Repurposing

I think that one of the most important things we can do in a self-sufficient lifestyle is to learn the importance of repurposing old items.  Not only does this save us money, but it helps to save things from ending up in the landfill as well.

One of the biggest places that I practice repurposing is in my garden.  We actually have two gardens, but the one behind my house is strictly a container/raised bed garden.  Although I may have mentioned this before, we rent our home and the property owner doesn't want us to till up any ground.  Raised beds to the rescue!  The beds I have, I purchased at Sam's Club, and you can find them here: http://www.samsclub.com/sams/garden-kit-dsv-collect/prod9360606.ip?navAction=
 I actually prefer that they are not wood, but rather resin, as I do not have to worry about them rotting or having to replace them every few years.  They are easy to put together, and in my opinion, fairly inexpensive.

Of course, these beds are not repurposed, but let us look at a picture of my garden and see what is repurposed.

My tomato bed is actually a pallet/crate for an engine that my husband brought home from work.  After this season I will be making it into a cold frame using windows from my mother-in-law's recent renovation.  I spray painted it a dark brown to match the rest of my beds and drilled holes in the bottom for drainage.  The only part that cost money was (6) 1 cubic foot bags of organic soil.

PVC pipe: For posts in my tomato bed and cucumber pots, I am using PVC pipe from a laundry sorter/hamper that my son broke.  I paid $10.00 for it at Big Lots a few years ago, so I figure it has paid for itself, and is continuing to do so.  The PVC pipe is used throughout my garden, including as holders for a bird  deterrent made from pipe, old hay rope, scratched cds and dented canning rings.  It may not be the prettiest thing, but it is working great so far!

Frosting buckets:  My mother-in-law works in the bakery of a grocery store.  She brought us home these icing buckets and we drilled drainage holes in them, filled them with soil and voila: bell pepper planters!

Pallets: Repurposing pallets is all the rage on Pinterest, and I am not immune!  I stapled landscaping fabric on the back, added 2 c. ft. of soil and have a 4 part herb garden and a green bean bed.  I plan on making a strawberry plant be at a later time but for now my strawberry plants are intermingled in my flower bed.

The only thing I have paid for in my container/raised bed garden is the soil and the seeds to start my plants.