo rim. I anticipate that the rings of bamboo will act to both trellis and compartmentalize the different plants inside. So far I experimented with corn, beans, and onions. (Notice the compost bin in the background of this photo? I installed the Earth Machine after a workshop session with a state resource recovery manager and a visit to my city's department of public works which subsidized my purchase, paying 50% of an already discounted product. Only $20 and a lot of discussion with my family to prevent food waste!
Burlap lined wire bicycle baskets for beans, squash, cukes, and nasturtium. Because the soil quality in New England can be poor, my compost know how was acquired very recently, and the neighborhood squirrel and rabbit populations have exploded, I wanted some of my veggies to be protected. Containers-- here from curbside reclaimed wire bike baskets with burlap from a local farm's corn and potato sacks (only $2 for 7 huge sacks!) sewn in with garden twine- let me take the higher ground in more ways than one in my struggles with pests and soil. The impromptu stake stick mini-fences to scare off bolder vegetarians take away from the rustic aggie charm in their primitivism, but I'd rather have several lines of defense. Salvaged wooden decor, rubbed down with coconut oil so the wood will resist the rain, serve as trellises. 

No comments:

Post a Comment